BSafe Consultancy Limited

Asbestos was extensively used as a building material in the UK from the 1950s through to the mid-1980s. It was used for a variety of purposes and was ideal for fireproofing and insulation. Any building built before 2000 (houses, factories, offices, schools, hospitals etc) can contain asbestos. Asbestos materials in good condition are safe unless asbestos fibres become airborne, which happens when materials are damaged.

Why is asbestos dangerous?

When these fibres are inhaled they can cause serious diseases which are responsible for around 4500 deaths a year. There are four main diseases caused by asbestos: mesothelioma (which is always fatal), lung cancer (almost always fatal), asbestosis (not always fatal, but it can be very debilitating) and diffuse pleural thickening (not fatal).

Asbestos fibres are present in the environment in Great Britain so people are exposed to very low levels of fibres. However, a key factor in the risk of developing an asbestos-related disease is the total number of fibres breathed in. Working on or near damaged asbestos-containing materials or breathing in high levels of asbestos fibres, which may be many hundreds of times that of environmental levels can increase your chances of getting an asbestos-related disease.

Asbestos related diseases won’t affect immediately but later on in life, so there is a need for you to protect yourself now to prevent you contracting an asbestos-related disease in the future. It is also important to remember that people who smoke and are also exposed to asbestos fibres are at a much greater risk of developing lung cancer.

Where can you find asbestos?

Example gallery of different asbestos products and locations. Also refer to HSE link “where is it found”.

When am I at risk?

You are mostly at risk when:

• You are working on an unfamiliar site
• The building you are working on was built before the year 2000
• Asbestos-containing materials were not identified before the job was started
• Asbestos-containing materials were identified but this information was not passed on by the people in charge to the people doing the work
• You don’t know how to recognise and work safely with asbestos

You know how to work safely with asbestos but you choose to put yourself at risk by not following proper precautions, perhaps to save time or because no one else is following proper procedures

Remember, as long as the asbestos is not damaged or located somewhere where it can be easily damaged it won’t be a risk to you.

• You can’t see or smell asbestos fibres in the air.
• The effects of being exposed to asbestos take many years to show up – avoid breathing it in now.
• Smoking increases the risk many times.
• Asbestos is only a danger when fibres are made airborne and breathed in.

Are you sure that you don’t come in to contact with asbestos?

Also check the equipment and method sheets from the HSE for details on what to use and how, and whether the activity needs to be notified.

• Heating and ventilation engineers
• Demolition workers
• Carpenters and joiners
• Plumbers
• Roofing contractors
• Painters and decorators
• Plasterers
• Construction workers
• Fire and burglar alarm installers
• Shop fitters
• Gas fitters
• Computer installers
• General maintenance staff eg caretakers
• Telecommunications engineers
• Building surveyors
• Cable layers
• Electricians

This list does not include all occupations where you may come in to contact with asbestos. Some of the places where you may find it can be found on the HSE interactive diagram.

It’s not easy to tell if materials contain asbestos from how they look. It can only be properly identified in a specialist laboratory. But here are a few examples; some pictures are also featured in our picture gallery.

• Asbestos used as packing between floors and in partition walls
• Sprayed (‘limpet’) asbestos on structural beams and girders
• Lagging on pipework, boilers, calorifiers, heat exchangers etc
• Asbestos insulating board – ceiling tiles, partition walls, service duct covers, fire breaks, heater cupboards, door panels, lift shaft lining, fire surrounds, soffits etc.
• Asbestos cement products such as roof and wall cladding, bath panels, boiler and incinerator flues, fire surrounds, gutters, rainwater pipes, water tanks etc.
• Other products such as floor tiles, mastics, sealants, rope seals and gaskets (in pipework etc.), millboard, paper products, cloth (fire blankets, etc.) and bituminous products (roofing felt, etc)

Some of the examples listed above can only be carried out by a contractor who has been granted a licence from HSE. Other jobs can be carried out using the HSE task sheets (link to hse asbestos web page)