Asbestos News
HSE asbestos inspections triple over past three years
The amount of inspections of asbestos abatement projects being carried out by the UK's Health and Safety Executive (HSE) has more than tripled over the past three years.According to the Mirror, in 2007 the HSE, which is Britain's workplace safety agency, visited one in 53 work sites. Last year the HSE reportedly visited one in 18.
An HSE spokeswoman told the news source that the increase in inspections of asbestos removal sites is due to a change in the agency's policy.
"The increase in inspections carried out in 2009/10 and 2010/11 is due to change in the way HSE inspects licensed asbestos companies. Rather than hitting arbitrary percentage targets, HSE now aims to visit every licensed contractor, who has notified it of work, at least once a year to make sure they are maintaining appropriate safety standards," she said.
Asbestos abatement needs to be carried out by trained and licensed professionals as exposure to the deadly mineral can cause a number of diseases such as malignant mesothelioma, asbestosis and lung cancer.
The Mirror reports that 4,000 people are killed each year in the UK by such asbestos-related illnesses.
4/8/11
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