Environmental Essentials Newsletter

October's employee of the month goes to Tony McKenna for his professionalism on site and excellent feedback received from clients.

This year Environmental Essentials is supporting the Working Well Together campaign which has 16 regional groups around the country staging events throughout the year to promote safety within the construction industry. Group members come from local construction companies, trade associations, suppliers and local authorities. Kier Building Maintenance, Stoke are running 2 days of safety training in November for its operatives and EEL have been invited to attend to provide asbestos awareness courses.

UKATA Recommends: Employers Undertake a Full Asbestos Awareness Course Every 2 Years

UKATA (United Kingdom Asbestos Training Association) has been formed to promote and establish the very best practises relative to the delivery of all types of asbestos related training by developing Asbestos Training Standards, Procedures and Disciplines from within its membership, and by working with official government bodies to establish National Standards, Procedures and Requirements.

As of the 1 st September 2009 all Asbestos Awareness training course certificates issued by Environmental Essentials will hold a 2 year expiry date. UKATA have also introduced an assessment in the form of a multiple-choice examination consisting of 15 questions to be answered in 20 minutes. Delegates must answer correctly a minimum of 11 out of 15 to successfully pass the course.

If you would like to find out more about our UKATA registered training courses please contact Rosie on 0845 4569953 or email rgreer@environmentalessentials.co.uk

It has been announced that the new surveyors guide, which is a revision of the MDHS 100 (The Methods for the Determination of Hazardous Substances) for asbestos surveys
will not be released until spring/summer 2010. A second draft was issued in December 2008 with the notion the new guide would come into force in September, however this is not to be the case.

The new guide will be a comprehensive regime covering surveying, sampling, and assessment of asbestos containing materials (ACMs)

Unlike MDHS 100, the new survey guidelines impose express obligations on the Duty holder in relation to the planning and execution of the asbestos survey. The HSE emphasises that asbestos, a category 1 chemical carcinogen, is the cause of the greatest number of work-related deaths every year.

New Report Reveals True Asbestos Risks In Homes

A new academic report commissioned by construction union UCATT, has uncovered huge deficiencies in the rules covering the management of asbestos in people's homes. Potentially exposing both residents and maintenance workers to asbestos exposure.

Householders undertaking standard DIY functions are at particular risk of unknowingly exposing themselves to asbestos. This was due to a combination of ignorance and a lack of readily accessible information and advice.

The report As Safe as Houses? by Dr Linda Waldman and Heather Williams, has been launched at a meeting in Parliament. It primarily examines how asbestos is managed and removed in social housing but also uncovers major flaws in legislation concerning properties containing asbestos in the private sector.

Alan Ritchie, General Secretary of UCATT, said: “Everyone has a right to feel safe in their own homes. This excellent new report details how thousands of householders' health is being put at risk because they do not know that asbestos is present in their home.”

The report reveals that there are major differences in how individual local authorities and registered social landlords (RSLs) notify tenants about whether properties contain asbestos and the likely risk of exposure.

The report recommends that all social landlords should have a duty to manage asbestos in the internal part of properties; currently there is only a duty to manage asbestos in communal areas such as stairwells.

Social landlords should also be required by law to maintain an asbestos register for all properties. A register should contain: whether a property has been surveyed, whether asbestos has been found in a property or similar properties, whether the asbestos has been removed or damaged, whether asbestos has been professionally removed and official confirmation of removal. There should be a mandatory asbestos survey for all houses, which is kept up to date.

The report reveals that there is no legal requirement to disclose the presence of asbestos when selling a private property. Housing Information Packs and most surveys do not contain information on whether there is asbestos present in a property. Currently only an expensive full structural survey would definitely provide such information. The report recommends that mandatory asbestos surveying should be introduced prior to all private housing sales.

The report also recommends that extra measures are urgently needed to ensure that construction and maintenance workers are aware of where asbestos can be found, the difficulty in identifying it and potential warning signs, and what to do if its discovered.

The report calls for all power tools to carry warnings to remind workers of the potential dangers of asbestos. Increased asbestos training, awareness and guidance should be given to all local authority staff and resident association representatives. The content of apprenticeship training courses for construction workers should be revised to contain modules on asbestos risks and protection procedures.

Mr Ritchie added: “The report demonstrates that new regulations are urgently needed in order to ensure that construction workers undertaking maintenance and refurbishment work are properly protected. Workers should not be expected to play Russian roulette with their health.”

Linda Waldman, a Research Fellow at the Institute of Development Studies at the University of Sussex and the joint author of the report said: “People aren't aware of the dangers of asbestos and don't know where it is in their homes. This lack of awareness leads to asbestos exposure and increased risk. Social landlords hold much of this information, as they are required to provide asbestos surveys for housing. If they had a duty to inform residents, these risks would be reduced.”

