Cross-party call for removal of asbestos in all public buildings

A report by the all-party parliamentary group on occupational safety and health has called for the eradication of any remaining asbestos from buildings in Britain.

The report says that that regulations are needed for the safe, phased and planned removal of all remaining asbestos in Britain by 2035.

The dangers of asbestos are well documented with exposure known to cause mesothelioma – a cancer of the membrane on the lungs, heart and gut, and also asbestosis, which is a long-term condition due to lung scarring. According to official figures, around 2,000 people are likely to die prematurely as a consequence of exposure to asbestos.

The report’s recommendations state that commercial, public and rented domestic premises should be registered with the HSE and undergo a survey by 2022. The next phase would see asbestos removed from public buildings and educational premises by 2028, and the complete removal by 2035 at the latest.

The report estimates that asbestos is still in use in potentially 500,000 non-domestic properties in the UK.

Ian Lavery, Wansbeck MP, Chair of the all-party group, said: “There is far too much complacency about the asbestos which we can still find in hundreds of thousands of workplaces as well as a majority of schools where children face exposure to this killer dust.

“We believe that the government needs to start now on developing a programme to ensure that asbestos is safely removed from every workplace and public place so that we can end, once and for all this dreadful legacy which has killed so many people, and will continue to kill until asbestos is eradicated.”

The TUC has backed the recommendations in the report. TUC General Secretary Frances O’Grady said: “The effects of exposure to asbestos at work continue to cause thousands of deaths every year. Yet asbestos is still with us in around half a million workplaces and public buildings across the UK. As a result, more than 15 years after the use of asbestos was banned, hundreds of thousands of workers are still put at risk of exposure every day.

“The proposal from the all-party group for the safe removal and disposal of asbestos from all workplaces and public buildings,’ he continued, ‘is the only way of ensuring that future generations do not have to live with the continuing legacy that asbestos will leave unless action is taken now.”

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