TRAINING for CONSTRUCTION WORKERS
including the building trades....
Asbestos Awareness Training - Are you compliant
What the Law Says...
Regulation 10 of the Control of Asbestos Regulations 2012, as applied to the Isle of Man under the Control of Asbestos (Application) Order 2022 and the Health and Safety at Work (Managing and Working with Asbestos Code of Practice)(Application)Order 2022, passed through Tynwald on the 21st June 2022, requires employers to make sure that anyone liable to disturb asbestos during their work, or who supervises such employees, receives the correct level of information, instruction and training to enable them to carry without risk to themselves or others.
Employers have a duty to ensure that the information, instruction and training given to their employees is adequate to allow them to safeguard themselves and other employees and to carry out their work with asbestos effectively.
Why do we need this training...
Large amounts of asbestos-containing materials (ACMs) were used for a wide range of construction purposes in new and refurbished buildings until 1999 when all use of asbestos was banned.
This extensive use means that there are still many buildings in Great Britain which contain asbestos which means without knowing you and your employees could be unknowingly being exposed.
Where asbestos materials are in good condition and unlikely to be disturbed they do not present a risk. However, where the materials are in poor condition or are disturbed or damaged, asbestos fibres are released into the air, which, if breathed in, can cause serious lung diseases, including cancers. It is your responsibility as an employer to ensure the health, safety and welfare whilst at work for all your employees and anyone else, who make be affected by your works.
How to comply with the law...
The easiest way to be compliant, is to ensure that all employees receive asbestos awareness training, this can either be done by attending a classroom training course or alternatively, these course are available online, where the candidates can take the course in the comfort of their own home 24/7
Asbestos Awareness Training - Are you compliant
Why is asbestos dangerous...
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Asbestos still kills around 5000 workers each year, this is more than the number of people killed on the road.
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Around 20 tradesman die each week as a result of past exposure
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However, asbestos is not just a problem of the past. It can be present today in any building built or refurbished before the year 2000.
When materials that contain asbestos are disturbed or damaged, fibres are released into the air. When these fibres are inhaled they can cause serious diseases. These diseases will not affect you immediately; they often take a long time to develop, but once diagnosed, it is often too late to do anything. This is why it is important that you protect yourself now.
Supporting people with asbestos cancer
Mesothelioma UK is the national charity for anyone affected by mesothelioma.
They exist to support people with mesothelioma to live better and live longer and to prevent mesothelioma happening to future generations.
Don't let the dust settle
Think the danger from asbestos is a thing of the past?
It isn’t. Asbestos was used extensively from the 1950s through to the mid-1980s. The importation, supply and use of asbestos was banned in 1999, but it might still be in any building built before 2000.
Some estimates say as many as 1.5 million UK buildings may contain it.
This includes public buildings such as schools and hospitals, which as they age, are increasingly likely to emit harmful asbestos dust and fibres.
Each year as many as 2,700 people in the UK are diagnosed with mesothelioma, a form of cancer where 9/10 cases are caused by exposure to asbestos – meaning the majority could have been avoided through better asbestos management.
Up to 60% of people die in the first year after diagnosis.