Running from 1 – 7 April, SAMS will be supporting Global Asbestos Awareness Week 2022, a global event that is dedicated to raising awareness around the dangers of asbestos and preventing exposure. Bringing together experts, victims, and leading organisations from around the world to share, learn and act.
Asbestos is responsible for over 5,000 deaths in the UK alone, with 2,369 being attributed to mesothelioma deaths and a similar number of lunch cancer deaths, according to the latest HSE statistics.
Amongst those most at risk from exposure to asbestos includes plumbers, electricians, demolition workers, builders, and interior contractors.
Used in over 4,000 products asbestos can still be found in the fabric of many buildings to this day event though a total ban was introduced in 1999 in the UK. Common products that can be found include textured coatings, pipe lagging, sprayed coatings on ceilings and walls, asbestos insulating board and asbestos cement.
This will be the 18th annual Global Asbestos Awareness Week which is incredibly important for SAMS around 20 tradespeople die each week due to past exposure to asbestos. It is also known that there are over 1.5 million buildings that may contain asbestos in the UK alone according to the HSE. We still have a long way to go to tackle the global issue but we will continue to raise awareness around the dangers of asbestos and provide training to those most at risk. I
Throughout the week, SAMS will be joining UKATA on social media to spread awareness, promoting the dangers of asbestos and the diseases caused by exposure.
SAMS are members of UKATA, a leading authority for asbestos training, dedicated to maintaining and improving the standards of asbestos training.
To book onto an upcoming UKATA approved course, please click here.