including the building trades....

Asbestos Awareness Training - Are you compliant

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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.

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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.

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How to Comply

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

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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.

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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.

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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.

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Why is asbestos dangerous?

• Asbestos still kills around 5000 workers each year, this is  more than the number of people killed on the road.

• Around 20 tradesman die each week as a result of past exposure

• 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.

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Health effects
Inhalation of asbestos fibres can cause several fatal or serious respiratory conditions. Asbestos is a category 1 human carcinogen.

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Asbestos can cause the following fatal and serious diseases:

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Mesothelioma
Mesothelioma is a cancer of the cells that make up the lining around the outside of the lungs and inside the ribs (pleura), or around the abdominal organs (peritoneum). By the time it is
diagnosed, it is almost always fatal. Like other asbestos-related diseases, mesothelioma has a long latency period from first exposure to the onset of disease, on average 30–40 years.

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Lung cancer
Lung cancer is a malignant tumour of the lungs’ air passages.

The tumour grows through surrounding tissue, invading and often obstructing air passages. The time between exposure to asbestos and the occurrence of lung cancer is on average 20–30 years.

It should be noted that there is a synergistic effect between smoking and asbestos exposure, which significantly increases the risk of developing lung cancer.

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Asbestos can also cause asbestosis (scarring of lung tissue). Asbestos-related diseases can take 15–60 years to develop.

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Other less disabling lung changes such as pleural plaques and diffuse pleural thickening may be indicative of asbestos exposures but can be due to other causes. (source HSE)