Asbestos Hub Magazine - Issue 3

Asbestos 3 HUB MAGAZINE #

THE PREMIER INDEPENDENT, QUARTERLY MAGAZINE FOR THE UK AND GLOBAL ASBESTOS INDUSTRY

December 2021

House of Commons thinks SMART

SOCOTEC fulfilling Christmas spirit in Liverpool

At the end of our first year we wish all our readers a very merry and safe Christmas

Part of the Demolition Hub media brand

Asbestos Hub is in media association with

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PUBLISHER Ben Chambers ben@chambers.media 01903 952 648

EDITOR Toby Wilsdon toby@chambers.media 01903 952 645

SALES Wayne Bristow wayne@chambers.media 01903 952 642

DESIGN Aaron Lloyd aaron@chambers.media 01903 952 689

Alex Jarrett PRODUCED & PUBLISHED BY Global News Media Ltd Suite 5 & 6, Chapel House 1-6 Chapel Road Worthing West Sussex BN11 1EX

ASBESTOS HUB | ISSUE 3 After what has felt like a ridiculously short period between issues, I write this before winding down for Christmas, having had a very productive year. This was a year in which this publication was born and has now been produced for the third and final time in 2021.

I want to share why Asbestos Hub came about. In a nutshell my goal was to replicate what our sister title, Demolition Hub magazine, does in its industry – to inform, educate and be of human and industry interest, with enticing interviews and examples of new technology, championing its industry, all of this with a positive attitude.

I am pretty sure that after three issues we are bang on target, offering a similarly comprehensive product for the asbestos abatement, removal, equipment supply and recruitment industry.

Out and about I have had the pleasure of meeting many industry stalwarts and have been an eager spectator at talks featuring (probably) every acronym and initialism that serves the industry.

Since meeting Mavis Nye at the back end of summer, we have become supporters of the Mavis Nye Foundation and as you will read in this issue, been privy to the highs and the lows of a very brave woman.

Looking towards 2022, we will be upping our coverage of technology and services to support all aspects of the interconnected industries of abatement, removal and surveying, just maybe with even more on asbestos within demolition, too.

Asbestos Hub is in media association with Asbestos Control & Abatement Division (ACAD)

The next issue is out in March and I ask that you grab this opportunity to help me shape the magazine. It is your magazine after all and I would love to hear from you. My email is: ben@chambers.media.

Asbestos Hub is published four times a year. Subscription records are maintained at Global News Media Ltd, Suite 5 & 6, Chapel House, 1-6 Chapel Road, Worthing, West Sussex BN11 1EX.

Lastly, I must offer a big thank you to everyone who has supported us in our maiden year, with many who didn’t know us pre-June recently re-signing advertising opportunities for next year.

Articles and information contained in this publication are the copyright of Global News Media Ltd and may not be reproduced in any form without the written permission of the publishers. The publishers cannot accept responsibility for loss of, or damage to, uncommissioned photographs or manuscripts.

That leaves me to wish you all a very merry and safe Christmas.

Ben Chambers Publisher, Asbestos Hub ben@chambers.media

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CONTENTS

DECEMBER 2021

CASE STUDY Parliamentary Select Committee suggests national asbestos register is vital

Summary of 10 key points made by Select Committee witnesses:

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10

On 17 November, the House of Commons Work and Pensions Select Committee took oral evidence for its inquiry into the HSE’s management of asbestos in non-domestic buildings and workplaces from two panels of international and UK experts.

Getting to know the IATP

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The IATP is an organisation that was created and incorporated in 2010 by a small, forward looking group of asbestos industry training providers with the goal of improving and setting standards, ensuring consistency of training delivery and most importantly offering asbestos training providers an open and dynamic platform to raise issues, express and share views and seek advice from industry peers and specialists.

MPs investigate excess asbestos deaths among teachers The House of Commons Work and Pensions Select committee commenced an inquiry into serious asbestos risks in UK schools and hospitals in November.

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CASE STUDY Turner Brothers Asbestos Site A site that was once home to the world’s largest asbestos manufacturer has been bought by Castleford-based ESG Trading Ltd.

20 TONY RICH Capturing asbestos from all angles Tony Rich has literally served “in the trenches” as an industrial hygienist and asbestos professional in the consulting field for the past 28 years, specialising in asbestosrelated work, including: inspection surveys...

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The importance of asbestos training Despite clear guidance from The Health & Safety Executive (HSE), thousands of employers are still neglecting their responsibilities by not insisting on essential asbestos training for their workforce.

Regardless of the size of a company, there is a legal requirement to prevent exposing employees and the public to asbestos by ensuring it is identified on site prior to commencing work.

34 CASELLA Setting boundaries: The importance of boundary monitoring in construction Establishing any new construction project is a careful logistical balancing act, with many aspects for project managers to consider; from site safety to environmental responsibility. Establishing site boundaries, drawing up necessary documentation, ordering materials, creating traffic plans, workflows and conducting risk assessments – a lot of thought and planning goes into even relatively small footprint construction projects.

The dos and don'ts of asbestos monitoring The inhalation of airborne asbestos fibres in the home or workplace can cause a variety of occupational diseases, which may ultimately lead to premature death. The strength and shape (or aspect ratio) of the fibres means they tend to remain in the lungs for a long period of time, which leads to respiratory diseases. The shape of the fibres does, however, make them distinguishable to the trained eye for counting during analysis.

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36 EVENTS

Have I Got More News For You...

Asbestos Hub's TV mention

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Liugong Direct sponsors British Demolition Awards 2022 LiuGong Direct UK has agreed to be the principal sponsor of the fourth annual British Demolition Awards.

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Revised analysts' guide will have impact on asbestos removal work

46 SOCOTEC'S asbestos team completes pro-bono refurbishment SOCOTEC’s Asbestos team has successfully completed a pro-bono refurbishment survey for The Whitechapel Centre.

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Thinking of the Contamination Expo 2021 and John Lennon

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Alert Technology: The inside story

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An in-depth interview with Loretta King and Dan Rushton, exploring the team behind the Alert Pro 1000.

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House of Commons Select Committee suggests national asbestos register is vital Andrew Paten co-founder of UKNAR comments On 17th November the Works and Pensions Committee took oral evidence for their inquiry into the HSE’s management of asbestos in non-domestic buildings and workplaces from two panels of international and UK experts.

The UK panel unanimously agreed that a national register of asbestos locations and asbestos registers should be an essential part of a much needed long term strategic asbestos management plan for the management and phased removal of the UK’s asbestos. This information should be made easily available to those that need it, ideally via a QR code that can be scanned by such people as contractors and other tradespeople before they enter or commence work in a premises where asbestos is at risk of being disturbed.

Andrew Paten co-founder of UKNAR CIC (UK National Asbestos Register Community Interest Company) comments and also reports some of the key headlines from this inquiry.

“We are obviously delighted that our recommendations for included in a previous white paper submitted by think tank ResPublica were completely endorsed by this panel of expert witnesses.”

Below are the key benefits of a national asbestos register as expressed by Liz Darlison CEO of Mesothelioma UK, Gill Reed, Technical Advisor of JUAC (Joint Union Asbestos Committee), Joanne Gordon, Chair of Asbestos Victims Support Groups Forum, Charles Pickles, campaigner Airtight on Asbestos.

A National Asbestos Register with Good Data and Accessible Information was vital to: •

Manage large property portfolios effectively (such as the various public estates)

•

Drive transparency and accountability in the public interest

•

Allow more effective prioritisation of risks and planned removals

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•

Support the HSE in its inspection and enforcement roles

•

Make it easier for contractors and tradespeople to both comply and complete their work efficiently and safely for themselves and others

•

Increase awareness of the general public, especially for parents with children in schools

Given that the UK actually has most of the required information already – possibly with 80% of it stored in as few as 10 databases – it was suggested that that this project is very doable with today’s technology, as already demonstrated by the BIM (Building Information Modelling) approach.

Andrew Paten comments “We truly believe that today’s technology can now make this happen practically, simply and inexpensively in a way that might not have been practical or cost effective, even just a few years ago. This why we set up UKNAR CIC (UK National Asbestos Register Community Interest Company) as a social enterprise and have just raised over £400,000 via the Ethex crowdfunding platform to help make this vision actually happen.

We can make this happen right NOW, today: We believe this can help prevent many thousands of accidental asbestos exposures that needlessly happen every year.

We can save countless suffering, lives and wasted time and money using today’s inexpensive technology and working collaboratively with others And with UKNAR’s simple Asbestos SMART approach we can start doing it NOW without waiting for as little as £200 per building.

We want to hear from anybody who might be interested in collaborating with us in some way on this project – whether it be to better help and safeguard their own clients, premises or workers. We also hold regular short 45 minutes webinars where we explain what UKNAR is about, our Asbestos SMART approach and how incredibly easy it is make a simple but truly profound change that benefits everyone. “ Please do contact us at Andrew.Paten@UKNAR. org or Enquiries@Uknar.org

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Dr Mavis Nye named SHP’s Most Influential person in health & safety for 2021 SHP has announced the list of the most influential people in health and safety, voted for by you, recognising Dr Mavis Nye as 2021’s ‘Most Influential’ for her work as a campaigner, supporting and raising awareness of the dangers of asbestos exposure and supporting those who are diagnosed with Mesothelioma

Mavis has been described as a ‘tour de force, and an absolute dynamo for Asbestos Awareness’. She lives with Mesothelioma every day of her life, having been diagnosed a few years ago, and spends her life campaigning for asbestos awareness and removal.

“I was honored to be on there with all of you and you are all winners in my eyes. I value your friendship, but how wonderful to raise so much awareness to asbestos and the diseases it has caused and carries on causing.

Mavis’ story begins in the 1950’s, aged 15, when she met an apprentice in the Royal Naval Dockyard in Chatham, Ray, who was to become her lifelong partner. During their meetings, he would have on his clothes the fine invisible dust of asbestos. No one at that time warned them that this would in later life become a major issue. It would resurface again 49 years later, in 2009, when Mavis became aware that her breathing was laboured, and she quickly became unable to breathe.

“I will strive to get the Mavis Nye Foundation raising donations to be able to finance research, as it is only through research that I’m still alive today.

After weeks of tests and Biopsies, she was given the news that she had Mesothelioma. It was explained that it was a Terminal Cancer, that there was no cure and no treatment available. The prognosis was a life expectancy of about three months. Mavis spent the following years on Chemotherapy and failed Drug trials.

It was early on during her treatment, that she decided something needed to be done. Today her work is internationally recognised, and she has normalised the conversation around Mesothelioma. Supported by many influential people, she is in demand for presentations to spread the word.

Asbestos is one of the largest causes of occupational death in the UK and Mavis has been the first person to galvanise all sides of the debate. From a standing start and with no formal training in the field, she has risen to be a touchstone for the victims across the globe.

On learning of her success, Mavis told SHP: “I can’t believe this, what a great ending to 2021. I never thought I stood a chance as the list held so many of my heroes.

