Asbestos in Soil - Event Sponsor

Riverside Environmental Services Ltd are proud sponsors of the 'Asbestos in Soil' event being held at the Manchester Conference Centre on the 1st November 2011. 
The event is being held in association with the 'Environmental Industries Commission (EIC)' and the 'British Occupational Hygiene Society (BOHS)' and aims to bring together technical parties to share knowledge and expertise in managing asbestos in soil and emerging developments in UK guidance.

Programme

Morning Session 1: Legislation & Policy (Chair - Richard Boyle, HCA/SAGTA)

- DEFRA review of Part 2A/DCLG review of planning - implications for owners of property contaminated by asbestos Richard Boyle, Homes & Communities Agency/Soil & Groundwater Technology Association

- HSE policy & practice - regulation of works on land contaminated with asbestos Martin Gibson, HSE

- Remediation and re-use of asbestos-contaminated soil - implications of the REACH regulation and relationship to the Definition of Waste: Development Industry Code of Practice Nicholas Willenbrock, CL:AIRE

Morning Session 2: Exposure and Risk (Chair - Andrew Darnton, HSE)

- Health risks and mortality arising from exposure to low levels of asbestos Andrew Darnton, HSE

- Part 2A determinations - a legal perspective Andrew Wiseman, Stephenson Harwood

- Reflection on the Supreme Court judgement - an insurance industry perspective Matthew Hussey, Tysers

Afternoon Session 3: Sampling & Analysis - Soils and Air (Chair - Garry Burdett, HSL)

- Current issues with soil samples/asbestos - a laboratory perspective Hazel Davidson, ALcontrol

- New sampling and analytical method for asbestos in soil Garry Burdett, HSL

- Monitoring low level exposures to asbestos in air Robin Howie, Robin Howie Associates

Afternoon Session 4: Case Studies (Chair - Steve Forster, IEG)

- From laboratory scale to field scale: Issues of representativeness Paul Nathanail, University of Nottingham and Land Quality Management Ltd

- Risk assessment/determination of SPOSH under Part 2A - a problem holder perspective Alan Jones, IOM and Anna Spinks, Wolverhampton City Council

- Investigation and remediation of asbestos in soil - a case study Steve Edgar, VertaseFLI



Riverside Environmental Services Ltd provide high quality exposure assessment and monitoring services nationwide. Including; Asbestos, Legionella, COSHH, Air Testing, Occupational Health, Noise and Vibration. See our full list of services for details.

For more information please contact us.

info@riversideenvironmental.co.uk

www.riversideenvironmental.co.uk/

0870 950 0161

Proposals on Revised Control of Asbestos Regulations

The HSE have released a consultation document on proposed changes to the Control of Asbestos Regulations. (Consultation Document CD237).

The consultation sets out proposals "...to implement the changes required to comply with the European Commission's reasoned opinion on the UK Government's transposition of Directive 83/477/EEC as amended by 2003/18/EC on the protection of workers from the risks of exposure to asbestos at work. The reasoned opinion confirms the European Commission's view that the UK has not fully implemented Article 3(3) of the Directive which provides for the exemption of some types of lower risk work with asbestos from three requirements of the Directive: notification of work; medical examinations; and record keeping..."

Put simply the changes mean in future fewer types of lower risk asbestos work will be exempt from three requirements:

• Notification of work
• Medical examinations
• Record keeping

The HSE are seeking views on: the proposals; the guidance to be produced to explain how the changes will work in practice; and the impact on business.

The following methods have been provided for consultation response:

Online HSE questionnaire

Word response form

The full document can be viewed here: Consultation Document CD237



Riverside Environmental Services Ltd provide high quality exposure assessment and monitoring services nationwide. Including; Asbestos, Legionella, COSHH, Air Testing, Occupational Health, Noise and Vibration. See our full list of services for details.

For more information please contact us.

info@riversideenvironmental.co.uk

www.riversideenvironmental.co.uk/

0870 950 0161

Riverside on First Asbestos Project Management Course from ATAC

ATAC have just launched a new qualification in conjunction with the Royal Society for Public Health for asbestos project managers. 

