Asbestos: don't take a gamble
October 1st 2006

Don't take a gamble with your life' is the message to maintenance workers from Steve Coldrick, director of the Health and Safety Executive's Disease Reduction Programme, speaking at the launch of the HSE's new campaign to raise awareness of the dangers of working with asbestos

More than half a million non-domestic premises and houses still contain some form of asbestos, posing a real threat to unwary maintenance workers. Such workers are at risk because they may unknowingly drill or cut into material that could contain asbestos and breathe in the deadly fibres.

Most asbestos containing material in good condition is safe. Asbestos is dangerous when it is in a loose form, disturbed or worked on as this may release asbestos fibres into the air. If these fibres are inhaled, they may damage the lungs and cause fatal diseases, including cancer.

Employees such as builders, carpenters and plumbers account for more than one quarter of the 3500 asbestos-related cancer deaths each year.

At the launch of the 'Don't take the gamble' campaign at the Chartered Institute of Environmental Health's annual conference, Steve Coldrick said "Exposure to asbestos can cause cancer and an early death. There are around 1.8 million maintenance workers in Great Britain, many of whom don't realise that asbestos could be present and pose a threat. While current deaths are due to asbestos exposure that happened many years ago, we need to make today's workers aware that they are at risk. This campaign focuses on how important it is for those working with asbestos not to gamble with their lives."

Key points recommended by the HSE for maintenance workers are: Ask if asbestos is present before starting work, check that the work does not require a licence, work safely with asbestos: wear a suitable mask, vacuum up any dust with a special Class H vacuum cleaner and do not drill or cut into asbestos with power tools.

Under Regulation 4 of the Control of Asbestos at Work Regulations, dutyholders have to manage the risk from asbestos in their buildings.

Key points for dutyholders include: Manage the risk from any asbestos in the building, make and keep a record of its location and condition, tell people who may work on the building that asbestos is present.

The HSE's asbestos website provides a central source of advice on the subject.