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“I’m the longest living Mesothelioma Patient on Immunotherapy, as I have survived 13 years in 2022.

I have a mission to be the voice for all Mesowarriors past and present.

“I will continue in 2022 within the NHS as a patient rep, but also being an Asbestos activist and presenting my talks calling for every tradesman etc to keep safe and protect their lungs from any dust.

“We didnt realise in the 50’s and 60’s, but we have no excuse today and in the future. We know Asbestos and dust kills.”

SHP Most Influential is brought to you as part of the wider SHP Awards which, for 2021, is in collaboration with Shirley Parsons, HSEQ talent experts. It recognises those who are successfully creating sound health and safety cultures in their organisations, or the profession at large.

Previous winners include Hilda Palmer, in 2020, Karl Simons, in 2019, Louise Taggart, in 2018 and John Green, in 2017.

“Without doubt Mavis is pioneering for change and awareness, she is literally influencing the behaviour of people to save lives.”

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Summary of 10 key points made by Select Committee witnesses:

1

As the UK’s current policy of management in situ was not proving effective or safe, a new strategic plan for management of asbestos was required.

An accessible national asbestos register that allowed people to understand where asbestos was located in the UK was a vital part of this plan.

3

The UK has the most asbestos and highest levels of mesothelioma per person in the world and lags behind other European countries in its effective management of asbestos given how widespread asbestos is in the UK.

Asbestos is now killing increased numbers of people traditionally thought of as not at risk by age, occupation and gender. People who were not working directly with asbestos are now contracting and dying of mesothelioma in increasing numbers: women, teachers and nurses, people in their 20s, 30s and 40s.

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2 4

Management in situ is currently not sufficient nor working well enough to keep people safe.

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There are particular problems in the public estate. Over 75% of schools and hospitals and many public buildings were built containing large amounts of brown asbestos.

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Many public buildings are deteriorating since asbestos was put in 40 to 60 years ago. Schools and CLASP built schools were suggested as a particular high risk and should be a top priority as places where both children and teachers in particular, could be receiving unwitting long term asbestos exposures. Current levels of in-situ management in schools is not sufficient nor safe. Enagement in situ is currently not sufficient nor working well enough to keep people safe.

Environmental level measurement and monitoring of fibres required like other countries. UK air tests too insensitive while the UK’s current safe threshold was considered to be dangerous and misleading. France and Germany have thresholds 10 times lower while the Netherlands requires asbestos removal at a threshold 50 times lower than the UK. France and Germany are currently considering thresholds 50 to 100 times lower than the UK.

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Primary school teachers were said to face five-times the risk of contracting mesothelioma, with children considered to be at between five and nine times the risk of contracting mesothelioma of their teachers due to their youth and increased vulnerability from inhalation of asbestos fibres. Professor Julian Peto suggests 200 to 300 children per year die early from asbestos exposures at school. Almost 1,000 claims have been made against the NHS.

Nations like France and Netherlands have plans and rigorous policies for phased removal of asbestos (France by 2040) and the Netherlands has a publicly accessible database for asbestos in schools. Germany is currently debating whether to have a national asbestos database with the primary concerns around how to keep it up to date and how and who finances it.

The HSE in UK is under resourced for the scale of the asbestos risk – enforcement and inspection activity has reduced by 60% in recent years.

10

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MPs investigate excess asbestos deaths among teachers

T

he House of Commons Work and Pensions select committee commenced an inquiry into serious asbestos risks in UK schools and hospitals in November.

Asbestos-riddled schools have been blamed for the premature deaths of hundreds of teachers, with 305 confirmed to have died from mesothelioma in the period 2001 to 2016 and many more suspected.

According to statistics produced by the campaign group Airtight on Asbestos and thinktank ResPublica that have led calls for a parliamentary investigation, primary school teachers are five times more likely to die from asbestos-related diseases than the general population, while pupils are ten times more likely to be exposed than teachers [1].

Despite safe-removal programmes stretching back decades, asbestos remains the No. 1 occupational killer in the UK, resulting in over 10,000 recorded deaths each year. The mortality rate far exceeds that for road accidents (1,472 deaths in 2020) and fire (286 in 2019/20) [2].

Asbestos exposure cuts short the lives of 200 to 300 children every year The incidence of asbestos-related cancers among teachers and nurses shows that ‘secondary exposure’ in the workplace (i.e. among those not working directly with asbestos) needs urgent attention. In the period 2011-18, the professions of ‘primary school teacher', ‘teaching assistant’, ‘nurse’ and 'nursing

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auxiliary' accounted for some of the highest-ranked mesothelioma death rates out of a total of 368 female occupations (3rd, 4th, 18th and 19th respectively) [3]. These rankings are much higher than would be expected in the general female population.

Despite this, the level of resource committed to the control of asbestos in schools and hospitals falls dramatically short of the comparatively higher risk it presents to human life. The founder of Airtight on Asbestos, Charles Pickles, says this has to change: “We have one of the worst asbestos legacies in the world, and even today exposure to the substance cuts short the lives of 200-300 school children each year. Despite this, the government is in denial. Other countries have far better procedures for measuring and managing the handling asbestos in public buildings. It is time the UK caught up."

Risks greatest in outdated CLASP-type schools built in the 1950-60s The UK remains a storehouse of asbestos, retaining over six million tonnes of the material. The majority of this is spread over 1.5 million public buildings, many of which are schools and hospitals. Ninety-four per cent of UK hospitals [4] and 80% of schools [5] contain high levels of asbestos.

The problem is particularly acute in schools because of the prefabricated, CLASP-type construction method favoured by local authorities in the 1950s-60s. These schools pose an especially high risk of exposure to amosite – a more toxic

Charles-Pickles Charles Pickles worked for 20 years as an asbestos consultant and now is an independent asbestos campaigner and director of the ResPublica ‘Airtight on Asbestos’ campaign.

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and harmful form of asbestos that is more likely to become airborne.

Many of these schools are old and in need of replacement. CLASP schools were meant to last just 40 years, but 3,000 CLASP schools remain standing long past their intended use: some are nearly 70 years old.

The risk to health arises from everyday disturbances to the fabric of buildings, especially busy ones like schools and hospitals. Schools can present specific challenges due to the nature of their use. Teachers and boisterous pupils can easily disturb asbestos.

This releases microscopic, airborne fibres that irritate lung tissues causing scarring and chronic disease.

Long-term exposure can cause cancerous tumours, known as mesothelioma.

Failures of current management regime

HSE

monitoring

and

Responsibility for managing and removing asbestos rests with he Health and Safety Executive (HSE), an agency of the Department for Work and Pensions.

The HSE believes it is better to ‘manage' the remaining stock of asbestos in schools and hospitals, rather than remove it. It assigns responsibility for managing risk to a designated ‘Duty Holder’ in every school.

The problem, according to campaigners, is Duty Holders are ill-equipped to carry the serious responsibilities given to them. The HSE’s current approach assumes Duty Holders can identify asbestos accurately, know when it has been disturbed and act appropriately in response.

This is not happening, according to Philip Blond, whose think tank ResPublica has promoted Airtight on Asbestos’s campaign: "The current system for monitoring is woefully inadequate. Something as routine as a door slam can cause deadly particles to be released into the air. Allowing toxic materials to sit in the walls of public buildings as they decay and grow increasingly dangerous is a tragic indictment of the current system of containment and control. The shocking death rate amongst teachers and nurses underlines the need to act fast.”

Campaigners highlighted the deficiencies of the current system to MPs on the Work and Pensions Select Committee. They include the lack of provision for a safe environmental limit for asbestos, the absence of routine air monitoring in public buildings and insufficient training for Duty Holders.

Charles Pickles told MPs that a failure to monitor and manage the risks of exposure to asbestos threatens the lives of everyone who occupies affected buildings: “Some duty holders are either unaware of their responsibilities or unable to fulfil them. As a result,

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there is a lack of awareness about the presence and location of asbestos in public buildings. The issue is particularly bad in schools, where the knowledge and awareness of duty holders varies between schools that are privately owned, state funded, academy or local authority controlled.”

Airtight on Asbestos’s submission to the inquiry makes recommendations for reform, including: •Bringing UK standards for managing asbestos up to the highest international standards •Creating a central register of all asbestos currently in public buildings – including type, quantity and risk factor •Appropriate training and awareness-raising for Duty Holders and those working in premises containing asbestos •A requirement for the HSE to assure (rather than assume) that buildings are safe, through a requirement for periodic sensitive air monitoring using the latest technology.

UK lagging international counterparts The UK’s approach to managing asbestos lags behind the practice of other developed countries including the Netherlands, Belgium, France, Italy and Poland.

These countries have introduced more challenging standards including ‘National Asbestos Plans’ based on rigorous data collection and data sharing, enhanced testing, and targets for the phased removal of asbestos.

Following extensive campaigning in their countries, both the Dutch and French governments introduced rapid reforms, including the introduction of environmental air limits for asbestos; mandatory, periodic air monitoring using Transmission Electron Microscopy; and a targeted approach to asbestos removal based on close audit and measurement.

In contrast, records of asbestos in UK buildings are not collated or held centrally by the HSE in a way that enables prevalence to be analysed and monitored.

Campaigners insist that the HSE should update its Control of Asbestos Regulations 2012 (CAR12) to include the mandatory use of QR code signage and smartphone technology for the management and control of asbestos in buildings.

The HSE should also adopt the use of Transmission Electron Microscopy (TEM) for analysing asbestos in the air. TEM has a magnification 500 times greater than the Phase Contrast Microscopy (PCM) currently being used in the UK. Charles Pickles said: “Our regulatory standards need bringing up to the level of best international practice.

It is true that the HSE has experienced a drop in funding 45% and lost 500 front line inspectors over

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the past decade, but we still face a situation where the level of resource is completely out of kilter with the risk asbestos poses to human life. Our European counterparts have lower levels of historical asbestos and fewer mesothelioma deaths. QED.” Death rates for teachers and nurses up to 170 times higher than general population Prior to the ban on the use of asbestos 20 years ago, the risk of death fell heaviest on workers in heavy industries traditionally associated with handling the substance. Deaths from asbestos related diseases in these industries continue to rise due to the long latency period between exposure and diagnosis, but are expected to fall over the current decade as the population employed in these industries declines.

Now it is school and hospital based occupations that are most at risk. Teachers are five times more likely to contract mesothelioma, and nurses three times more likely, because of the locations in which they work [6].

And yet the HSE and the government do not support the view that teachers and nurses are at particular risk, based on the “expected” number of deaths in the general population. This is an error according to asbestos academic, Robin Howie.

Howie contests that the HSE’s use of the Proportional Mortality Ratio (PMR) as an index of relative risk is flawed and underestimates the risk to females who have not, historically, worked in occupations with high mesothelioma rates.

For the period 2001-18, mesothelioma accounted for about 0.03 per 1,000 of all causes of death, by all occupations. The observed rates over the period 2011-18 for both male and female teachers is about 170 times greater than this background rate; and about 120 and 90 times higher respectively for male and female nurses.