Riverside had two candidates amongst the first seven to complete the course as we recognise the importance of achieving the highest quality when project managing for our clients.

Adrian Dracup (Riverside Analyst) commented:

"I have been working as an analyst for 7 years and found the course very useful in adding to my knowledge of asbestos as well as learning to think as a project manager on site in addition to providing analytical cover"

The RSPH Certificate in Asbestos Project Management is available to analysts with at least two years’ experience and teaches them the key skills necessary to Project Manage asbestos removal and remediation projects on behalf of clients.

Including theory and practical knowledge and skills, the course covers various aspects of Project Management including contractor selection, client liaison and the management and inspection of asbestos works.

Riverside Environmental Services Ltd provide high quality exposure assessment and monitoring services nationwide. Including; Asbestos, Legionella, COSHH, Air Testing, Occupational Health, Noise and Vibration. See our full list of services for details.

For more information please contact us.

info@riversideenvironmental.co.uk

www.riversideenvironmental.co.uk/

0870 950 0161

Landmark Ruling Over

The supreme court has upheld a £240,000 compensation claim in the first case of a former pupil successfully suing a local authority for negligent exposure to asbestos.

The Government now faces growing pressure to complete a full assessment of the risk from asbestos in schools.

Quotes:

Lord Justice Sedley -
"...where asbestos is involved, a risk of exposure is a risk of harm."

Annette Brooke, MP and chairwoman of the parliamentary asbestos in schools group -
"We have been pushing for an assessment of the asbestos risks to children, and this judgment, we feel, is going to give us the clout to get one."

Michael Lees, founder of the Asbestos Exposure in Schools campaign group -
"The ruling has profound implications."

Husband of the deceased claimant -
"If her case helps others get justice more easily that has to be a good thing"

Knowsley council -
"It has always been clear that Mrs Willmore suffered from a severe illness which was caused by exposure to asbestos and the council is, and always has been, extremely sympathetic towards Mrs Willmore and her family."

Christine Blower, general secretary of the National Union of Teachers -
"It has been known for many years that children are more vulnerable than adults to the effects of asbestos exposure, even at low levels. In the last 10 years, 140 teachers have died of mesothelioma. If teachers are dying from their exposure, inevitably pupils will die too in later life. Because of the long latency period, however, there are no records of adults who have died because of childhood exposure."

Coverage: The Guardian http://www.guardian.co.uk/education/2011/mar/09/asbestos-school-compensation-dianne-willmoreThe BBC  http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-merseyside-12686641Channel 4  (Dead link)Supreme Court Press Release http://www.asbestosexposureschools.co.uk/pdfnewslinks/supreme%20court%20summary.pdf

If you would like advice on managing the risk from asbestos or need an asbestos survey or asbestos air testing, please contact us and we will be happy to help.

Riverside Environmental Services Ltd provide high quality exposure assessment and monitoring services nationwide. Including; Asbestos, Legionella, COSHH, Air Testing, Occupational Health, Noise and Vibration. See our full list of services for details.

For more information please contact us.

info@riversideenvironmental.co.uk

www.riversideenvironmental.co.uk/

0870 950 0161

Asbestos in Schools Survey Highlights Failings

A HSE survey of asbestos management in “system built” schools has shown widespread improvements are necessary. Industry experts however doubt that even this survey goes far enough to show the true extent of the problem.

The survey has resulted in 42 local authorities being inspected, 18 improvement notices, 1 prohibition notice and further advice being given to 32 other local authorities.

ATAC the UK’s leading association for Asbestos testing and consultancy specialists have published a report on their website explaining the findings of the HSE survey following a similar survey carried out by ATAC in February.

It also highlights some concerns that the HSE survey has not gone far enough to show the true level of the problem, a problem which is no surprise to ATAC.

