Courses To Encourage Better Management Of Deadly Material

The Health and Safety Executive’s (HSE’s) plans to hold training courses on asbestos handling for construction industry professionals across the South Yorkshire and Humber area have been welcomed by a specialist at Irwin Mitchell.

A series of events, organised in conjunction with the trade body South Yorkshire & Humber Working Well Together Group, is to be held over this month and next in areas including Barnsley, Worksop, Goole, Grimsby and Hull.

The aim is to provide all workers including joiners, plumbers and painters with the knowledge and awareness of what asbestos is, how it can look in its different forms and how it should be dealt with if discovered during a job.

It is hoped the events will ensure all construction firms provide their workers with the necessary guidance on the management of asbestos, which in turn will ensure both staff and members of the public are safe from exposure to the deadly material.

Adrian Budgen, a Partner and asbestos claims specialist at Irwin Mitchell’s Sheffield office, welcomed the announcement and revealed his hopes for the events.

He said: “Courses like this can play a key role in educating the construction industry on the inherent dangers that asbestos can pose to their workers and members of the public.

“Many of the clients we represent are suffering from asbestos-related diseases such as mesothelioma as a result of exposure to the material in an industrial setting, while a number have also come into contact with it in old public buildings such as schools and hospitals.

“The work that the HSE carries out has shown that asbestos management failings continue to happen far too regularly, so we hope that events like this will help companies sit up and take notice of their responsibilities to both their employees and the public at large.”