Training Ltd

"Our health always seems much more valuable after we lose it." - Anon

With asbestos, as also with many other things in life, it is better to be safe than sorry. The government, and many other bodies, agree with this philosophy whole-heartedly where asbestos is concerned. We now know that breathing in asbestos fibres leads to asbestos related diseases, and that many of these can lead to an unpleasant death. There is generally a delay of 15 to 60 years from the time of exposure to the onset of the related disease, hence the attitude of "it hasn't harmed me..." is extremely dangerous as it may mislead new workers unfamiliar with the risks from exposure to asbestos.

 

New asbestos regulations require mandatory training

Recent changes in the EU Asbestos Worker Protection Directive have led to the introduction of new “Control of Asbestos Regulations” in the UK, on 13 th November 2006. Please see below for a summary of the main changes.

The "Control of Asbestos Regulations" combines three previous pieces of legislation regarding asbestos:

• The Control of Asbestos and Work Regulations 2002 (CAW)
• The Asbestos (Licensing) Regulations 1983 (ASLIC)
• The Asbestos (Prohibitions) Regulations 1992 (Prohibitions Regulations)

The new regulations have introduced a new lower control limit. This is a single control limit of 0.1 fibres per cm^3, and applies to all types of asbestos measured over a period of four hours. This replaces the previous dual limits of 0.2 f/ml for amphiboles and 0.3f/ml for chrysotile.

The regulations now require mandatory training in the handling of and exposure to asbestos. It also requires more detailed training in some circumstances. This affects anyone who is likely to come into contact with asbestos, from plumbers and joiners to surveyors and architects.

New research suggests that working with asbestos-containing textured coatings carries less risk than previously thought. This means that this type of work no longer has to be carried out by a licensed contractor.

 

 

HSE launch Asbestos campaign

September 2006 to October 2006: the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) have launched a campaign entitled "Don't take the gamble" with the aim of highlighting the dangers of working with asbestos in buildings. A link to the HSE campaign can be found in our newsroom. For help with your asbestos concerns contact us so that one of our qualified asbestos surveyors can survey your buildings and audit your procedures or provide training as required.

Important Factors in Asbestos Safety

With asbestos there are several factors that are important in assessing the hazards and performing risk assessments. Chief amongst these asbestos safety factors are:

• the type of asbestos
• the location of the asbestos containing material
• likely disturbance or abrasion of the material
• the people who could come into contact with the asbestos fibres or dust

In general, undisturbed asbestos may not be a significant problem, but any disturbance, abrasion or work could put asbestos dust or fibres into the air and these could easily be breathed by people who are not properly equipped with appropriate beathing apparatus.

Working with and Disposing of Asbestos

The rules on working with asbestos depend on several factors, and many people are surprised to find these rules are not as restrictive as they thought in all cases. The important thing for an employer is to ensure that workers have received appropriate training, and at times update or refresher training, in order to work safety in environments where they are likely to encounter asbestos containing materials.

As with working with asbestos, the disposal of asbestos materials is not always as expensive as people fear. At Lucid we can help you find appropriate and reasonable cost specialists to dispose of asbestos materials safely and legally.

Asbestos Safety Training Courses

We can provide a variety of health and safety training courses covering elements of asbestos safety, from "Asbestos Awareness" training courses for workers who might come across asbestos containing materials, to more specialist RPE (respiratory protective equipment) courses aimed at workers who will be working with or disposing of asbestos materials.

The people who should attend an Asbestos Awareness training course are:

• managers responsible for buildings and facilities
• health and safety representatives
• workers in the building trade (including plumbers and electricians etc.)
• maintenance engineers and handymen who do odd jobs
• people who work with asbestos containing materials

 

Asbestos is dangerous and corners should not be cut as this could prove an expensive, false economy.