Ensuring that the refurbishment industry is not the asbestos compensation epicentre of the late 21st century
Since the widespread ban on the use of asbestos in new and refurbished buildings came into effect, the risk of people suffering exposure to the deadly substance has been greatly reduced. This, however, does not mean that there is no ongoing risk, and it is entirely feasible that asbestos compensation settlements will continue to make news well into the 21st century.
The situation in North Wales is a case in point, with concerns that those engaged in refurbishment work in this area of the UK may be disturbing asbestos at the risk of exposing workers.
In late 2008 the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) felt sufficiently concerned with the situation in North Wales to issue the following warning, "In the past six months seven prohibition notices have been issued and one improvement notice. There have also been a number of additional incidents where HSE inspectors have had to investigate and they have fortunately managed to head off problems."
Debbie Johns, an HSE construction safety specialist in the North Wales city of Wrexham has also urged those involved in refurbishment work to guard against complacency. "Site owners need to understand the dangers that asbestos poses to the long-term health of those who are repeatedly exposed to it," she said. Adding, "They have a legal obligation to have a survey carried out by a competent surveyor on properties before any work starts and then provide the results of that survey to companies carrying out the work.
"HSE is running a campaign called 'Asbestos - the Hidden Killer' which highlights how the dangers of asbestos are relevant to tradesmen. "Fortunately, in many investigated cases, work is brought to an immediate standstill as soon as asbestos is discovered, but site owners need to be aware that they are responsible for identifying this material before work starts."
Unfortunately, many fear that if those in working in refurbishment do not heed this advice the industry could become the epicentre of the asbestos compensation claims of the second half of the 21st century.
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