FACT: Inhalation of asbestos will cause lung damage and possibly lung cancer. THERE IS NO
CURE! Asbestos Safety is a major concern.
Question: Have you done all you can legally and morally to make sure all your employees are safe
and do not contract a potentially fatal disease from working in your workplace?
Employers Duties:
All employers have a duty to manage and conduct work activities to ensure the safety, health &
welfare of all employees. In order to comply with their legal requirements, employers must identify
hazards in the workplace.
Asbestos may be identified as a high risk hazard in such working activities as upgrading of existing
buildings e.g. schools built prior to 1980, demolition works, repairs to roofing in farm sheds,
replacement of boilers and pipework, replacement of windows, removal of partition walls. If the
asbestos is damaged and the fibers are released into the air, they will certainly be inhaled or
swallowed by anyone in that danger zone resulting in very severe consequences for them.
Fibers are so tiny that you cannot see them with the naked eye.
Asbestos was used worldwide and valued for its fire retardant properties.
Around 456 BC, Herodotus, the classical Greek historian, referred to the use of asbestos
shrouds wrapped around the dead before their bodies were tossed onto the funeral pyre to
prevent their ashes from being mixed with those of the fire itself.
Romans were said to have woven asbestos fibres into a cloth-like material that was then sewn
into table cloths and napkins. These cloths were cleaned by throwing them into a blistering
fire, from which they came out miraculously unharmed and whiter than when they went in.
Do not take chances when it comes to Asbestos safety. Its not worth it.
If you would like to learn more about protecting yourself and your employees from the dangers of asbestos please check out our courses in Fire Safety.
For more information view our online safety courses.
