It has been brought to light that the renovation works in the Houses of Parliament have potentially exposed dozens of people to asbestos. The highly dangerous substance has been disturbed, and now parliamentary staff and contactors are now anxiously living in fear of what could come next now they know they’ve potentially inhaled the asbestos fibres in.
The renovation work took place between October and November 2021, and the matter is currently under significant investigation. This shows that anyone – regardless of power – is just as vulnerable to the effects of asbestos as anyone else. No one is shielded from the consequences, and therefore everyone should put precautions in place before the health and safety of people is endangered.
According to several news outlets, authorities this week said they had called a “temporary pause” to any renovation works taking place, to ensure that health and safety precautions are in place and so lessons are learned. However, this isn’t the only way you can avoid asbestos, and you shouldn’t have to wait until ‘lessons are learned’. You can make sure safety precautions are put in place BEFORE any consequences happen (#howboutthat)! For example: a simple 2-hour course can quite literally save a person’s life. It can help people recognise and react in the correct way when exposed to asbestos.
According to Construction News, it was revealed that it costs the UK Parliament £127 million every year to maintain the quality of the building. Yet the current renovation was needed as the Houses of Parliament are steadily crumbling down. Now that asbestos has been exposed, it may cost them more money to renovate in the future.
As we all know, asbestos is a potentially deadly substance that kills over 5000 workers each year. Not everyone knows where and when they have been exposed to asbestos, as it can be a ‘slow burner’, but once the symptoms of asbestos exposure start, the consequences are inevitable and irreversible.
Construction workers tend to bear the brunt of asbestos exposure, as asbestos is usually only dangerous when ‘disturbed’. Therefore, as workers breath it in they gradually gain more and more scarring in their lungs, potentially resulting in multiple cancers (asbestosis, mesothelioma, laryngeal, etc).
Asbestos can be found in any building built before the year 2000. I don’t know about you, but every building around me is usually older than 22 years old, so it’s definitely handy to be aware of this substance before renovating your home! See our blog on how to spot asbestos when renovating your home.
If you know someone that works in high risk areas of asbestos, then click below to find out more about our Asbestos Awareness course.