On this basis, teachers, nurses and their assistants are at much greater risk of developing mesothelioma than those in the general population, and the HSE’s estimation of risk among these groups is grossly incorrect. And if asbestos in schools is posing a particular and significant risk to staff, it is also doing the same to pupils.

The inquiry is expected to produce a report later in 2022.

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References: [1] Howie, R., 2018. ‘Mesothelioma deaths in teachers and nurses in Great Britain’, Environmental Health Scotland, 29 (4), pp.35-37. P. 36.

[2] National statistics. Reported road casualties Great Britain, provisional results: 2020. Published 24 June 2021 [3] Howie, R., 2018. ‘Mesothelioma deaths in teachers and nurses in Great Britain’, Environmental Health Scotland, 29 (4) [4] Burcke, T., 2018. Asbestos in Schools. London: Iskaboo Publishing. P. 17.

[5] British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC), 2018.

‘Nine out of 10 NHS trusts have asbestos in hospitals.’ [online]. Available at: www.bbc.co.uk/ news/uk-england-45561384.

[6] Howie, R., 2018. ‘Mesothelioma deaths in teachers and nurses in Great Britain’, Environmental Health Scotland, 29 (4), pp.35-37. P. 36.

Airtight on Asbestos is a UK-wide campaign to influence the HSE’s regime on asbestos management so that it more accurately reflects the risk to public health. It was set up in 2019 in conjunction with the ResPublica think tank. www.airtightonasbestos.uk E: asbestos@respublica.org.uk T: +44 (0) 203 857 8310

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J&L Recruitment was set up in 2014 by James Johnson. Spotting a gap for a valued recruitment service in the asbestos industry, we set out to provide businesses with personalised and effective asbestos labour recruitment solutions. From the beginning, James was joined by Kay Martin, and in a tiny office with a handful of clients we have worked tirelessly, investing as we go, to grow J&L Recruitment. Our team now operates globally and based from our offices in Ipswich, it’s no longer just a twosome.

We have recently been joined by Jamie Letch and due to the expansion of the business and the requirement for compliance, we have added Megan Baker to the ‘Purple and Green Machine’.

Based on market research and growth of the company we have developed Asbecruit. Asbecruit is a platform where companies can go to recruit and candidates can go to find jobs. This service has been designed to make industry J&L Recruitment recruiting more professional for your first order, and very cost-effective.

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Getting to know the IATP The IATP is an organisation that was created and incorporated in 2010 by a small, forward looking group of asbestos industry training providers with the goal of improving and setting standards, ensuring consistency of training delivery and most importantly to offer asbestos training providers an open and dynamic platform to raise issues, express and share views and seek advice from industry peers and specialists.

From the beginning, the IATP have been very active in promoting its members and gaining acceptance across various industry sectors.

We have a seat on the Asbestos Network, formerly the Asbestos Liaison Group (ALG), are recognised by the HSE as a training body and by some of the most influential and recognised construction, safety, environmental and health related organisation in the UK and beyond.

The board of Directors, along with Paul Beaumont, CEO of the IATP, have a clear and focused vision; they aim to make asbestos training the best it can be though collaboration, development and dedication.

Paul recently stated: “This industry [asbestos] has for many years been improving itself but more needs to be done. There are multiple organisations, trade associations, committees’ charities, unions, and groups who, in reality are looking for the same thing, and that is to make asbestos safe, either through compliant and controlled removal, clear asbestos management, training and through the promotion of asbestos awareness, we should be working together, not against each other. We all have the same goal, and that is to ensure peoples safety and prevent exposure to asbestos”, he goes on, in fact its hard to shut him up!, “surely, if we all have the same aims and goals, then together we are a louder voice who when we speak, will heard”.

(Image, left to right) Directors Wayne Williams, the late Chris Ward along with IATP auditor Sam Collins and Chris Gillead, having climbed Ben Nevis on one of our many charity events.

Our members, along with the IATP board of directors recognise and understand that even in the 21st century, asbestos remains an issue, not only to the trades, but also for duty holders, councils, charities. In schools, hospitals, across

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www.iatp.org.uk

wider industry, The IATP are committed to shouting about it and raising awareness of from the rooftops, providing they’re not asbestos cement of course, but also from the highest peaks in the land.

We support charities, host events, attend road shows and have a wide social media reach. Our members also stage their own events which, we promote these through our social media pages and partners.

IATP members benefit from group forums, discussion platforms, open meetings and above all, they can get help and assistance when and where needed. The IATP are also registered by CPD, our members can also benefit from being a registered with CITB as an ATO and are provided with monthly up-dates on further and future developments.

We are also in the final development stages and close to the release of a central certificate software system to formalise our members training certificates. Although this is not new within industry training, ours stands out as it is free at point of use for our members to create certificates, regardless of how many they need to produce. This system means that our members training certificates will not only be easily recognisable, but also verification of training is also simplified making it much easier for clients to see who was trained, to what level and when but also by which member.

As a member lead organisation, we discuss developments, hold open working group meetings to which all members are invited to attend. These are currently held via the Zoom platform, meaning that we cut the need for inconvenient and unnecessary travel which in turn helps our members achieve a greater commitment to their environmental policies.

At the end of the day, the IATP are a driven, conscientious and pro-active group of asbestos, health and safety and environmental specialists who strive for people to be safe, compliant and informed.

The cost of membership is £350 per year, we have a robust but fair independent assessment criteria and above all we’re here to help both current and new members.

For more information, contact us, whether it’s to become a member, or just for information, we always welcome your emails and calls. info@iatp.org.uk

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CASE STUDY

New owners for former Turner Brothers Asbestos site A site that was once home to the world’s largest asbestos manufacturer has been bought by Castleford-based ESG Trading Ltd.

The 72-acre former Turner Brothers Asbestos site has a long history of industrial use, including asbestos manufacture dating back to the 19th century.

The Spodden Valley has a bitter-sweet resonance for those who know the area. Situated on the urban fringe of Rochdale, the former asbestos factory site borders the picturesque woodland of the Healey Dell Nature Reserve and the dramatic landscapes of the West Pennine Moors.

The factory processed asbestos from the 1870s until the mid-1990s before going into administration in 2001.

The former Turner Brothers Asbestos (TBA) factory, once over 100 acres in size, employed many generations of workers. In-house company magazines printed stories of workers enjoying happy social events in the many clubs and societies organised within the factory. Unfortunately, there was a sinister side to the site because of the material that was processed – asbestos.

Company documents suggest that many of the dangers to health from the ‘magic mineral’ were not disclosed to shop floor workers and local residents.

With the legacy of the site having such an impact on people’s lives, hundreds of local residents concerned about asbestos contamination and damage to wildlife habitat formed the vocal Save Spodden Valley campaign in 2004.

crocidolite and chrysotile were present in the samples tested.

The area was ‘turfed’ over but in the years since, the Save Spodden Valley campaign and national charities have expressed concern about the growing danger of asbestos exposure and damage to the crumbling retaining walls beside the riverbank.

These fears were realised in late 2018 when the banking collapsed.

Soil tests on the TBA site in 2013 confirmed asbestos contamination in most of the test holes dug and United Utilities asbestos air testing detected elevated levels of asbestos fibres in the air.

A geophysical ground survey was carried out between November 2016 and March 2017, with the findings still yet to be published. Despite the landowner’s representatives stating they intend to share the report with the council, the council has not been provided with the report nor a timeframe.

A £26,000 council-commissioned air survey in October 2017 identified the discovery of a single asbestos fibre containing amphibole (‘brown’ or ‘blue’ asbestos) from a sample taken at Harridge Avenue.

ESG Trading Limited is a specialist remediation company, with in-house experts who are experienced at decontaminating and remediating complex brownfield sites.

Speaking after the purchase of the site, Martin Greenwood, chairman of ESG Trading, said: “The former Turner Brothers Asbestos site provides a potential opportunity to contribute to the future

For over 15 years Save Spodden Valley has been campaigning for open and accountable scrutiny of the history and legacy of the former asbestos site to ensure a permanent and safe solution for the people of Rochdale.

In 2005, it was confirmed that asbestos factory waste was exposed on the site beside the river Spodden.

Tests were conducted that confirmed that all types of commercially produced asbestos – amosite,

asbestos hub magazine | 20

The former Turner Brothers Asbestos factory in Spodden Valley - Photo by: Carl Faulkner

growth of Rochdale. But this can only be realised by a careful, considered and safe strategy to decontaminate, demolish and remediate the land.

“I am very aware of the sensitivities that have surrounded previous attempts to regenerate the site and my team are in ongoing discussions with Rochdale Council, the Environment Agency and the Health & Safety Executive, to develop a remediation strategy that exceeds statutory requirements.

“Over the coming weeks survey work will begin and residents may notice increased activity across the site. This vital survey work will inform the remediation strategy and has been agreed with regulators.

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“No remediation work will begin without all relevant approvals being in place.

“My team are also aware of the level of interest from the local community about the site. Whilst we do not have all of the answers at the moment, we look forward to introducing ourselves to local residents over the coming weeks and will take an open and transparent approach to information sharing.”

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Campaigners, local residents and members of Rochdale Borough Council have responded to the news that the former Turner Brothers Asbestos site has been bought by a UK company.

The factory, once the world’s largest asbestos manufacturer, processed asbestos from the 1870s until the mid-1990s, employing many generations of workers before going into administration in 2001.

In 2004, it was sold to a Jersey-based company.

According to Land Registry files, ownership was later transferred to another offshore company, Renshaw Properties, based in the British Virgin Islands (BVI), a tax haven.

The site has now been bought by specialist company ESG Trading, which decontaminates and remediates complex brownfield sites.

Survey work and increased activity at the former TBA site is expected over the coming weeks, ESG says.

The former Turner Brothers Asbestos factory in Spodden Valley Local residents and campaigners have reiterated the importance of addressing the site’s “toxic legacy” whilst councillors say public safety will be the local authority’s “top priority.”

Jason Addy, archivist of the Spodden Valley Trust educational and research body, said: “Many people in Rochdale and beyond will take great interest in this news given the questionable activity that has occurred on this site for far too long.

asbestos hub magazine | 21

“The message is clear: this site and the people of Rochdale must be treated with the upmost respect.

There is a toxic legacy from asbestos and the corporate decisions made that must be addressed. Whilst not familiar with ESG Trading Group, their personnel or professed expertise, local people may judge them by their actions rather than words in the months and years to come.

“That said, a promise that any remediation strategy that ‘exceeds statutory requirements’ sounds promising.

The devil will be in the detail, especially as the PR copy already presumes this site to be an ‘opportunity to contribute to the future growth of Rochdale’.

“A Land Registry search as of Tuesday 9 November still has the Registered Title holders to be Renshaw Properties Ltd, registered in the offshore tax havens of the British Virgin Islands and Jersey.

Previous Land Registry documents cite the purchase price paid on 2 March 2004 was £6.25 million A number of local residents, including Green Party campaigner Mick Coats, have previously called for the site to be turned into a country park.

