A campaign (‘Asbestos and You’) has been recently launched by the HSE that focuses of managing asbestos at work. Asbestos related ill health is one of the main causes of work related deaths in the UK.
Despite the use of asbestos containing materials being banned in the UK in 1999, it is still present in many buildings built before this date. If disturbed, asbestos fibres can be released into the air, and any fibres inhaled can enter the lungs and cause serious diseases such as asbestos-related lung cancer, mesothelioma, pleural thickening and asbestosis. Symptoms often develop some 20-30 years later, which makes it hard to determine if ill health has been caused when first exposed.
It is therefore imperative that working with asbestos is carried out safely by trained and competent persons, ensuring safe systems of work are in place and strictly followed.
