Asbestos Tradesmen in Bristol

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Asbesto s News Ma y 2016 Asbestos News - May 201 6 Asbestos is never far from the news. Here is a selection of the latest new stories relating to asbestos compiled by A4 Asbestos Bristol. 0117 259 1425

Asbestos: Tradesmen Don't Let Your Guard Down It’s a sobering thought that most of the six million tonnes of asbestos imported into Britain since 1880 still remain hidden within our national infrastructure. Builders, plumbers and every type of Trades Person could be working on or near asbestos material on a daily basis.

Awareness of asbestos and the practices designed to deal with it have greatly improved in construction over the years – but contractors should still be mindful of the great harm it can cause.

In 2015, the all-party parliamentary

group on occupational safety and health highlighted that half a million commercial properties and one million homes contain asbestos and, worryingly, so do 75 per cent of our schools.

According to a recent report from the all-party parliamentary group on occupational health and safety, the issue is a “time-bomb in our schools�. Almost all the 14,000 schools built between 1945 and 1975 contain asbestos, it says, along with most of those refurbished during that period.

This group also estimated that around 1.3m tradespeople routinely come into contact with asbestos at work, thanks to its prolific use before being banned in 2000.

As a tradesperson you may be thinking may be thinking "I will be alright" however, the statistics provide a grim backdrop. Asbestos kills 5,000 people every year and it’s thought that by 2020, a quarter of a million Britons will have died as a result of exposure.

In the workplace, asbestos-related diseases and respiratory ailments are responsible for 100 times more deaths than accidents. Indeed, 2014/15 alone tragically saw 2,600 construction workers die due to cancer caused by exposure to asbestos.

With asbestos-related conditions taking decades to manifest themselves, many believe we are yet to see the peak and are braced for a significant rise in cases over the coming years.

Almost 70,000 Housing Executive properties in Northern Ireland have asbestos It was recently reported in the Belfast Telegraph that "Lethal asbestos is present in 70,000 Housing Executive homes in Northern Ireland".

The details emerged after a 'Freedom of Information' request by online blog Beyond the Pillars.

Asbestos was used extensively as a building material between the 1950s and mid-1980s in Belfast.

Beyond the Pillars found asbestos is present in 69,747 Housing Executive properties across Northern Ireland.

That is equivalent to 71.43% of the Housing Executive's 98,000 stock.

Graham Dring from the Asbestos Victims' Support Groups Forum UK said asbestos was a common problem for housing associations.

"We do know there are issues with asbestos in a lot of local authority housing," he said. "It was widely used, particularly in post-war housing, continuing into the Sixties, Seventies and Eighties.

"The long-term policy has got to be getting asbestos out of properties.

"Things like fires or accidental damage in any building containing asbestos carry the risk of exposure to tenants and their families.

"Therefore it is best to eradicate asbestos from the properties,

although we recognise this cannot happen overnight."

The Housing Executive said asbestos had been treated at 1,397 properties since 2011 at a cost of £297,863. The highest number of properties is in the Coleraine area 198 at a cost of £33,224 In south Belfast a further £33,420 was spent treating 175 properties.

A Housing Executive spokesperson said: "The Housing Executive has a programme in place to manage asbestos in all of its properties. As part of that, we inspect all of our properties.

"We advise all of our tenants of the process and what happens if asbestos is found and if any action is required. This also includes advice around house sales and home improvements.

"We would stress that the asbestos in the majority of our properties is low-risk, i.e. it is present in floor or roof tiles, soffits etc. Asbestos only poses a risk if it is disturbed.

"Our tenants are advised that they should not be making changes to their properties without approval from the Housing Executive, at which stage we will check if asbestos survey details are available. If not, we will acquire a survey relevant to the works "All our surveys are risk-assessed and asbestos is only removed when it is deemed likely to cause a risk to the occupants or any other visitor."

Asbestos cancer ‘killed

fundraiser’

This month the Yorkshire Evening Post reported that Grandfather who raised thousands of pounds for a West Yorkshire hospice died from an asbestos related cancer decades after working as an electrical engineer in power stations, an inquest heard.

Jon Sharpe raised more than £20,000 for Pontefract’s Prince of Wales Hospice after setting up dazzling lights displays outside his home in Featherstone every Christmas for more than 20 years.

Wakefield Coroner’s Court heard Mr Sharpe was exposed to asbestos while working for the Central Electricity Generating Board during the construction of power stations at Drax and Eggborough in the 1960s.Mr Sharpe made a statement to his solicitor before his death aged 74 in November 2015 at a medical centre in Florida in America where he was on holiday.

The inquest heard Mr Sharpe said he worked on four boilers under construction at Eggborough while up

to 100 workers installed insulation lagging containing asbestos.

Wakefield Coroner David Hinchliff said: “He described it as being very dusty and he would get covered in white dust.” Pinderfields Hospital consultant histopathologist Dr Rachel Thomas, who performed the post mortem on Mr Sharpe, said he died of malignant mesothelioma caused by asbestos exposure.

Mr Hinchliff asked Dr Thomas: “It would appear that during the course of Mr Sharpe’s employment in power stations where there is a lot of asbestos material he will have been exposed to asbestos in that environment.

“I think we can make a connection between exposure to asbestos in the workplace and developing mesothelioma which has caused his death?”

Dr Thomas replied: “Yes.” Mr Hinchliff recorded a verdict of death from industrial disease.

Investigation is launched after company in Jersey dumps asbestos Specialists have been called out and two bays at the Jersey incinerator closed after asbestos was dumped at the site.

The Health and Safety Inspectorate launched an investigation after the potentially deadly material was tipped onto the floor near the bulkywaste facility earlier this week.

Both bays will remain closed until the inspectorate gives the go-ahead for specialist contractors to remove the material. Several builders have claimed that the closure of two out of the four bays has caused disruption and delays when disposing of waste.

The asbestos was brought to the site in a mixed load by the plant hire and excavation firm Brian Blandin Ltd. It is yet to be decided who will face the huge bill for clean-up of the site Asbestos? What next?

If you are a Tradesperson, housing association, contractor or any other type of business in Bristol, Swindon, Wiltshire or anywhere in the South West UK and you suspect you have asbestos present - please call us.

Save on the cost of asbestos removal, fines and potential loss of life. An asbestos survey from A4 Asbestos is fast and affordable. If you have asbestos our removal services are equally fast and costeffective. Telephone our head office in Bristol on 0117 259 1425

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