July’s 2009 employee of the month goes to our Mark Harvey for his much appreciated contribution to the success of Environmental Essentials Quality System.

On 9th June 2009, Helen, Jessica, Rachel, Jo and Becky joined 5000 woman in a 5km walk / jog / run to raise money for Cancer Research. We would like to congratulate them on their achievement and thank everyone who supported them and helped them raise over £430.00.

Cancer Research UK’s Race for Life is the largest women-only fundraising event in the UK. Since 1994, women of all ages and fitness levels across the UK have come together to join in at these inspiring events.

Every pound raised in sponsorship goes towards their vital work which includes funding the work of over 4,500 scientists, doctors and nurses who are dedicated to help more people beat cancer.

If you have not yet sponsored the team and would like to, please call Rachel on 0845 4569953 or email rrushton@environmentalessentials.co.uk. All donations however large or small are appreciated.

On 26th October 2009, the HSE are launching their 3rd Hidden Killer campaign which is designed to target tradesmen who are still at risk from exposure of asbestos. The 2nd launch which was in October 2008 was built on the success of the previous campaign and was reported to have increased awareness from 33% to 81%.

Once again, Environmental Essentials will be supporting the campaign and will be running 2 FREE seminars on the run up to the campaign based on The Duty to Manage Asbestos in Social Housing & Public Buildings which is the main area trades people work in. The seminar will also provide an update on legislation MDHS 100 which is due to take effect in September this year.

Are you compliant?

To reserve your free place contact Rosie on 0845 4569953 or email rgreer@environmentalessentials.co.uk.

Alternatively, if you feel your company or organisation could benefit from attending a similar seminar, and would like us to do it at your establishment FREE OF CHARGE, or you would like to suggest a location or venue for a future event, why not contact Rosie as above. 

Not only is the sector grappling with the consequences of two decades of explosive growth and change in teaching and research methods, but it must also address the legacy of previous higher education sector expansion – particularly that which took place in the sixties and seventies.

More than 70% of the university estate consists of buildings that are 25 years old or more. The replacement cost of sixties buildings in English universities alone is estimated to be £11bn.

Because there are significant backlog repair and maintenance issues associated with many of these buildings, universities may shortly find themselves forced to make difficult replace-or-refurbish decisions in connection with a large number of their buildings.

Problems with the performance of buildings dating back to the sixties are well documented, ranging from poor environmental control, the presence of asbestos and other controversial materials and unsuitable floorplates.

A recent report called The Legacy of Sixties University Buildings, commissioned by the Association of University Directors of Estates (AUDE), sets out the scale of the problem, together with the complexity of the issues involved in determining the right investment option.

Previously, where funding has allowed replacement, institutions have often preferred to opt for a lower risk, new-build option rather than a reconfiguration and recladding scheme.

However, with scarce resources and a greater focus on sustainability, reusing elements of existing buildings is becoming increasingly attractive to clients, particularly in city-centre sites that have less value in the current market and where the massing achieved with the original might not be secured under a new planning consent.

But not all buildings are suitable for refurbishment, and constraints on ceiling heights, floor loadings, structural grids, vertical circulation and services distribution could limit the potential for reuse.

In some instances, a combination of new build and refurbishment will provide the best means of delivering a mix of general teaching accommodation and specialist technical spaces such as laboratories.

As the AUDE report emphasises, large-scale refurbishment is rarely a low-cost option and the benefits of reusing the original building are likely to be secured through several different ways.

These might include the retention of distinct building stock, faster development programmes and the mitigation of aspects of sustainability such as embodied carbon.

Looking forward, new-build projects should be designed with refurbishment and reconfiguration in mind, with floor heights, structural grids and floor loadings designed to accommodate more than one use.

Source: www.building.co.uk 

Who should attend? ‘All employees whose work could anticipate exposure to asbestos’ (Reg.10 - Control of Asbestos Regulations 2006), this course is aimed at all delegates from company directors, managers and supervisors to tradesmen, engineers and contractors. Places are charged at just £75.00 + vat per person and includes refreshments.

Designed for those with ‘duty to manage’ responsibilities for asbestos management within the workplace and specifically for duty-holders under Regulation 4 of the Control of Asbestos Regulations 2006. The course provides comprehensive information on how to assess whether premises contain asbestos, how to assess the risks from asbestos and how to manage those risks. Places are charged at £275.00 + Vat per person and includes refreshments and lunch.

Further dates are scheduled

Prime Minister Gordon Brown has pledged extra cash to build social housing and affordable homes as part of a programme called "Building Britain's Future".

Brown said there was was an "urgent need" for new social housing and affordable homes in all parts of the country promised to treble investment in housing to £2.1bn over the next two years.

The money would pay for an extra 110,000 affordable homes to rent or buy over the next two years and create 45,000 jobs in construction, according to the BBC.

Brown said: "By building new and additional homes we can also now reform social housing allocation enabling local authorities to give more priority to local people whose names have been on waiting lists for far too long."


Dust,” a play about a British woman with mesothelioma who fought for justice against the local factory responsible for her asbestos exposure, will be staged on July 11 as part of the I Love Leeds festival. The play, written by Kenneth F. Yates, tells the story of June Hancock, a woman from the town of Armley who fought Turner and Newall, owners of the J W Roberts Factory, for compensation for her exposure to asbestos. Mrs. Hancock was diagnosed with mesothelioma in 1993 and told she had just two years to live. She devoted the rest of her life to fighting Turner and Newell, and in 1996 won her court battle which paved the way for asbestos victims around the world to seek justice from the company. Mrs. Hancock was exposed to asbestos as a child after her family moved to the community in 1936. She was a student at the local school. The school children played at the nearby loading bay for the factory and made “summer snowballs” from the thick white dust covering the ground. Proceeds from the play will go to the June Hancock Mesothelioma Research Fund.