Public Health Disaster: HSE's Asbestos Policy Slammed As 'Not Fit For Purpose' 

1 September 2021

Campaigners have blasted the Health and Safety Executive’s (HSE) management of asbestos in buildings, after it said it would begin a review and MPs launched an inquiry into the toxic mineral’s regulation.

The Government has launched an inquiry into the current risks of asbestos, following a large number of fatalities linked to the material.

Parliament’s Work and Pensions Committee is looking at how the HSE manages the presence of asbestos in buildings, and is calling for evidence on the subject.

Despite a ban on importing, supplying and using asbestos in the UK being in place since 1999, the once-widespread building material remains the biggest cause of work-related deaths here, including among many former construction workers. There are around 5,000 reported work-related deaths from illnesses linked to asbestos every year, including mesothelioma, lung cancer and asbestosis.

The Committee is seeking views on the following questions.

• What are the current risks posed by asbestos in the workplace? Which groups of workers are most at risk?
• How effective is the current legislative and regulatory framework for the management of asbestos?
• How does the HSE’s approach to managing asbestos compare to the approach taken in other countries? Are there lessons that the UK could learn from best practice elsewhere?
• How does the HSE measure and report its progress in mitigating the risks of asbestos?
• Does the HSE keep adequate records of asbestos in public buildings?
• Is the HSE making best use of available technology and systems to monitor the safety of asbestos which remains in buildings?
• Does the HSE commit adequate resources to asbestos management in line with the level of risk?
• How robust is the available data about the risks and impact of asbestos in the workplace? What gaps in evidence need to be filled?
• Is the HSE drawing on a wide body of international and national regulatory and industry expertise to inform its approach to the management of asbestos safety in buildings?
• How effectively does the HSE engage with external stakeholders and experts about its approach to the regulation of asbestos?

The deadline for submissions is 17^th September 2021.

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