Over 2,000 people in Britain die from mesothelioma (the incurable cancer of the lung caused by inhaling asbestos) every year. Britain has the highest rate of mesothelioma death in the world and death rates are not expected to peak for another decade.

Following exposure to asbestos it usually takes at least 20 years for mesothelioma, or other asbestos diseases to develop. Construction workers, especially those responsible for undertaking maintenance work, are now at greatest risk of developing the disease.

GENUINE OFFER FREE ONLINE ASBESTOS MANAGEMENT DATATBASE

Normal Price £4550 + vat

The Control of Asbestos Regulations 2006 require that the condition of asbestos-based products need to be inspected regularly and records updated accordingly. The recommended frequency of the asbestos inspection regime should not exceed 12 months but is dictated by the risk that the asbestos poses. The risk is assessed by the type, extent, condition and location of the asbestos.

nationally, we are offering you the unique opportunity to receive a free web-enabled asbestos database.

All you need to do to take advantage of this fantastic offer is to place an order with us to complete your statutory asbestos condition re-inspections and quote NL/Tracker351/2719.

We can use your existing asbestos survey data and re-assess its condition whilst at the same time create a “live” on-line database that you can then use as your on-going management tool. We can interface with most asset management databases and tailor the database to your needs. To see a demo of the database follow the instructions below

• Select: Chapel Street Depot you can then view the pdf or access the live asbestos register / non-asbestos register / plans

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.

Who should attend? Anyone who may be required to undertake minor work on ACMs during their working day. Aimed at personnel such as roofing contractors, demolition workers and general maintenance staff. Places are charged at just £150.00 + vat per person and includes refreshments.

Two companies have been prosecuted after workers and members of the public were exposed to unacceptable levels of asbestos during a removal project.

The Health and Safety Executive took the companies to court, on the 06 October 2009, after an unlicensed contractor carried out the specialist work at a warehouse in Brimsdown, Enfield .

On 29 November 2005, Noble Gift Packaging Ltd contracted A & T Roofing Ltd to remove the roof from a building on Lockfield Avenue . The roof was lined with 3,000 square meters of asbestos insulating board that contained Amosite (brown asbestos fibres), which requires removal in highly controlled conditions by licensed asbestos contractors.

A & T Roofing Ltd, of 191 Bowes Road , Enfield , pleaded guilty at Southwark Crown Court , on 1 September 2009, to Regulation 3(1) of the Asbestos (Licensing) Regulations 1983, and Sections 2(1) and 3(1) Health & Safety at Work etc Act 1974. They were fined £25,000 and were ordered to pay costs of £33,844.30.

Noble Gift Packaging Ltd, of 73 Lockfield Avenue , Enfield , pleaded guilty at the City of London Magistrates ' Court, on 28 October 2008, to Section 3(1) Health & Safety at Work etc. Act 1974. They were fined £40,000 and were ordered to pay costs of £19,223.65.

A & T Roofing Ltd employees spent 12 weeks removing and smashing the boards before sweeping the dust and debris into bags. The workers were not provided with effective protection, even after the company found out that the material being cleared contained Amosite.

Managers allowed work to continue after employees complained and a tested sample showed the presence of asbestos. Workers at the site were exposed to potentially deadly fibres. These were carried on their clothes and into their homes, vehicles, onto public transport, and may have contaminated the general public and their own families.

“A & T Roofing Ltd's cavalier attitude towards the removal of the asbestos has put the future health of their employees, their employees' families and members of the public in general at serious risk. The exposure suffered by the men working on this project is the worst our specialist inspector has seen in over 15 years of dealing with asbestos cases.

“Not everyone exposed to asbestos goes on to develop life-threatening or terminal asbestos-related conditions such as lung cancer, asbestosis or mesothelioma. However, when people do develop such conditions, it is often many years after they were exposed. All the men exposed, and their families, will have this hanging over them for the rest of their lives.

“The actions of A & T Roofing Ltd in this matter were unpardonable; they were told two weeks into the project that they were working with brown asbestos but carried on for another 10 weeks.

“Noble Gift Packaging Ltd, as client for the work, should have taken the basic step of having a full asbestos survey done after they were informed in a valuation survey that the roof contained asbestos. This could have prevented this whole tragic case.

“HSE will always push for the harshest penalties in such cases.”

Environmental Essentials
Asbestos Management Services and Training Provider
Asbestos Surveys - Types 1, 2 and 3
Project Management Services and Audit
HSE/BOHS and UKATA approved training.
Bulk sampling and fibre analysis for asbestos content
Four-Stage clearance procedure for site re-occupation
In service inspection and testing of Local Exhaust Ventilation Plant (LEV's)
Priority Risk Assessment
Computer based record system - Client instant access to records and surveys on-line
Supervisory License Holder