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Read the latest news from IATP, plus Asbestos news from the UK & around the world.

Category Archives: Useful Information

Global Asbestos Awareness Week: A Call to Action from IATP

As we approach Global Asbestos Awareness Week, the Independent Asbestos Training Providers (IATP) stands united with organisations and individuals worldwide to shine a spotlight on the critical issue of asbestos exposure and its preventable diseases. This week is a vital opportunity to raise awareness, educate on safe practices, and remember those who have been affected by asbestos-related conditions.

Asbestos remains a significant health risk, hidden within the fabric of buildings old and new, lurking in places you least expect. Despite its known dangers, asbestos exposure continues, making our collective efforts in education, prevention, and advocacy more important than ever.

What is Global Asbestos Awareness Week?

Global Asbestos Awareness Week, observed annually, aims to increase awareness of asbestos and prevent exposure by bringing together experts and victims from around the world to share, learn, and take action. It’s a time for education on the risks of asbestos, advocating for its safe removal, and pushing for legal measures to protect public health.

IATP’s Commitment

The IATP is dedicated to raising the standards of asbestos training, ensuring that those who work with or around asbestos are equipped with the knowledge and skills to do so safely. Our members offer accredited training and a variety of asbestos services, including analysis, surveying, licensed and non-licensed removal, and face fit testing.

Join Us in Raising Awareness

This Global Asbestos Awareness Week, we invite you to join us in our efforts:

  • Educate Yourself and Others: Take advantage of the resources and training offered by IATP members to learn more about asbestos, its health risks, and safe handling practices.
  • Spread the Word: Use your voice on social media, within your community, and in your professional networks to highlight the importance of asbestos awareness. Share stories, facts, and resources to help inform and protect others.
  • Remember and Advocate: Pay tribute to those who have suffered from asbestos-related diseases. Use this week as a catalyst to advocate for stricter asbestos regulations and safer work environments.

Closing Thoughts

Asbestos awareness and safety are not just a concern for one week of the year; they are critical year-round. However, Global Asbestos Awareness Week serves as a powerful reminder of the work still needed to eradicate asbestos-related diseases. Together, through education, advocacy, and action, we can make a difference.

Join us in making this Global Asbestos Awareness Week a turning point in the fight against asbestos. Your voice, your actions, and your commitment can save lives.

BBC programme highlights the heart-breaking and all too common issue of Asbestos in Schools

A recent programme on BBC Victoria Derbyshire highlighted the all too real issue of asbestos in schools. The item featured three individuals who believe that their mesothelioma was caused by asbestos in schools.

Schools are seen as a place of education and development, not somewhere you expect to develop a disease that will take your life from you.

The programme highlights that between 2003 and 2012 nearly 22,000 people died of mesothelioma, for 224 of these individuals their last recorded profession was teaching.

How many of those that have died of mesothelioma have worked in schools previously, attended a school where asbestos was present or changed profession prior to their death? The true scale of the problem is unknown.

One of the three individuals interviewed who have been diagnosed with mesothelioma; Jenny Davis, who believe she came in to contact with asbestos through her job as a science teacher said she has no hopes but fear not knowing what it will be like when she dies.

The programme goes on to state the ¾ of schools in the UK contain asbestos and that legislation requires; as a minimum an asbestos register, monitoring, training and to notify others of the presence of asbestos.

The National Union of Teachers has called for the new government to deal with Asbestos in Schools and for a long term strategy to be put in place.

The programme is a very informative piece and highlights the concerns about asbestos in schools. We hope that this programme will help to raise asbestos awareness and to start people asking the correct questions if they are unsure.

For more information on Asbestos please visit: www.iatp.org.uk

IATP Communication

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Original Source

BBC link: http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p02txdl6

HSE: Asbestos Training – clarification of Control of Asbestos Regulations Requirements

Raising awareness of the risks of exposure to asbestos and on how employees can protect themselves and others plays a key role in helping to reduce the incidence of asbestos related diseases.   HSE values the contribution that all training providers and training associations make in ensuring that workers receive adequate information, instruction and training to enable them to carry out their work without risk to themselves or others. Continue reading

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