20 Tradespeople die every week

Did you know that if you work in the ‘Trades’ you could come into contact with deadly asbestos on average more than 100 times a year – this alarming statistic comes from a new survey commissioned by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE). 

Not only did it raise the question of how often tradespeople can be exposed to asbestos, the survey also revealed some common myths believed by those at risk;

Twenty tradespeople, on average, die every week from asbestos related diseases – Asbestos can be found in walls and ceilings, or the structure of a building, as well as a host of other places like floor tiles, boilers, toilet cisterns, guttering and soffits.

It can be disturbed by basic maintenance work like drilling holes and sanding and once disturbed, the microscopic fibres can prove lethal if breathed in, causing lung disease and cancer.

Asbestos can be found in old buildings, mostly built before 1970, but did you know that it could still be found in buildings built up to the year 2000?

To encourage tradespeople to think about asbestos on every job so they are prepared to deal with the danger, HSE has launched a new safety campaign.  

A key feature of the campaign is the creation of a new web app for phones, tablets and laptops that helps tradespeople easily identify where they could come into contact with the deadly material as they go about their day-to-day work and gives them tailored help on how to deal with the risks.

Find out more here.