Asbestos trainers step up to and over the mark

Health & Safety update 07/11/2011

During September, the HSE's target 4,000 hours of face-to-face training to be donated by asbestos training companies to vulnerable tradesmen, has been exceeded by almost 100 per cent. Owing to an "overwhelming response" from training companies, 7,987 hours of classroom training plus 5,570 web-based hours have been given to tradesmen who are likely to come into contact with asbestos. Training has also been offered in Romanian, Russian and Polish.


The free training is available throughout October and November and is aimed at tradesmen most likely to disturb asbestos fibres while carrying out their everyday work, such as joiners, electricians and plumbers. These are the most affected group, around 20 of whom lose their lives to asbestos-related diseases in the UK every week. The asbestos training pledge initiative is part of HSE's Hidden Killer campaign to raise awareness that asbestos is not just a historical problem- it is estimated that around half a million non-domestic premises still contain it.

Karen Clayton, HSE's director for long latency health risks, said, "This training will save lives by helping to tackle ignorance about the risks posed by working with asbestos. It will help prevent this hidden killer from claiming another generation of British tradesmen".

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