But ESG’s reference to contributing to ‘future growth’ in the borough, suggests this is not in the firm’s plans.

Mr Coats said it remains his – and Rochdale Green Party’s – preferred option.

“It is because the cost of remediation we think would be totally prohibitive to anybody doing anything on it.

“But, again, we need more information. We are not saying we want this, that and the other but our preferred option has been the country park because that would benefit more residents and, secondly, we really don’t believe you could remediate it – you would have to spend millions.”

Mr Coats also called on the council to play its part in making sure residents are kept informed of any plans for the site.

“We are trying to be reasonable but when things come out of the blue like this it doesn’t give you confidence,” he said.

“There are a lot of questions and if they want to take people with them, they need to involve people, consult people and ask their views “We need more information and we need to be consulted – we live here.”

Councillor John Blundell, cabinet member for economy, has moved to reassure people that public safety will be the local authority’s top priority.

He said: “This site is not in the council’s land supply, the reason being it had a factory on it that made asbestos and has damaged the health of, and killed, lots of people in Rochdale.

“The council takes very seriously what goes on that site as the planning authority.

“What happens to the site, there are lots of different opinions on that. But ultimately it needs to be driven by people that know what they are talking about remediating asbestos.

Councillor Blundell said that any planning application would be subject to the usual planning policies and procedures – including consultation – and that the authority would go ‘above and beyond’ when it comes to engaging with the public. He added: “The council will act in a manner that means whatever happens the safety of the public will be the first priority.”

There have already been pleas for the new owners to be ‘responsible, open and transparent in their planning and actions’ from Norden councillor Peter Winkler.

However, posting on his Facebook page, the Conservative said the ‘signs were good’, given the firm’s commitment ‘to engage with the council, the environment agency and the public via local forums’.

A spokesman for the council said they hope that the

And before anything is done on the site – whether it’s a country park or land for housing – the site must be safe new owners “will take action to make the site safe” after spending “many years trying to find a safe and sustainable long-term solution for it.”

Inside the TBA factory

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The Turner and Newall business was acquired

by Federal-Mogul in 1998, before it went into administration in 2001.

The site was then sold to MMC Estates, who submitted plans in December 2004 to build over 600 homes and a children’s nursery. The application summary claimed – despite visible asbestos hanging like cobwebs in the valley – ‘… of particular note is the absence of any asbestos contamination.’

The following year, consultants Atkins Global was given the task of reporting on the environmental and site assessments that accompanied Rochdale Borough Council's controversial planning application.

These plans were scrapped in 2010 after a determined community effort.

WBW Solicitors Prima Exposed asbestos in the Spodden Valley

Renshaw, the previous owners, carried out a geophysical land survey over five months in 2016 and 2017, but the findings were never published, despite confirming they had received the survey report and a prior promise to share the report with Rochdale Borough Council.

A £26,000 councilcommissioned air survey in October 2017 identified the discovery of only one asbestos fibre from a sample taken at Harridge Avenue. Yet soil tests on the site in 2013 confirmed asbestos contamination in most of the test holes dug and United Utilities asbestos air testing detected elevated levels of asbestos fibres in the air. Asbestos was also discovered in exposed tree roots within 10 metres of a footpath, cycle path and bridleway, with the nearest houses less than 250 metres away.

Hundreds of residents worried about asbestos contamination and damage to wildlife habitat formed the Save Spodden Valley campaign in 2004.

Save Spodden Valley has since campaigned for “open and accountable” scrutiny of the site to ensure a “permanent and safe” solution.

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COE Liz Darlison MBE

Mesothelioma UK Chief Executive gives testimony to House of Commons Select Committee On 17 November 2021 the Work and Pensions’ Committee began taking evidence for its investigation into whether the Health and Safety Executive’s asbestos policy is fit for purpose.

Expert witnesses were invited to give evidence including Mesothelioma UK Chief Executive, Liz Darlison. Joining Liz on the panel were representatives from various organisations including the Airtight on Asbestos Campaign, the Joint Union Asbestos Committee, and the Asbestos Victims Support Groups’ Forum UK.

During her impassioned and powerful testimony, Liz expressed the death toll due to asbestos exposure in terms of the number of people who drowned (1500+) on the ill-fated ocean liner, Titanic: “The total loss of life is equal to the sinking of more than three Titanics every year.”

Liz went on to say: “Some of those aboard the Titanic survived the voyage; sadly this isn’t possible for someone with mesothelioma. Treatments provide hope, but the Government needs to commit to ring fenced mesothelioma research monies and a national plan to remove asbestos to prevent exposure.”

The evidence given to the committee illustrates how asbestos is still the UK's number one occupational killer and the rising concern about how the demographic and occupation of those dying is changing. Teachers, healthcare workers, members of the armed forces, and younger people who have never had direct contact with asbestos are all at risk of contracting an asbestos-related disease.

Liz gave real life examples of people in their 30s and 40s who worked in healthcare who had been diagnosed with mesothelioma and stated that the situation with mesothelioma in the UK is ‘shameful’ as it is entirely avoidable.

asbestos hub magazine | 24

COE Liz Darlison MBE The panel members were in agreement that the UK needs to implement a phased removal of asbestos, which is what countries such as the Netherlands and France are doing, and made this clear recommendation to the committee.

The full evidence session can be watched at https:// parliamentlive.tv/Event/Index/b93a9a0e-333d-43a2a2c3-bdb5a3a19c14

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TONY RICH

Capturing asbestos from all angles

Tony Rich

Tony Rich has literally served “in the trenches” as an industrial hygienist and asbestos professional in the consulting field for the past 28 years, specializing in asbestos-related work, including: inspection surveys, abatement monitoring/sample analysis, regulatory compliance matters, multiple levels of asbestos training, microscopy training from McCrone Research Institute for identification of bulk asbestos via polarized-light microscopy (PLM), etc.

From homes to high-rises, and practically every place in between, Tony’s cumulative on-going work as an asbestos professional has led to a comprehensive accumulation of asbestos-related resources used extensively worldwide for increasing awareness and knowledge regarding asbestos health and safety issues.

From creating visual training aides which include displaying a database of thousands of asbestosrelated photos or making sealed displays that safely show samples of asbestos minerals and materials, to carrying-out large-scale asbestos conference exhibits, Tony’s continuing dedication toward offering authentic, high-quality asbestos awareness resources is recognized globally as an impressive and invaluable learning resource.

Through the course of his occupation, photography, and personal endeavor as documentarian, Tony has developed an ever-growing and compelling

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collection of over 25,000+ asbestosrelated photographs, product materials, artifacts, historical books, industry documents, film archives, manufacturer manuals, and other related media which have been utilized in a wide array of applications for a variety organizations worldwide, including, but not limited to: product and material research, asbestos awareness education blogs, informational presentations, corporate and governmental training programs, regulatory guidance documents, science and trade publications, university textbooks, museum displays, conference exhibits, and even as legal evidence.

In recent years, Tony has volunteered as conference photographer, exhibitor, presenter, and Prevention Advisory Board member for the Asbestos Disease Awareness Organization (ADAO) U.S. nonprofit, whose “Asbestos: See For Yourself” photographic campaign has met with acclaimed success. Similarly, Tony was recently invited as a presenter, and provide an asbestos gallery exhibit for consecutive years at the popular European Asbestos Forum (EAF) held annually in Amsterdam, Netherlands.

Many of Tony’s growing collection of copyright-protected asbestos-related photographs and images can be previewed at Asbestorama.com and may be available via legal licensing.

Perhaps not the most glamorous of jobs, but asbestos abatement/ removal is an important and often challenging occupation that is crucial toward achieving overall public health and safety protection from the seemingly ubiquitous toxic threat of asbestos.

Damage to asbestos magnesia steam pipe insulation (lagging) with subsequent friable dust and debris; caused by pipe system vibration (expansion/contraction) and abrasion against adjacent threaded support hanger. Such conditions have created a serious exposure hazard risk to building occupants, requiring urgent abatement response action by properly trained and licensed asbestos professionals.

Titled, "Asbestus Mons" - one of many mountains of asbestos mining waste (ore tailings) that litter the landscape in the Eastern Townships mining region of Quebec, Canada.

asbestos hub magazine | 27

Detail image depicting crocidolite (blue) and chrysotile (white) asbestos fiber bundles protruding from a fractured edge of an asbestos-cement pipe.

A view overlooking a portion of the abandoned asbestos mine site located in northern Vermont, US, showing older mill structures (right), "modern" mill building (left), and mountain containing millions of tons of toxic asbestos ore waste tailings.

asbestos hub magazine | 28

View of partially removed asbestos sheet flooring showing a grey felt, paper-like backing still attached to wooden sub-floor in a residential setting. In this instance, a homeowner attempted removal during kitchen renovation using a sharp-edged scraper, resulting in significantly damaged, friable asbestos debris.

Many do-it-yourself (DIY) residential renovation projects that involve removal of vintage flooring materials could possibly encounter such a scenario. Resilient sheet flooring or rolled flooring is also often referred to as "linoleum". If planning a home remodel, it is best recommended practice to have building materials properly surveyed by an experienced, licensed asbestos inspector/ surveyor before disturbing the materials.

Asbestos-containing material (ACM) should be properly removed and disposed by a trained and licensed asbestos abatement contractor.

Sealed, labeled glass jar container of laboratory-grade amphibole asbestos (likely anthophyllite); originally found during an asbestos building survey in a former lab area.

Closeup of asphaltic floor tile with asbestos fibers protruding along fractured edge.

asbestos hub magazine | 29

Shown is an example of microscopic asbestos fibers (bundles) and other ambient particles under 400x magnification using Phase-Contrast Microscopy (PCM) optical illumination method. Also depicted is a standardized Walton-Beckett graticule with incremental graduated x-y axes measured in micrometer units (microns); diameter is approx. 100-µm across. Encircling the graticule area are measured scale markers in 3:1 length-to-width aspect ratio for visual reference. The green color is due to a green-tinted light interference filter.

Among other scientific applications, PCM is a fairly common, standard analytical method utilized when testing air quality samples for airborne fiber concentrations pertaining to asbestos-related work, such as projects related to: abatement/removal, repair, clean-up, worker exposure, ambient background, work area "clearance", etc.

Detail view of amosite asbestos fiber bundles protruding from a broken edge of a ceiling panel section; the remaining fibrous matrix in this example is composed of a non-asbestos artificial fiber material ("mineral wool").

asbestos hub magazine | 30

Vintage consumer product in original packaging labeled as, “Carosel Dish Towels”; an included pamphlet indicates, “With 20% Asbestos”.

Research from the product’s US Patent indicates chrysotile asbestos was added to the fabric blend to dry dishes faster, reportedly due to increased water absorption of the hydrophilic chrysotile asbestos. Additionally, the Patent information indicates that the chrysotile asbestos would also act as an abradant to polish fine china and silverware.

An example of chrysotile asbestos ore speciment, originating from Quebec, Canada; an asbestiform variety of the mineral serpentine, showing natural fibrous habit and greenish colouration.

