27 February 2008 is Action Mesothelioma Day, which again brings focus to the fact that at around 4000 deaths per year (15 times the fatal accident rate), asbestos related diseases are still the largest occupational killers in the UK. More people die from asbestos related disease per year than are killed on the roads.
Statistics are showing that the group most at risk from unprotected exposure to asbestos today are those people in the maintenance trades. Approximately 25% (taken from the Peto Study of 1995) of those dying from asbestos related disease have worked in the building, maintenance and repair trades at some time during their working lives. Every week, 20 tradesmen die from asbestos related disease.
The Duty to Manage was introduced, together with a specific requirement to train people in Asbestos Awareness, to prevent these avoidable exposures. The HSE currently has a strategy to increase compliance. An enforcement based review of the Duty to Manage, together with a training awareness campaign, are running simultaneously.
The HSE are aware that compliance is low with Non-licensed and Asbestos Awareness Training, and estimated in 2006 that 880,000 workers were inadequately trained. This level of compliance is being closely scrutinised by the HSE at present, as part of the review of the Duty to Manage, which is currently on-going. Many Clients are making this a condition of approved supplier status, and some are making it a barrier to entry onto site.
The new pro-active enforcement stance being taken by the HSE, as part of the Duty to Manage review, has seen an increase in the number of prohibition and improvement notices being issued for failure to comply with the Duty to Manage and the provision of appropriate training.
The HSE have also become concerned about the standards of training where it has been provided and as a result, the United Kingdom Asbestos Training Association (UKATA) has been launched with the HSE’s backing. UKATA has been tasked with maintaining a list of recognised training providers whose standards are verified through independent auditing.
An awareness campaign is beginning, initially in the North West, targeting the maintenance sector, to raise the level of compliance with training requirements. The HSE has confirmed that where a non-UKATA training provider is used, then the employer may be asked to justify that the training has conformed to the required standards set out in the Control of Asbestos Regulations 2006 Approved Code of Practice.