A national campaign aims to reduce the rising number of asbestos-related deaths among tradespeople.
The Health and Safety Executive’s (HSE's) campaign "Beware Asbestos" has revealed that 20 tradespeople a week in the UK die from asbestos damage to their lungs. Workers are still being exposed to the substance, even though it has been banned.
Exposure to asbestos is a big risk where tradespeople are carrying out maintenance on domestic or industrial premises. A 2014 survey by HSE found that tradespeople could come into contact with asbestos more than 100 times a year.
Diseases caused by contact with asbestos include mesothelioma, a type of cancer that affects the membrane around the lung, and asbestos-related lung cancer.
Many asbestos-related deaths are among tradespeople, such as electricians, builders, plasterers and plumbers. The death rate among this group is increasing.
The asbestos risk
According to the HSE, many workers, especially tradespeople, assume they're not at risk because asbestos was banned many years ago. However, as asbestos remains in many buildings, it is still a risk to workers, even today.
Asbestos is likely to be present in any building constructed or refurbished before the year 2000. An estimated half a million buildings contain it.
If a building containing asbestos is repaired or maintained and the asbestos fibres are disturbed, for instance, by drilling or cutting, they can easily be inhaled as a deadly dust. Opening a window or drinking a glass of water will not protect you against the dangers of asbestos.
“We need to educate tradespeople about how asbestos and its dangers are relevant to them. We want them to change the way they work so that they don’t put their lives at risk,” says Steve Coldrick, director of the HSE’s Disease Reduction Programme.
Mesothelioma: Tom’s story
Tom King, 64, developed mesothelioma after exposure to asbestos in his job as a carpenter.
He renovated domestic houses, which involved knocking ceilings and walls down to convert houses into flats. He removed any asbestos found during the work and threw it into skips for removal. He had no training on how to handle it.
“I wasn’t aware of the danger of asbestos,” says Tom. “If I’d known about it, I would have put a mask on or I would have refused to handle it.”
After experiencing chest pains and breathlessness, he went to visit his doctor, who referred him for a chest X-ray and other lung tests. Tom was diagnosed with mesothelioma.
There is no cure for this asbestos-related cancer. However, treatments including chemotherapy, radiotherapy and surgery can prolong life and improve symptoms.
How to protect yourself from asbestos
You can find out more on the HSE web pages on asbestos, where there is also a free asbestos web app to help tradespeople identify where they could come into contact with asbestos in their day-to-day work.
HSE has the following advice to workers who may be exposed to asbestos:
Avoid working with asbestos wherever possible. If you're not sure whether asbestos is present, don't start work. Your boss or the customer should tell you whether or not asbestos is present.
You can't work with some kinds of asbestos as they're too dangerous. Don't work if the asbestos material present is a sprayed coating, board, or lagging on pipes and boilers. Only a licensed contractor should work on these.
Where asbestos is present, you can only continue to work if you’ve had asbestos training and you're using the right equipment.
To minimise asbestos dust, use hand tools instead of power tools, and keep materials damp, but not wet. Clean up as you go, using a special (class H) vacuum cleaner (not a brush). Double-bag asbestos waste and label the bags properly.
When working with asbestos, always wear a proper mask. Ordinary dust masks are not effective.
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