Very feathery crocidolite asbestos ore specimen originating from Bolivia, shown in its natural fibrous form; a light blue flexible type of crocidolite asbestos, an asbestiform variety of the amphibole mineral riebeckite.

asbestos hub magazine | 31

Close-up detail of a vintage 1952 Kent Micronite filter cigarette, showing the mouthpiece end with fibrous tufts of tiny crocidolite fibers (blue asbestos) interspersed within crimped crepe-paper filter media; shown as it appeared directly from an authentic pack.

Significant localized damage to floor-level asbestos magnesia pipe insulation (lagging) creating an exposure hazard risk to building occupants, requiring urgent abatement response action by properly trained and licensed asbestos professionals.

Closeup detail of asbestos fiber bundles shown protruding from unused compressed gasket material. Typically considered a "non-friable" (or “bonded”) material, compressed asbestos gaskets often appear to show evidence of exposed asbestos surface-fibers upon closer examination, especially if the material was in former service. Could asbestos dust be released from simple handling of such fibrous material?

asbestos hub magazine | 32

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Asbestos Pipe Insulation

The importance of asbestos training Despite clear guidance from The Health & Safety Executive (HSE), thousands of employers are still neglecting their responsibilities by not insisting on essential asbestos training for their workforce.

Regardless of the size of a company, there is a legal requirement to prevent exposing employees and the public to asbestos by ensuring it is identified on site prior to commencing work.

A lack of knowledge and training means the HSE continue to investigate a substantial number of cases each year in the UK which lead to prosecution, due to breaching Regulation 5 of the Control of Asbestos Regulations 2012 Employers are required to assess training needs for their staff, ensuring the correct level is delivered.

Asbestos awareness training is required to be given to employees whose work could foreseeably expose them to asbestos. In particularly, it should be given to all demolition workers and those workers in the refurbishment, maintenance and allied trades where their work will disturb the fabric of the building and ACMs may become exposed.

asbestos hub magazine | 34

Asbestos awareness training is not training to work with any forms of asbestos. A higher level of training is required for those that wish to intentionally work with the material.

Duty to manage asbestos training is for those responsible for the maintenance of non-domestic premises. It provides information on the requirement for the location of where asbestos is present in a building and what condition it is in. This would normally include, but is not limited to duty holder’s assistants, appointed persons assistants, building owners, landlords, sub-lessors, managing agents etc. and any person assisting duty holders in the compliance with CAR 2012 Regulation 4.

There are over a million construction workers in the UK, including those working on construction of new buildings and repairs or alterations to existing

properties which may predate 2000.

The importation, supply and use of all asbestos has been banned in the UK since 1999, meaning properties built or refurbished prior, may contain asbestos containing materials.

The number of construction workers doesn’t reflect the industry figures for asbestos training courses delivered.

Asbestos training delivery took a dramatic dip throughout 2020/2021 during the Covid 19 pandemic, yet asbestos related health issues remain.

“The latency period of asbestos, coupled with a substantial drop in training numbers, could mean that the UK will be facing a greater number of deaths from asbestos over the next 15 – 60 years. To reduce this risk, it is important that delivery of asbestos training returns to pre-Covid levels.” said Chief Operating Officer, Craig Evans.

Deaths from asbestos exposure are at their peak after widespread use between 1950s and 70s. Since 2018, there have been more than 5,000 deaths annually in the UK from asbestos-related cancers – making it the largest single industrial killer ever seen in the UK.

Paper lined fibreboard

Established in 2008, UKATA is a highly respected, leading authority on asbestos training. Our passion is to both maintain and improve asbestos training, ensuring the highest standards are upheld by means of continually monitoring UKATA training provided by our members.

UKATA continuously works within current legislation as a minimum, whilst collaborating with industry partners to ensure that the UK has the highest standards of asbestos safety.

UKATA freely shares knowledge and information both on our website and across social media, demonstrating that education remains our top priority.

To find a UKATA approved asbestos training provider near you, visit www.ukata. org.uk or for free advice call our team on 01246 824 437.

asbestos hub magazine | 35

Setting boundaries: The importance of boundary monitoring in construction Establishing any new construction project is a careful logistical balancing act, with many aspects for project managers to consider; from site safety to environmental responsibility. Establishing site boundaries, drawing up necessary documentation, ordering materials, creating traffic plans, workflows and conducting risk assessments – a lot of thought and planning goes into even relatively small footprint construction projects.

Unfortunately, aspects of site start up can become overlooked, the balance between ‘short term gain and long term pain’ prioritising actions that will get the site functioning and have contractors doing what they do best - building. One aspect that may be overlooked, and thus lead to potential ‘long term pain’ for the project, is establishing a system of effective site boundary monitoring.

and guidance on measuring noise and dust from construction and demolition activities. Site monitoring must be recorded and reported on, and action taken if limits are exceeded – sites must be able to evidence compliance and maintain their reputations, and local communities must be considered.

In an ideal world, projects would occur in a ‘bubble’ that excess levels of dust, noise or vibrations could not escape. Site neighbours would be unaffected, governing authorities would have no reason to visit the site and the site’s social responsibility would be unaffected.

Unfortunately, this is not an ideal world.

There is a civic and legal responsibility to measure site emissions, backed by legislation and governing authorities. In the UK, sites will need to comply with their section 61 notices and there are codes of practice

asbestos hub magazine | 36

While establishing a method for measuring site emissions may seem initially daunting, either due to a lack of clarity in which legal guidelines sites will have to follow to remain compliant or the research and paperwork involved in establishing a monitoring program, once an effective process

is in place the same plan can be implemented for each and every new site or project.

There are two main methods for conducting monitoring – employing a third party consultant to establish a program, or use site boundary monitoring equipment. The first can add considerable expense to a project budget depending on the type and duration of works. The first can cost up to £650 per day for a consultancy. The second can cost considerably less, either by hiring the equipment, or purchasing outright as an investment in future projects.

When making investments in monitoring technology, a choice can be made between employing individual units to monitor separate potential hazards, or selecting a combined monitoring solution. Financial and efficiency savings can be made by using a combined solution that packages several environmental monitors together, such as the Casella Guardian2 site boundary monitor, which brings together various combinations of dust noise, particulate and vibration monitoring equipment in a single enclosure. By employing a combined monitoring solutions, safety managers only need to check a single unit or combined data report, a more efficient method than checking multiple monitors and data sources.

Basewell-G2-on-Site

Once powered, such low intervention units can be left to enact monitoring 24/7, without the need for physical interaction. Reports can be sent remotely via email and when limits have been exceeded alerts can be sent instantly via text, allowing sites to monitor levels around the clock and react quickly to reduce levels of dust or noise that exceed set limits and mitigate potential negative outcomes. Such remote monitoring is more important now than ever before as we see work pressing forward in a ‘post-Covid-19’ environment.

Combined monitoring solutions offer operators a great deal of flexibility, as they can be easily relocated as site boundaries change or redeployed to new projects. Having a constant source of monitoring data gives projects a safety net in terms of accountability.

Data is always on hand to prove that sites have been compliant, vital when dealing with potential complaints from site neighbours or spot-visits from environmental officers. In the event of emissions exceeding prescribed limits, operators can use alerts and reporting to assess the cause and mitigate the effects, changing workflows, equipment usage and engaging proactively with the community and legislative bodies to outline plans to reduce or prevent limits from being exceeded again.

While site boundary monitoring is not among the first considerations taken when establishing a new construction project, it is a vitally important part of the site safety ecosystem. Delivering peace of mind through constant monitoring and accountability with accurate, accessible data capture, though they might not be a project manager’s first thought, they should certainly never be an afterthought.

asbestos hub magazine | 37

CASELLA

The dos and dont's of asbestos monitoring

The inhalation of airborne asbestos fibres in the home or workplace can cause a variety of occupational diseases, which may ultimately lead to premature death. It strength and shape (or aspect ratio) of the fibres which means they tend to remain in the lungs for a long period of time that leads to respiratory diseases. The shape of the fibres does, however, make them distinguishable to the trained eye for counting during analysis.

Exposure can come from asbestos mining activity which, despite the known health risks, is prevalent in a small number of countries, or when asbestos-containing materials are disturbed e.g., during building maintenance, refurbishments, or demolition. Trades that are likely to disturb asbestos-containing materials include: • Electricians, joiners, plumbers, gas fitters, shop fitters, heating, and ventilation engineers • Labourers, roofers, plasterers, demolition workers and other workers in construction • Phone and data engineers, alarm installers • Surveyors, general maintenance engineers, painters, and decorators • Shipyard workers, vehicle technicians Where asbestos is known to be present, it is a legal requirement for licenced contractors to undertake the removal following strict regulations and guidance which exist to limit the potential release of invisible, airborne fibres, such is the extremely hazardous nature of this naturally occurring mineral, once ironically hailed a ‘wonder material’.

The guidance, depending on national practice, typically includes personal air sampling and/or a static (also known as area) air sampling, to ensure that there is no exposure during remediation work or that there is effective cleaning and clearance of a removal site. The so-called four stage clearance process, follows asbestos removal and involves:Stage 1 Preliminary check of site condition and job completeness Stage 2 A thorough visual inspection inside the enclosure/work area Stage 3 Air monitoring Stage 4 Final assessment post-enclosure/work area dismantling Stage 3 typically uses a static pump which has a much higher flow rate capacity than its smaller, personal counterpart. This type of test is to check that the airborne fibre levels in the asbestos work area are below the clearance level indicator, the limit of quantification in the UK of 0.01 fibres/cm3, prior to removal of the asbestos work enclosure and reoccupation of the area. Sampling may also be

asbestos hub magazine | 38

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done prior to work being undertaken to establish a background level and during work on or near asbestos to confirm there is no leakage from the enclosure often called ‘reassurance’ sampling.

The use of asbestos dates back at least 4,500 years.

Evidence found near Lake Juojärvi in Finland, shows that people used it to make pots and other cooking utensils. In Greece, from around 300 BC there was a reference to a material that is thought to be asbestos, the name derived from the ancient Greek word meaning “unquenchable” or “inextinguishable”.

Several hundred years later, ancient Roman scholar, Pliny the Younger (61-112 AD) wrote that slaves who mined and worked with asbestos became ill, though it would be nearly 2,000 years before scientists discovered the cause of this mysterious illness.

Once hailed as a ‘wonder material’, asbestos use was widespread as a building material because it was strong, cheap and, often only now thought of as a hazard in the construction industry, used for just about everything in the early 20th Century home, including hairdryers, toys, oven gloves, even clothing! Its excellent electrical insulating and heat resistant properties made it suitable for many diverse applications.

However, as far back as 1918, the U.S. Bureau of Labor released a report that revealed abnormally high risk of early death among asbestos workers and later, during the 1960s, further evidence emerged indicating that asbestos fibres posed a dangerous medical risk. Today, mention the word asbestos and it is probably safe to say that most people would know that it presents a danger to human health.

