AN environmental business set up to help companies manage the threat of asbestos in their buildings has been inundated with requests for training after a campaign to highlight the dangers of the substance.
Tasc Environmental Services specialises in surveying buildings for asbestos and managing it according to strict government guidelines. Use of the substance in buildings was banned only in 1999 and it can be found in floor tiles, wall coverings and drainpipes.
The business at Seaton Delaval in Northumberland also trains workers to be asbestos aware and Ian Robb, who set up the firm four years ago with business partner Ray Doyle, said there had been a flurry of bookings from councils eager to educate their staff since a £1.5m Health and Safety Executive campaign.
“On the back of it, all the local authorities have picked up on it. We spent around one day a week on training, then suddenly there was a flood of it.” Tasc has trained people from councils in the North East and around the UK and has recently opened an office near Portsmouth to meet demand on the South coast.
Despite the training demand, surveying buildings for asbestos remains the core business. Samples are sent for laboratory analysis and the position of any asbestos is recorded.
“The difference with us is that most of the other companies will have someone who goes and tests and another person who takes it [the asbestos] away,” said Mr Robb.
“We are completely independent – we don’t get involved in taking it away. Many people believe that if a building is found to contain asbestos, then the only thing to do is to rip it out.
“This is both expensive and in most cases unnecessary. Guidelines from the Health and Safety Executive recommend that it should be left undisturbed and managed in a professional manner.”
Tradespeople are most at risk from breathing in asbestos fibres, which can lead to lung cancer and other diseases.
Asbestos kills 3,500 people a year in the UK.
Mr Robb said: “I actively care about what we do. It’s about making people aware and saving people’s lives.”
