Asbestos was used in construction and materials prior to being banned in the UK, however, it still remains in plenty of our homes, schools, and commercial buildings. Undisturbed, this asbestos doesn’t pose a risk to your health. However, when disturbed (e.g. during construction, demolition or maintenance) asbestos fibres are released into the air and can cause serious health issues for those exposed.
Here are 6 reasons you might need to consider asbestos awareness training of some kind:
1. You work in an industry where you might encounter asbestos, but you aren’t required to work with it.
If you work in an industry where you may encounter asbestos-containing materials, but you aren’t required to work with them, the most basic level of asbestos awareness training is a legal requirement for you.
This training could simply be called Asbestos Awareness. It might also be referenced as ‘Asbestos Awareness Category A’. This training doesn’t provide an adequate level of training for employees or supervisors working directly with asbestos.
2. Your home, workplace, or building you frequently visit might contain asbestos and you’d like to be aware of the risks and safety information.
If your home, or any other building, was built or refurbished before the year 2000, there could be asbestos-containing materials present. This isn’t a danger unless the asbestos is disturbed. Disturbing asbestos causes it to release microscopic fibres into the air, which can be inhaled and damage your lungs.
If you are worried about potentially disturbing the fabric of this building and you’d like to become aware of the risks of asbestos, and procedures for finding asbestos, you might find the asbestos awareness training course has useful information to make sure you are as safe as possible.
3. You are planning maintenance or DIY work on your home which was built before the year 2000.
If you suspect there could be asbestos-containing materials in your home, completing an asbestos awareness course might be a good idea if you want to minimise the risks of disturbing asbestos while carrying out refurbishments, maintenance, decoration, or any other DIY work on your home or another building built before the year 2000. Even working with Artex, a popular material used on ceiling decorations, can lead to asbestos exposure which could damage your health after long term exposure.
4. You are planning to work directly with asbestos.
If you are planning to work directly with asbestos, you will require asbestos awareness training and the non-licensable asbestos training course will provide an adequate level of information for employees and supervisors to be directly working with or disturbing asbestos-containing materials. Examples of this could include removing asbestos cement products, asbestos paper and cardboard products, and resin based products etc.
5. You are planning higher risk work with asbestos (Licensable work with asbestos)
All of the higher risk work involving asbestos will need to be carried out by a licensed contractor. If you are a licensed contractor, or you are training to become a licensed contractor, you will legally be required to complete a Licensed Work with Asbestos training course.
Work with asbestos becomes a higher risk when the worker’s exposure to asbestos is not sporadic or low intensity, or where the risk assessment cannot demonstrate the control limit will not be exceeded.
Higher risk work could also include work on asbestos insulation boards, asbestos insulation, or asbestos coating.
6. You need to become aware of the legal obligations and emergency procedures surrounding asbestos awareness, or you’d like to inform others about asbestos awareness.
Even if you aren’t legally required to complete any asbestos awareness training, you might complete the basic level of asbestos awareness to become aware of the dangers and help spread awareness about the risks surrounding asbestos exposure.
Most people will believe that only those in the construction industry need to be aware of asbestos, however, this isn’t the case. Research has shown that asbestos can pose a risk to those not working in the construction industry. For example, recent studies suggest that over 75% of schools in the UK contain poorly maintained asbestos, leading to teachers, students, staff and visitors becoming inadvertently exposed to asbestos.
Summary
Asbestos Awareness training is a legal requirement when carrying out works with asbestos containing materials (ACMs), or when working in certain industries.
Some of the reasons you could be asearching for Asbestos Awareness training in your area are as follows:
- You work in an industry where you might encounter asbestos, but you aren’t required to work with it.
- Your home, workplace, or building you frequently visit might contain asbestos and you’d like to be aware of the risks and safety information.
- You are planning maintenance or DIY work on your home which was built before the year 2000.
- You are planning to work directly with asbestos.
- You are planning higher risk work with asbestos (Licensable work with asbestos)
- You need to become aware of the legal obligations and emergency procedures surrounding asbestos awareness, or you’d like to inform others about asbestos awareness.
POD Training and Consultancy offer UKATA Asbestos Awareness training to suit the needs of your workplace. View our Asbestos Awareness training courses here or contact a member of the team for more details.
Asbestos Awareness (UKATA)
Asbestos awareness training is required to be given to employees whose work could foreseeably expose them to asbestos.