Follow the Guidance A clean site will eliminate future asbestos exposures and consequential risk to the health of occupants or workers. However, an HSE UK report [¹] found that were sampling deficiencies and in summary it said that “previous inspection studies and anecdotal evidence from UKAS [²] have indicated that independently audited four stage clearance (4SC) procedures produce more clearance failures compared with unchecked activities. Concerns have also been expressed about several other 4SC matters including: the extent of additional cleaning by analysts before a clearance pass, discrepancies in sampling and analysis procedures and personal protective clothing. There has also been concern over the quality of personal sampling carried out for licenced contractors.”

So, what are the sampling requirements? Generally, sampling involves drawing a known flow of air through a filter for a measured time (or volume) so that any airborne fibres are collected. The filter is then prepared for microscopical examination at an approved laboratory. The calculated total number of fibres collected on the filter is divided by the volume of air sampled to determine the fiber concentration.

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Sampling requirements may differ depending upon the type of microscopical analysis employed but typically uses a 25mm MCE gridded filter, housed in a conductive cowl especially designed for asbestos sampling. In the UK, the detailed requirements are laid down in guidance document HSG 248 [³]; an up-issue has been in draft since 2015 and is expected to be released during 2021. Both HSG 248 and US method 7400 [⁴] uses phase contrast microscopy (PCM). PCM is a technique that converts phase shifts in the light passing through a transparent specimen to brightness changes in the image. Phase shifts themselves are invisible but become visible when shown as brightness variations. It facilitated the counting of all the fibers seen greater than 5µm and less than 3µm wide with a length to width (aspect ratio) of greater than 3:1 in a known number of graticule areas.

US method 7402 [⁵] uses transmission electron microscopy (TEM). This technique uses a beam of electrons transmitted through a specimen to form an image formed from the interaction of the electrons with the sample as the beam is transmitted through the specimen. The image is then magnified and focused onto an imaging device, such as a fluorescent screen, a layer of photographic film, or a sensor such as a scintillator attached to a charge-coupled device.

Summary of Dos and Don’ts Because of the hazardous nature of asbestos, there is extensive guidance on the removal, inspection, and air sampling but as the HSE pointed out, there is still a margin for errors.

- Use the correct method i.e., personal and/or static sampling. If in doubt check local guidance e.g., in the UK, those from the Asbestos Removal Contractors Association (ARCA) [⁶].

- Follow best practice with respect to your own exposure safety and use ‘remote control’ methods where available e.g., Bluetooth & phone app.

- Don’t use the results of a static test to determine an occupational/workplace exposure limit (OEL/WEL).

Personal sampling should be used and for at least 1 hour.

- Ensure that equipment meets the relevant standard(s) and has the required flow-range capability e.g., up to 16 L/min - Read the manufacturer’s handbook before using the equipment to ensure correct use and in order to get the most from its features.

- Ensure equipment has been maintained in accordance with the manufacturer’s instructions and don’t exceed the service life (modern instruments will have an indicator) - Check that the sampling pump has been fully charged if mains power is not available.

- Position the sampling head at circa 1.6 m above the floor.

- Set the required flow rate, typically 12 L/min.

- Calibrate the flow before use, using a suitable gauge or flowmeter.

- Run for the full time and collect the required volume.

Modern pumps have the ability to do timed or volume runs.

- Handle the sample with care using tweezers and transport it in a suitable container or if using a preloaded cassette, replace the cover and don’t forget to ship the required number of blank samples.

-Decontaminate equipment after use and select an air sampling pump that has a good Ingress Protection (IP) rating so it can be decontaminated easily.

The items mentioned above are a finite list and there are lots of other considerations, and there is lots of further reading and training available to get to a required level of competence. If unsure consult with a reputable association in your local country.

References 1.

Report on the Asbestos Analyst Inspection Programme 2015, HSE, November 2018 2.

UKAS, the National Accreditation Body for the United Kingdom www.UKAS.com 3.

HSG 248 Asbestos: the analysts’ guide for sampling, analysis and clearance procedures, HSE 2005 4.

NIOSH Manual of Analytical Methods. Method 7400 Asbestos and other fibers by PCM 5.

NIOSH Manual of Analytical Methods. Method 7402 Asbestos by TEM 6.

Guidance on Monitoring of Airborne Asbestos Fibre (GN001-V1015), ARCA, 2015.

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ASBESTOS SPOTLIGHT

Have I Got News For You... Asbestos Hub's TV Mention Earlier this month our sister publication ‘Demolition Hub’ made the long running BBC comedy programme “Have I Got News For You” where five hilarious pull quotes from the magazine and this very publisher were used.

Clive Myrie

Now we partly mention this with a touch of jealousy hoping that HatTrick Productions and the BBC will discover this niche asbestos industry magazine, partly as a congratulatory nod to the team that work on both magazines and mainly because we got a mention on the topical, satirical TV Show itself.

You can watch the whole episode now on the iPlayer 3 December 2021, with host Clive Myrie.

Camilla Long

Ian Hislop

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SPOTLIGHT

Liugong Direct sponsors British Demolition Awards 2022

LiuGong Direct UK has agreed to be the principal sponsor of the fourth annual British Demolition Awards, powered by Demolition Hub magazine.

The awards, to be held at Leicester City’s King Power Stadium on 2 September 2022, champion all things British demolition.

Event organiser, Ben Chambers said: “My team and I are delighted to have such a huge name as our lead sponsor. Having had a year of being invited out and about with demolition contractors, there is one name that I see more and more, and that is LiuGong.

“My last couple of visits to Cawarden and Metro Deconstruction are testament to the fact that the company is making a huge mark in the UK demolition sector, so what better brand to have as official event sponsor than LiuGong, with its range of specialist demolition excavators.”

The 2021 British Demolition Awards, held in September at Brighton and Hove Albion’s American Express Community Stadium and the last to be sponsored by McCloskey Equipment, was a huge success. Ben Chambers said: “I thank Noel and his team at McCloskey massively. Their investment since 2018 has allowed these awards to happen. I will be forever thankful to McCloskey for their support over the years and I really look forward to sharing a drink with Noel and the team in Leicester.”

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Steven Ford, Managing Director of LiuGong Direct UK said: “2022 will see Liugong moving up a gear throughout Europe in an effort to gain further brand recognition. Liugong UK has always focused on demolition as one of its core segment groups and this will continue in 2022. We recognise Demolition Hub as a strong supporter of the demolition sector and therefore we are delighted to be given the opportunity to sponsor the 2022 British Demolition Awards being hosted by them.”

The 2022 event will cater for up to 600 guests from the demolition, construction and asbestos sectors, with a late licence at the King Power Stadium until 2am.

Well over £6,000 was raised for the mental health charity Mates in Mind at the 2021 awards, and the organisation will once again be the designated partner in 2022.

For attendance or any other enquiries, please contact the British Demolition Awards team via: awards@ chambers.media.

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ARCA

Revised Analysts' Guide will have impact on asbestos removal work

The revised guidance contained within the second edition of HSG 248 ‘Asbestos: The Analysts Guide’ (amended July 2021), which is due to be implemented from the 1st of February 2022, will have an impact on the way analysts and licensed asbestos removal contractors (LARCs) cooperate to plan and complete licensed asbestos removal work. LARCS should take note of the likely implications. Consultancies may start to implement this guidance from the 1st Of December, and as such you may start seeing; more failures (because of the reasons given below); additional audits; additional personnel turning up midway through a clearance to review stage 2, either during or at the start of stage 3. Should there be issues identified then works will stop until those issues have been dealt with. This may include additional cleaning and re-starting of the 4 Stage Clearance process.

LARCS should be aware that the HSE / UKAS have issued the following instructions: Analysts will formally fail* a CfR (Certificate for Reoccupation) if there is no handover form available at the commencement of the CfR process.

Analysts will formally fail* a CfR if there is more than 10 minutes of additional cleaning required to bring the area to the required standard to pass stage 2 of the CfR; this is irrespective of the size of the area.

Analysts are expressly forbidden from carrying out any cleaning, however minor.

The CfR requires more information to be recorded than previously. It also requires extensive photographic evidence to be included within the CfR, all of which will take additional time.

The biggest impact will probably be on “one day jobs”. Although the contractor may be ready for the CfR to commence at some point during the day, if there are any issues during the CfR which require additional work, then there will be little time available to complete the additional work and the CfR on the same day.

ATaC are advising that LARCS to speak to their clients (predominantly housing associations) to allow these types of jobs to be carried out over 2 days in future.

There is a requirement for increased quality assurance checks of CfR stage two visual inspections.

This will mean there will be more internal auditing carried out by laboratories of their analysts on site, and potentially more time will be required to do the clearance because of this.

LARCs should also be aware that that the requirements for planning and scoping of a CfR have also changed considerably. Planning the 4SC is seen as an integral part of the planning process of the asbestos

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removal project, and not just an afterthought. Planning and sharing of information will allow the analyst to assess the works and provide the LARC with a realistic time frame for the CfR to be completed. The LARC can then use this information in his own planning with regards to timescales and costs.

Finally, LARCS should be aware that HSG 248 contains additional guidance on Analyst impartiality, particularly where there are shared links between the contactor an analyst that could influence the analyst’s impartiality. It is strongly recommended that the analyst for site clearance certification is independently sourced and employed by the building owner or occupier (i.e., building client) in control of the premises.

None of the above should materially affect the duration of a properly-planned, correctly-documented, and well-presented asbestos removal project and enclosure.

However, absence of any of the above could add significant delays to the CfR process. *a formal “fail” of a stage of a CfR does not necessarily mean that an analyst will leave site. It will however be a formal record of failure to meet the required standard and will prolong the CfR further.

SOCOTEC

SOCOTEC'S asbestos team completes probono refurbishment Asbestos Closeup

SOCOTEC’s Asbestos team has successfully completed a pro-bono refurbishment survey for The Whitechapel Centre, a charitable organisation offering housing and welfare rights advice and support to rough sleepers and those living in temporary accommodation/at risk of becoming homeless across the Liverpool region, as well as a number of service users.

Working in partnership with Morgan Sindall, SOCOTEC was asked to conduct the refurbishment survey at The Whitechapel Centre’s office premises – specifically the toilet and shower facilities – prior to a refurbishment of those areas. A fully intrusive asbestos survey was then conducted.

Upon completion of the survey, SOCOTEC’s Asbestos team provided details in relation to the risks posed by the asbestos containing materials and recommended actions prior to the refurbishment taking place, which would help to safeguard the building’s occupants and minimise the risk of damaging, disturbing and subsequently inhaling the hazardous fibrous mineral.

David Gough, managing director, Environment & Safety, SOCOTEC UK, said: “We are delighted to have carried out this refurbishment survey on behalf of The Whitechapel Centre, helping their premises to remain fully compliant with asbestos management legislation and guidelines.

“As part of our Corporate Social Responsibility statement, SOCOTEC is committed to maintaining a safe working environment for all of our clients, and we are proud that the Asbestos team has played its own part in helping the charity to continue supporting those in need of welfare and housing support across Merseyside.”

