The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) has launched an asbestos safety web and mobile app to mark the start of a major six-month awareness campaign to cut the number of unnecessary deaths caused by the deadly material.
The free Beware Asbestos app, for desktop PCs, smartphones, tablets and laptops, also coincides with the publication of an HSE survey, which found that the average tradesperson could come into contact with the deadly material over 100 times a year.
The web app leads users through a list of simple multiple-choice questions about the type of building they are working in, the job they are doing, and the type of asbestos containing material they are working with.
Depending on their responses, it advises them to either: stop work and get a licensed asbestos contractor if the asbestos risk is too high; follow a simple step-by-step guide on how to lower the risk of asbestos work; or continue to work if there is no asbestos risk.
Builders merchant TradePoint has agreed to promote the app to its members. The firm will also distribute 200,000 asbestos safety kits at its 153 stores across the UK, which will include a free Type 5 disposable overall for working with asbestos.
The HSE survey, carried out by Censuswide in September 2014, suggests that 20 workers die every week as a result of asbestos-related diseases, while carpenters, painters and decorators could come into contact with asbestos on average more than 100 times a year.
Only a third of respondents were able to identify all the correct measures for safe asbestos working, and over half, or 57 per cent, made at least one potentially lethal mistake when trying to identify how to stay safe.
Asbestos can be found in walls and ceilings, or the structure of a building, as well as in floor tiles, boilers, toilet cisterns, guttering and soffits.
It can be disturbed by basic maintenance work like drilling holes and sanding and once disturbed, the microscopic fibres can prove lethal if breathed in, causing lung disease and cancer. Although asbestos has been banned in the UK since 1985, it can take several decades for symptoms of a related illness to develop.
Law firm Irwin Mitchell has welcomed the campaign. Adrian Budgen, head of asbestos-related disease litigation at the firm, who represents victims of industrial illness, said: “This is a very positive step by the HSE and we, along with our clients, welcome the campaign. We continue to be instructed by hundreds of people each year whose lives have been turned upside down as a result of exposure to asbestos many years ago.”
“Many older buildings, including hospitals and schools, still contain asbestos and, whilst the risk is minimal if the material is not disturbed, the consequences can be devastating for those who inhale the fibres when they are released into the air. Our work shows it is not just people who work in heavy industry that are affected – many public sector workers such as teachers and health care professionals have developed mesothelioma simply by breathing the air at work.”
Budgen continued: “It is only by raising awareness of the dangers of asbestos and explaining how the material can be safely removed, that we will see a decline in the number of people who are impacted by asbestos disease …Employers have a duty to protect their people and we hope all those who work within the construction industry will support the HSE’s campaign to ensure that in the future asbestos will no longer cause unnecessary deaths.”
Speaking at the launch of the the safety campaign, Philip White, chief inspector for construction at HSE said: “Asbestos is still a very real danger and the survey findings suggest that the people who come into contact with it regularly often don’t know where it could be and worryingly don’t know how to deal with it correctly, which could put them in harm’s way. Our new campaign aims to help tradespeople understand some of the simple steps they can take to stay safe.
“Our new web app is designed for use on a job so workers can easily identify if they are likely to face danger and can then get straight forward advice to help them do the job safely.”
