Don’t take a deep breath

Asbestos remains the UK’s single biggest cause of work-related deaths and numbers are rising. While the two most dangerous forms of the substance (blue and brown) were banned back in 1985, white asbestos was still being used in buildings up to 1999. The stark warning is that if you work on structures that were built or refurbished before the year 2000, there is a chance that you will come across asbestos.

Worryingly, a survey by the British Lung Foundation found that 80% of tradesmen did not know that exposure to asbestos could be fatal. Less than one third knew it was carcinogenic. Good news then that the Health and Safety Executive has launched a new campaign called Asbestos Kills to make workers more aware of safety precautions. Make sure employees realise that this is very much a problem of the present not the past.

The HSE’s recent spot checks in the refurbishment sector found that there is still much work to be done when it comes to planning and executing safe work procedures on site. The standards of work that the HSE witnessed were so poor that inspectors stopped work immediately on 30% of sites.

April sees the introduction of the Corporate Manslaughter Act, perhaps the biggest change in health and safety law in decades. If the HSE’s inspections are anything to go by, the construction industry has a long way to go before it can be satisfied that its health and safety managment systems will stand up to the scrutiny of this new legislation if the worst happens.