The ATAC Chairman has previously stated “These are not minor problems that have crept in over recent years; rather they are fundamental problems that are endemic in schools in the UK.”

To read the full ATAC release, please click here.

The BBC has also covered the HSE survey results on the Radio 4 programme “You and Yours”. To listen to this programme please click here.

If you need help in managing the risk from asbestos, please contact us and we will be very happy to help.

Riverside Environmental Services Ltd provide high quality exposure assessment and monitoring services nationwide. Including; Asbestos, Legionella, COSHH, Air Testing, Occupational Health, Noise and Vibration. See our full list of services for details.

For more information please contact us.

info@riversideenvironmental.co.uk

www.riversideenvironmental.co.uk/

0870 950 0161

HSE Safe Maintenance Campaign – Asbestos Hazard

The Health and Safety Executive have launched a safe maintenance campaign aimed to promote safety awareness when carrying out maintenance tasks.

The campaign has been launched in partnership with the European Agency for Safety and Health at Work (EU-OSHA), the EEF and the TUC.

One of the key hazards identified is the increased risk from disturbing asbestos while completing maintenance tasks. The important factor in controlling this risk is in properly managing asbestos materials.

The HSE recommends asking two questions before carrying out any maintenance work:

“Have we had our premises surveyed to identify any asbestos containing materials?”

“Do we have drawings or records clearly showing where the asbestos is and what condition it is in?”

The information gathered in these two questions will provide the basis for managing the risk from asbestos when carrying out future maintenance works.

If you need help in answering the two questions above, or need a company to carry out a survey of your building, please contact us and we will be very happy to help.

For more details on the safe maintenance campaign, click here.

Riverside Environmental Services Ltd provide high quality exposure assessment and monitoring services nationwide. Including; Asbestos, Legionella, COSHH, Air Testing, Occupational Health, Noise and Vibration. See our full list of services for details.

For more information please contact us.

info@riversideenvironmental.co.uk

www.riversideenvironmental.co.uk/

0870 950 0161

School Building Cuts Lead to a Greater Risk of Asbestos Exposure

The TUC Asbestos Support and Campaign Group have warned that cuts to the school building programme will lead to a greater risk of asbestos exposure.

This is because schools that have been promised new buildings or significant refurbishment will have reduced spending on maintenance. Allowing old schools to fall into disrepair dramatically increases the risk to both pupils and teachers.

The TUC says the number of teachers who have died from the asbestos-related cancer mesothelioma has increased by over 300% in the last 20 years. Children exposed to asbestos are said to be five times more likely to develop mesothelioma than adult teachers in the same environment.

If you would like to read more information on this problem please click here

If you need assistance ensuring you comply with the asbestos regulations, please contact us and we will be happy to assist you in any way we can.
Riverside Environmental Services Ltd provide high quality exposure assessment and monitoring services nationwide. Including; Asbestos, Legionella, COSHH, Air Testing, Occupational Health, Noise and Vibration. See our full list of services for details.

For more information please contact us.

info@riversideenvironmental.co.uk

www.riversideenvironmental.co.uk/

0870 950 0161

Asbestos - Inside the Global Trade - BBC Feature

The seriousness of the risk posed by Asbestos has prompted the BBC to run a feature from its home page banner called “Dangerous Dust – Inside the Global Asbestos Trade”. In this feature prominent figures underline the links between asbestos and serious diseases such as Mesothelioma and lung cancer. Some extracts are included below:

“Banned or restricted in more than 50 countries, white asbestos continues to be widely used in China, India, Russia and Brazil, and many developing countries. The BBC's Steve Bradshaw and Jim Morris from the ICIJ report on an industry supported by a global network of lobby groups. “

“The WHO says white asbestos "is a known cause of human cancer," including mesothelioma. Dr Vincent Cogliano, of the WHO's International Agency for Research on Cancer says: "My own personal view is that these risks are extremely high. They are as high as just about any known carcinogen that we have seen, except, perhaps, for tobacco smoke. “

“The WHO says 125 million people encounter white asbestos in the workplace, and the International Labour Organization (ILO) estimates that 100,000 workers die each year from all asbestos-related diseases.”

