by Brianna Crandall — May 18, 2012—The results for the Great British Asbestos in Buildings Survey 2011 are now available from the Asbestos Inspection Bodies initiative, a collaboration that promotes the use of organizations that have been accredited under the United Kingdom Accreditation Service (UKAS) by companies who need to commission surveys for asbestos.
The annual industry-wide survey, conducted under the UKAS Accredited Asbestos Campaign, reportedly provides a comprehensive and accurate picture of the level of awareness of asbestos in buildings within the U.K. built environment industry.
The survey was completed throughout 2011 by a wide range of professionals representing a range of business sizes and a variety of industries from across the United Kingdom. According to the U.K. Health and Safety Executive (HSE), asbestos is responsible for the deaths of 4,000 people in the U.K. yearly. Many of these are tradesmen such as electricians, builders, plumbers and electricians.
The report indicates that “many commercial businesses have asbestos management procedures in place, but there are some significant gaps in terms of knowledge of responsibilities, provision of information and training, and this is demonstrated by the number of people that have confirmed that they have disturbed asbestos during their activities.”
The conductors of the survey assert that “although some progress has been made in raising awareness of asbestos management procedures and getting personnel trained, there is still a large amount of work that needs to be done to ensure people are not exposed to asbestos.”
