Make sure you don’t pay the price for poor asbestos management

Letter to editors

Make sure you don’t pay the price for poor asbestos management

Following a recent case at Bedlington Magistrates Court earlier this month, which found a care home and two lift installation companies guilty of breaching Asbestos safety regulations and fined £22,000, I would like to remind all of your readers of the dangers of asbestos.

I would also like to remind businesses of their responsibilities to both their customers and employees, who could fall ill due to the seriously damaging effects asbestos can have on health.

The fines that both the West Yorkshire care home and the building contractors paid followed a Health and Safety Executive (HSE) investigation, and were a consequence of ignorance of their duties to protect the health of staff and clients.

Whilst it does not cause any harm left undisturbed, asbestos can cause issues if damaged when removed, in this case during building work, when dust can be inhaled after becoming airborne.

The toxic substance was used extensively in building materials from the 1950s right up to the early 1990s, when the medical risks of asbestos become more apparent.

Health complications caused can include terminal mesothelioma and lung cancer, the effects of which lie dormant at the time of contact, before hitting the sufferer later in life with debilitating and often mortal effects.

If you have any doubts or concerns, visit the UKATA website www.ukata.org.uk for more information.

Eddie StrongChairman , UKATA (The UK Asbestos Training Association)

Notes to Editor: Original court case was reported by the Health and Safety Executive: http://press.hse.gov.uk/2014/housing-trust-and-two-firms-fined-for-potential-asbestos-risk/