When talking about supporters of asbestos use the BBC writer comments;

“…The asbestos lobby's influence reaches around the world…Critics say the groups' strategy is one borrowed from the tobacco industry: create doubt, contest litigation, and delay regulation.

The American Public Health Association (APHA) has joined the World Federation of Public Health Organizations (WFPHA), the International Commission on Occupational Health (ICOH), and the International Trade Union Confederation (ITUC) in calling for a global asbestos ban.”

“The HSE actively supports the EU's white asbestos ban.”

“Meanwhile, on lung cancer, Alex Burdorf, a public health professor at Rotterdam's Erasmus Medical Centre, said his recent review of earlier epidemiological studies commissioned by the Dutch government, had convinced him that white asbestos was "much more dangerous than previously thought." "What we have shown is that chrysotile is as dangerous as crocidolite [blue asbestos] for contracting lung cancer, and is also linked to mesothelioma," he said. "I don't think there is safe way of working with asbestos, so I would support a global ban on asbestos purely because of public health risks." “

To see the full story please click here to go to the BBC website or contact us for more details including a full copy of the story quoted.



Riverside Environmental Services Ltd provide high quality exposure assessment and monitoring services nationwide. Including; Asbestos, Legionella, COSHH, Air Testing, Occupational Health, Noise and Vibration. See our full list of services for details.

For more information please contact us.

info@riversideenvironmental.co.uk

www.riversideenvironmental.co.uk/

0870 950 0161

Asbestos – Dangers in the Dust – BBC iPlayer

The seriousness of the risk posed by Asbestos has prompted the BBC to run a season called ”Dangers in the Dust”, this series looks at the asbestos problem in the light of some experts warning that by 2030 asbestos could be linked to millions of deaths.

Here we have provided links to the short programmes held on the BBC iPlayer:

·         BBC and ICIJ journalist meets scientists on both sides of the Asbestos debate. click here

·         Nellie Kershaw’s Story – Diagnosis which eventually led to the banning of asbestos in the UK. click here

·         Visit to Indian shanty town where sheets of broken asbestos surround those who live there. click here

·         Business Daily looks at the qualities and risks of white asbestos. click here

The story of Steve Lee who has lived with the incurable cancer, mesothelioma. click here

Riverside Environmental Services Ltd provide high quality exposure assessment and monitoring services nationwide. Including; Asbestos, Legionella, COSHH, Air Testing, Occupational Health, Noise and Vibration. See our full list of services for details.

For more information please contact us.
info@riversideenvironmental.co.uk
http://www.riversideenvironmental.co.uk/
0870 950 0161

Riverside Director Jonathan Francis made Chairman of ATaC

 



We are very proud to announce that Riverside director Jonathan Francis has been made chairman of ATaC – Asbestos Testing and Consultancy. 

 

What is ATaC?

 ATaC was established in 1998 to promote high standards in all aspects of  asbestos consultancy work, assist the Health and Safety Executive and Health and Safety Commission and to elevate awareness of the hazards from deadly asbestos fibres.

As a valued member of ATaC, Jonathan Francis is very happy to be involved in continuing the essential aims and objectives of the organisation and will ensure Riverside continues to be at the forefront of providing those excellent standards in all its survey and analytical works.

In the latest edition of the ATaC journal Jonathan Francis acknowledged the “effort, time and commitment” the previous Chairman John O’Sullivan had provided before setting out some of the ways he intends to continue and further the objectives of the organisation.

Use these links for more information about ATaC or to read the latest journal.

Riverside Environmental Services Ltd provide high quality exposure assessment and monitoring services nationwide. Including; Asbestos, Legionella, COSHH, Air Testing, Occupational Health, Noise and Vibration. See our full list of services for details.

For more information please contact us.

info@riversideenvironmental.co.uk

http://www.riversideenvironmental.co.uk/

0870 950 0161