Tradesmen to confront hidden killer

David Sowerby

Tradesmen in Rochdale can now take advantage of 100 hours of free asbestos awareness training in a bid to tackle ignorance about Britain’s biggest industrial killer.

A total of 515 men died from the asbestos-related cancer, mesothelioma, in Greater Manchester in the ten years between 1996 and 2005. It is hoped the new training will help prevent it claiming another generation of tradesmen.
 
During October and November, 100 hours of face-to-face training has been pledged for tradesmen in Rochdale. An additional 5,570 hours of web-based training are also being made available nationally, including courses in Romanian, Russian and Polish.

The Health and Safety Executive (HSE), in partnership with industry, set a poignant target of 4,000 hours of face-to-face training to be donated during September – one hour for each life lost to asbestos-related illnesses in an average year. A target of a further 4,000 hours of online training was also set.

But, thanks to an overwhelming response from training providers across Britain, the combined target of 8,000 hours has been smashed by more than 50 percent.

The free training is aimed at those most likely to disturb asbestos fibres as they go about their work – tradesmen such as joiners, electricians and plumbers, around 20 of whom lose their lives to asbestos-related diseases every week.

The asbestos training pledge initiative is part of HSE’s Hidden Killer campaign to raise awareness that asbestos is not just an historical problem – around half a million non-domestic premises still contain it.

David Sowerby, HSE’s North West Regional Director, 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.

“The response has been overwhelming and has completely exceeded our expectations. There’s been a real groundswell of support from a whole range of training providers.

“We expect demand for the courses to be high and urge tradesmen to go to www.hse.gov.uk and get signed up now. A few hours in a classroom or in front of a computer could add decades to someone’s lives. The courses literally could be a life saver.”

Tony Whitson, Chair of the Greater Manchester Asbestos Victims Support Group, added: “The fantastic response to the request to for free asbestos training has exceeded everyone's expectations and provides a unique opportunity for thousands of workers to gain a better understanding of the hazards of asbestos.

“Each day we visit newly diagnosed mesothelioma sufferers who were never warned of the dangers of asbestos at work and who never knew how essential it was to avoid exposure to asbestos. The importance of asbestos awareness and training today cannot be exaggerated: it's absolutely vital.”

“We hope that HSE asbestos campaigns with such widespread support continue so that every worker who might be exposed to asbestos is reached, and lives will be saved that might well have been lost.”
 
Independent Asbestos Training Providers (IATP), the UK Asbestos Training Association (UKATA) and the Asbestos Safety Health Environmental e-Learning Association (ASHeLA) have been inviting their members to pledge time.

In Rochdale, free training is being provided by Astra in Middleton. Those wanting to sign up for either classroom-based or web-based training can visit www.hse.gov.uk/asbestos/training-pledge.