Asbestos Closeup

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ASBESTOS MANAGEMENT NOTICE

PLEASE SCAN ME

In accordance with the Control of Asbestos Regulations 2012, no works may be undertaken which could lead to the disturbance of asbestos fibres.

Before undertaking any works, please consult the Asbestos Register which can be downloaded by scanning the QR code here with your smartphone or tablet.

If you are in any doubt, please contact your supervisor or the property manager before commencing any works on these premises.

Be Asbestos Smart!

In case of an asbestos emergency please contact the number below immediately:

0203 697 8282

Free barcode apps are available for most devices.

UNAUTHORISED WORKS ON ASBESTOS MATERIALS ARE PROHIBITED AND CAN RESULT IN SEVERE FINES AND/OR IMPRISONMENT.

Staff & Contractors, please scan the QR Code here to see our short asbestos educational videos:

If you would like to find out more how UKNAR can help you and your clients with its Asbestos SMART service please contact us

UK National Asbestos Register CIC Tel: 020 3697 8282 Email: enquiries@UKNAR.org Web: www.uknar.org

EVENT

Thinking of Contamination Expo 2021 and John Lennon Yvonne Waterman, Ph.D. LLM MFAAM, President of the European Asbestos Forum

Foreword by Ben Chambers In the relatively short existence of Asbestos Hub magazine unsurprisingly this was the first time I had met with Dr Waterman (we had enjoyed a handful of telephone calls) and if there was one person to immediately assist with my knowledge of the dangers of asbestos and introduction to asbestos victims then Dr Waterman was that person. Her engaging speech and subsequent post speech chats has given me as publisher a sound

understanding of this as well as the non-obvious deaths caused by asbestos exposure and the economic and human cost. I am delighted Dr Waterman is now a contributor and I thank her for her expertise and joining us.

Wonderful to get together again!

It was surprisingly nerve-wracking to travel to England to attend the Contamination Expo during Covid-19; and quite troublesome to travel back again to Holland.

It was the fourth consecutive time that I have given a Keynote speech there and I always feel thankful to the organisers for inviting me. It certainly was wonderful and exciting, for the first time in almost two years, to see old friends again, to meet new ones and be toured around stands.

Wayne Bristow and Ben Chambers, the editors of Asbestos Hub, asked me to write a piece regarding my Keynote presentation at the Contamination Expo. Essentially, I made three points relating to the global asbestos disaster: 1. there are more asbestos diseases and victims than we are aware of, 2. asbestos is excruciatingly expensive to society, much more than we are aware of and 3. we are in dire need of finding better ways of dealing with asbestos than landfill. I’ll explain these briefly; and I may well go deeper into these topics in future columns.

Not just mesothelioma Asbestos victim statistics tend to focus on mesothelioma. But really, that is just a small part of the total of deaths caused by asbestos yearly. For instance, it is not well known that fatal asbestos related lung cancers exceed mesothelioma deaths by approximately 1:5 at least, possibly even 1:6. Asbestos related lung cancer victims get to be seriously overlooked as a group. Asbestosis is often ignored as well, yet still kills several hundred people in the UK alone, every year. As medical science steadily advances, more and more fatal cancers are recognised as being caused by

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asbestos: e.g. ovarian cancer and laryngeal cancer.

There is a growing scientific concern with regard to throat cancer, stomach and intestinal cancer; and I expect that in the near future, these and other diseases will also be added to the growing list of recognised and fatal asbestos diseases.

National statistics are a considerable underestimation of reality, of the true number of asbestos victims.

Bear in mind that these figures only concern the past.

They do not show the future, such as schoolteachers, school-going children and DIY fans who are being exposed now and still have the whole incubation period ahead of them. They do not show the daily exposures still happening because of asbestos in imported products and in buildings. Asbestos exposure happens every day; and we have not seen the crown of the asbestos ‘wave’ yet. So it is no time to be complacent about asbestos. It is wrong to think of asbestos exposure as an inheritance of the past.

I’ll bet you anything you like that road victims in any Western country get more consideration in official policy and budget than asbestos victims, even though there are less road victims by far.

It’s a matter of perception; and perception has everything to do with numbers. If you don’t count all the numbers, you get less perception and therefor also less recognition, less policy, less budget. Asbestos deaths are not isolated incidents, to be mourned only by the surviving loved ones. Asbestos deaths are a pandemic, that all society should care about. These days, we focus on levelling down the statistical line of Covid-19. We should be doing much more to do the same for asbestos deaths. Because at present we do not have one pandemic: we have two.

Yvonne Waterman Time for more action Considering the above, it is not surprising that the European Chemicals Agency (ECHA) advised early this year to change the asbestos exposure threshold in the workplace to 1,000 fibres per cubic meter. To put this in perspective: that is half of what is presently allowed in the Netherlands, which is generally quite strict in asbestos legislation. Recently, the European Parliament voted almost unanimously for the same.

Of course, this is not binding in any way for the United Kingdom as it is not part of the EU anymore; but it

Ben Chambers with (left) Mavis Nye and Dr Yvonne Waterman at Contamination EXPO

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does show that science can move society towards a higher goal post, forcing all parties concerned to come up with safer and innovative work methods to meet the new legislation. Or, in the words of a Canadian union worker I once met and which I will never forget: “Going to work should never be a grave decision.”

The economic cost of asbestos Asbestos deaths are thought of as a sad affair, a family filled in private misery. Economically, a very marginal matter. It even feels disrespectful to talk about asbestos deaths as an economically relevant figure.

But it is, so much so! In the scientific article ‘The Global Asbestos Disaster’ – a must-read by prof. Jukka Takala c.s., please Google it – it is demonstrated that the costs of asbestos related disorders can be calculated as Disability Adjusted Life Years or DALY’s.

It results in applying the Value of Statistical Life (VSL) of 4 million EUR per cancer death, as used by the European Commission on the basis of productive losses. That does not include a value on human suffering and loss of life, devaluation of buildings with asbestos, costs of hospitalisation and nursing, the cost of Labour Inspectorates etcetera. It means that every asbestos death costs European societies about 4 million euros or £ 3,488,000 per victim. Multiply this by the English yearly victim toll of about 18,000 victims gets you a staggering amount of 61,2 billion pounds.

Surely then, investing in asbestos awareness and prevention of asbestos exposure makes solid sense?

Something similar happens with asbestos contaminated steel in the Netherlands, where the Purified Metal Company (PMC) treats steel waste material at very high degrees. It produces steel that is free of asbestos and yet still of a good quality to be used again, at a competitive price. As you can imagine, the Dutch government banned bringing contaminated steel to landfills at once.

Efforts such as these mean that, gradually, we will no longer need to bring asbestos to landfills, to remain there forever, a menace to future generations. We are starting to realise, in every meaning of the word, that asbestos is not indestructible, that an asbestos-free future is actually possible. Before it amounts to any serious effect on the whole, we will be decades further down the road. We may not live to see it ourselves. But I am convinced that eradication of asbestos is possible in the long term.

It makes me think of John Lennon’s song ‘Imagine’.

Imagine, an asbestos-free future. If we all try.

If you have any comments or questions, feel free to link up with me on LinkedIn or email me at yw@europeanasbestosforum.org.

Mind you: this is an annual amount, just for the UK. So please don’t tell me that asbestos is a marginal affair, when it places such a heavy burden on the economy.

To put this in perspective: consider that 13,2 billion pounds is what England used to pay to Brussels for the European Union membership, after the reduction of the rebate.

My point: raising asbestos awareness can save many lives. It can also improve lives considerably. Imagine, if we could spend a yearly budget of just one VSL of one victim in one year on raising awareness.

Denaturation and landfill People tend to think that once asbestos is removed from their premises, it goes to heaven or something along those lines: out of sight, out of mind. Actually, it doesn’t. It goes to landfill, to remain a poisonous inheritance for future generations. As solutions go, this isn’t really much of one. Which is why I keep a firm eye on the global development of denaturation methods of asbestos, a means of true eradication.

I think two such methods are particularly worth mentioning: one is the English Thermal Recycling, which burns asbestos cement until the asbestos is denaturised and an asbestos-free, fibre-free waste remains, which can be used for a host of purposes, such as filler for asbestos-free cement. A full circle which saves considerably on CO2 as well.

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Ben Chambers at Contamination EXPO

Interview with JL Recruitment Tell us about J&L Recruitment Our busy company specialises solely within the Asbestos Industry and has done since establishing in 2014. The aim of our business is to develop close working relationship with operatives and clients so that when the situation arises, we can pair the two together with great success.

The ‘people business’ is one of the most challenging sectors for a company to work in, and I don’t think there is any company alike who can say they offer a perfect service. Something we do offer is a fast, reliable, and honest service, and our biggest strength is our ability to fix a problem before it arises.

We are often asked what its like being a ‘Market Leader’, although we often question if we are!? But looking at the facts, we have the greatest following on all social media platforms, we have won every poll whether created by contractors or asbestos operatives, we are “the people’s choice” and the most favoured for operatives to work for. We held a sales meeting last week and we asked the team “Should we try to cement our brand as Market-Leader?”. If this means being the biggest, than no! If it means being the best, than definitely!

Our company has big plans for the future, particularly with the launch of our sister company – Asbecruit Ltd. Asbecruit has been developed to help Asbestos Companies recruit permanent staff in a professional and cost-effective way. Nearly all companies would consider the industry’s biggest downfall to be recruitment and/or quality of people within it. We looked into the root causes for this, and we’ve tried to develop Asbecruit to address some of the issues with a view of trying to improve the industry. Gone are the days of sticking a 15-word advert on Facebook then expecting the industries finest to apply. Asbecruit helps your company to stand out, look professional, and elevate it on a platform with a high footfall of industry professionals.

All of our companies and staff try to leave a mark on the industry, and we try to make people go “WOW!”.

We take great pride in our working relationships and we don’t just value them, we enjoy them. We work just as hard for our operatives as we do our clients, and we do this because we are all stakeholders in our industry.

We should all share the same goal being that we work safely, we respect each other, and we collaborate to deliver amazing results to those companies and people who rely on our abilities as Asbestos professionals.

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Whilst other recruitment companies are looking to leave the asbestos industry, J&L Recruitment have only just started, and we are going from strength to strength. Although we have successfully traded for nearly a decade, we have only dealt with about 10% of our industry and have confidently retained our clients.

We have promised a service and delivered it. We have provided a valued service to help this industry and we continue to do so. We save the “glitzy-frills” for the AGM’s and the Dinner-Do’s, Monday to Fridays we are busy helping clients to deliver on their word!

Tell us about your team We have an amazing and fine-tuned team here at J&L Recruitment. Our team all operate on the front-line and we take pride in everyone of them being the first points of contact. We accept every challenge that comes our way and boast of an amazingly positive outlook when it comes to “getting stuff done”! We are able to have such a positive outlook as we are able to learn from every situation that comes our way! We are an evolving business and whilst there are companies who are happy to do things the “way they have always been done”, we aim to cherry-pick amazing ideas to help us to become the best team we can be!

J&L raising funds for the Mavis Nye Foundation

We have seen staff come and we have seen staff go, but I don’t think any staff member who has left would say they didn’t enjoy their time here at J&L Recruitment.

We nurture and develop staff, and give them every single tool they need to be successful at their jobs.

J&L decide to kit out site operatives with J&L clobber

I must give a special shout out to our directors; Jamie Letch and Kay Martin. Neither shy away from a challenge or the chance of on-boarding a new client.

One of our greatest team members is also our Office Manager, Megan Baker. Megan is about to enjoy her third year with the company and she has an eye for detail and a taste for compliance. We thank each of these for their continued hard-work and determination to be the best company we can be!

You mentioned about Asbecruit, can you tell us more about this?

Asbecruit strives to be the UK’s leading Asbestos job board, to help drive the Asbestos industry into the 21st century.

Asbecruit was launched in 2021 to save companies £1,000’s in recruitment fee’s. It can cut out ‘The Middle Man’ and put our members back in control of recruiting as many staff as needed for a single annual fee.

Asbecruit delivers innovative recruitment solutions with our cloud-based platform. It connects our members and industry candidates, without the fear of being beaten up with “Intro Fee’s’. We are not just a recruitment platform, oh no! With Asbecruit you have access to tools and resources all designed to help employers and employees. These resources include, ‘New Starter Documents’, tips and hints for interviewing, and a salary calculator which formulates how much of a salary and employee will be taking home along with their tax and pension contributions.

This year we have started issuing certificates and member logo’s which has down very well. Most recently we have introduced a Membership and Marketing Manager to Asbecruit who has helped to further develop; the platform, the foot-traffic, and the brand of both Asbecruit and that of our members.

J&L putting safety at the heart of everything we do

We have developed a passionate team who strive for success in everything we do. We are constantly striving for excellence whilst also breaking boundaries to ensure we are evolving with the times.

This is Asbecruit - we love it, and so do our members!

The Beast joined us as a new op, and is now one of our longest serving ops

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Alert Technology: The inside story Tell us more about the technology, the company and what you're offering Alert Technology Limited is a spin out from The Select Group of Companies. Alert Technologies has been established since 2007, but we've been working on this technology for quite some time.

The original academic work was done, the original patent, back in the 90s. That was to establish the means of actually detecting asbestos in the air. But at that time that work was done by the University of Hertfordshire, and they had the original patent.

It wasn't commercially viable, so it got stuck in a drawer and left for over a decade. Then my family's business, originally The Select Group, that been supplying products into the construction trades for the best part of 30 years, we were looking for a new opportunity, new products, something relevant to our core market base, which is the builders and plumbers of the world. We were looking for a new opportunity, we wanted something relevant to our customer base of professional tradespeople.

We wanted a unicorn basically, something nobody else had. We did a ton of market research, we already represented a number of products that were leak detection for gas, for water so all these kind of real time monitors for other things just got us thinking, "OK, what doesn't exist? Where is there a problem?"

Asbestos came onto the radar and we realised we were probably much like the rest of the general public thinking asbestos wasn't a problem, they banned it years ago. But our founder and chief exec and chairman Alan, trained as a plumber in his youth, and had his own plumbing business. He was very aware of asbestos. He himself was exposed to it throughout his

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younger working life and over the decades he's lost friends and previous colleagues to asbestos related diseases. So we started looking into that a bit more.

There’s nothing that detects asbestos. There's no warning device like there is for radon, for CO2 and other things.

Realising how many tradespeople are still losing their life on a weekly basis because of asbestos related diseases, we thought this could be an opportunity for us. We came together with the University of Hertfordshire and realised they had done some early research on it.

We got funding through the EU, an FP7 project, and raised one and half million pounds. We put together a European consortium that we led. We were the exploitation managers and the University of Hertfordshire were the key academic lead.

Then there were a number of other engineering and academic institutes involved as well as some trade associations. ACAD was part of the consortium as well as the British Home Enhancement Trade Association BHETA, a plumbing trade institute called CIPHE and also the European Demolition Association.

Their interest was in things that increased and improved safety, so it was a three year project and the idea was to dust off the university's research and find ways of making it commercially viable.

A lot of time had passed. From lasers to electronics to batteries and all of those kinds of things, technology had improved, parts been miniaturised and costs reduced drastically.

We were able to create a new prototype with outdated technology and components. It’s still not a cheap piece of kit by any means because what it does is pretty technical.

We already have a number of distributors that have started with us this month to get the unit out and into people's hands.

We know the players, we know the game, we know how to enter this market. We want to build the brand with credibility and integrity.

Being in the industry, we know how long legislation takes to change. Companies are looking for best practice. That's where we want to be. We want to be working with market leaders.

This is an innovative product that does something that asbestos has never had – that is proactive asbestos risk management. You can put all you want in place but actually there has never been the ability to identify the risk and where contamination may be happening.

What we've always relied on is the competency of people on site, but having worked in the consultants industry you can give people training but actually identifying inherent risk is limited. For us, asbestos consultants it's always been reactive so you identify risk because it's already contaminated. That requires the person to be competent to identify it.

The concern is, you might have 12 months in between inspections and if that asbestos gets damaged in month one, you've got an 11 month period where no one on that site is competent to identify the damage.

Our product is like the canary in the coal mine. You won't see the fibres in the air, but our machine will do.

Working in asbestos consultancy, I had clients who had very high risk boiler rooms with a permit to work on entry.

You can put our product in place before you enter the room and it gives you a live reading: Is there asbestos? Is there a risk in here?

ALERT & Asbestos Award 2019

Similarly speaking for main contractors. For example, SCAN could have a survey done on its sites.

We can identify whether there’s asbestos but also whether it's in the areas they're working.

This gives them the opportunity to reassure their employees and everyone on site that we know there's a risk but we are doing everything in real time to monitor and identify that risk. As soon as this alarm goes off we know to get out of the room, get an analyst in, get traditional air monitoring run. This isn't a competitor to what's already on the market, this is very much best practice on top of what you are already doing to manage your risk.

People who just want to meet legislation won't buy this because it's above legislation. It does what legislation doesn't do, which is ask for real time management of your risk. The legislation needs to catch up as at the moment there's nothing saying you need to constantly understand your risk. We are well ahead of the legislation. Regulations state that you have to know your risk, but how can you manage it if you can't monitor the risk in real time?

The moment you speak to UCAS and ask them to accredit you, there is no technology out there that does what ours does, so how do they accredit

ALERT-PRO-1000-units

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Dan Rushton

Loretta King

something that's never been done before? So we're in constant communication with the bodies. We were in conversation with government as well. "This is the technology, legislation needs to catch up with it."

We used to do surveys in schools. They happen all the time but what this gives you is the ability to reassure those clients – "We've done a survey that we will be monitoring in real time. No fibres were released and those areas are completely safe."

For us, it's very much consultancy led and what we see is the consultants adopting this as best practice, the next step up from what they are already doing.

The unit is a scientific instrument with lasers, a pump etc, so it runs through a check on start up to make sure everything is functioning, is drawing the power it should, giving the outputs it should within parameters that we set.

If anything isn't correct, it will display an error message and flash a blue LED light on the screen and won't let you use it.

Similarly if you're using it heavily in very dirty environments and the little HEPA filter that makes sure it doesn't expel any contaminated air gets blocked, it'll give you a message to say it can't pass air through and you need to send it back for a service.

The plan is that it will have an annual service. We will give it an MOT, change the pumps, change the filters, check lasers and all of that kind of stuff but if you are using it heavily and you do have to have your filter changed in between, you'll get a message because it isn't something we would ever recommend anybody do because of course that filter will be contaminated.

We are already developing the pro 2000, which is going to be connected via a cloud based portal. One of our chief engineers, Mark, is actually looking at being able to schedule tests virtually. If you've got a number of units, you could run them all and get your results from 10 units simultaneously so you don't have to be on site to run your test. We will be looking at wearable units as well, gas monitors etc.

We are talking to fire services, they understand that there's a risk but potentially they don't understand the level of exposure. So you can create a wearable unit, then on entry to buildings they can understand their risk.

Our value lies in our IP and continually moving that forward. I think there are so many possibilities for our technology, whether that's incorporating it within other asbestos equipment. We've had conversations in the past

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with manufacturers of great big demolition equipment and they’ve asked if we can put one in the cab of their machine.

What's really positive is that we have a lot of people in the industry who are very interested in working with us on those trials. We're talking to two tier one contractors at the moment about how we can create an outdoor unit.

We're looking at having an open fronted little pod that you would move around the site so you are looking at activity-based real-time monitoring on a remediation site where you have potential exposure.

We are talking to two of the leading consultants in the UK about running trials. One of them is a defence site so we are looking at running side by side trials with traditional air monitoring just to show what it does, how it operates, what it gives you. We are also looking at getting to some nuclear facilities in the next couple of months.

We want to work with market leaders because we want this to be best practice. We want this to be right.

If you're looking to make sure your staff are as safe as possible, this is the next step in that.

Yes it's above legal requirements, you don't have to do this but actually if you're looking to be a market leading organisation putting your people first, this is open to you. I'm yet to find anyone who can find a downside to this other than people who don’t want you to find asbestos.

Looking at the potential for further development, you could have fixed sites. We'd love to get this being like a smoke alarm. If we can get to the point where we can make it cheap enough and as miniaturised as possible it be a plug in smoke alarm for asbestos. That's the end game, having one of these in every boiler room, every school and every college, hospital wherever you have high risk asbestos. If we can make this cheap enough and readily available enough to be everywhere, why would you not do that.

For me, the exciting thing is that this industry hasn't changed for 25 years and we could be the one that will lead. We're building a brand with integrity and credibility. What we're not going to do is go out and sell this to everybody under the sun, because we want to make sure the people are using it, use it for the right reasons.

and where we expect it to be they will turn on but you wont be able to run them.

They are never going to give you false readings, they just won't work. What we don't want is people going on site saying you need to run this and if you've got asbestos you need to remove everything.

The industry is full of people that just want to make as much money as they can; this is not a tool for maximising profit on individual jobs. This is for reassuring clients, consultancies, stakeholders that they’re safe.

The market is always moving. It needs to move.

Look at construction. In the last five to 10 years it's moved more than the previous in 25 years. If we can be part of that journey, that's where we want to be.

When will the pro 2000 unit be out?

We’re making really good progress for 2022. That's not firm yet, but it's not a million miles away.

What we are looking at is preferential treatment moving forward. The consultancies we are already working with are looking at buying units.

The Pro 1000 is ready to go, on the shelves. We've had some really interesting inquiries in the last week, all different types of clients because it does something that everyone's quite excited about.

When I come across some consultants asking “Where does it fit in, what does it do that we can't do already?” Well as soon as you have that conversation, they say, "Actually no one does that. This is it, we will start trials."

What about people letting them deteriorate to the point where they're giving false readings, or people are just using them as a token? Is there a way of you monitoring that?

If there's any element of the machine that isn't completely up to standard

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