Tories Voice Opposition to Asbestos Regulations

I feel that claims of over charging by asbestos survey organisations is a comment designed to discredit the regulations rather than indicative of a real problem.
As John Richards comments other professional surveyors often have significantly higher fees.
Also clients should distinguish between the genuine consultant who will have the relevant (and expensive ) professionl indemnity insurances, accreditations, in-house testing facilities,trianing programmes, QC systems etc. and the asbestos contractor who also offers "consultancy " services ! Will advice from this source be independent ?? Will he suggest that materials can be left in-situ or recommend removal ?

The following is an abstract of my company, Helios Safety & Rescue, notes for training in awareness of Asbestos Hazards. It may be of interest to parties tending to react with more emotion than science, to the proposed new Management Regulations, currently delayed before Parliament.
Where Asbestos has its dangers, there is no great logic in legislating against it, as apposed to many other common minerals that cause occupational disease, when mis-handled. There are no known cases of Mesothelioma; the Asbestos specific cancer; that can be isolated to Chrysotile (White Asbestos). All such cases appear to involve the spikier fibres associated with Brown and Blue Abestos. Asbestos Cement, used in roof sheeting on many industrial and domestic premises is probably less harmful than fibre-glass. Where the proposed Regulations will doubtless increase demand on firms such as mine, I do not believe them prudent, logical or necessary in promoting safety from the risks of the now virtually redundant Asbestos Industry.
>>"Asbestos" is the name given to a group of minerals that occur naturally as masses of strong, flexible fibres that can be separated into thin threads and woven. These fibres are not affected by heat and do not conduct electricity. Asbestos is chemically, relatively stable. For these reasons, asbestos has been widely used in many industries. Four types of asbestos have been commonly used:
· Chrysotile, or white asbestos (curly, flexible white fibres), which accounts for about 90 percent of the asbestos currently used in industry;
· Amosite (straight, brittle fibres that are light grey to pale brown in colour); {Actinolite is a further type of Asbestos, which has green fibres. It is similar in structure and chemistry to Amosite.}
· Crocidolite, also called BLUE ASBESTOS, is a grey-blue to leek-green, fibrous form of the amphibole mineral Riebeckite. It has a greater tensile strength than Chrysotile asbestos but is much less heat-resistant, fusing to black glass at relatively low temperatures. The major commercial source is South Africa, where it occurs in ironstone; it is also found in Australia and Bolivia. Crocidolite is often replaced by quartz, forming the chatoyant semiprecious gems tiger-eye and hawk's-eye.
· Anthophyllite (meaning brittle white fibres). is an amphibole mineral, of magnesium and iron silicate that occurs in altered rocks, such as the crystalline schists of Kongsberg, Norway, Southern Greenland, and Pennsylvania. It is commonly produced by regional metamorphism of ultra-basic rocks. Because its fibres have a low tensile strength, Anthophyllite asbestos is not as important as Crocidolite or Amosite and much less so than Chrysotile. Actinolite is an amphibole mineral in the Tremolite-actinolite-ferrotremolite series of calcium, magnesium, and iron silicates. The minerals in this series are abundant in regionally metamorphosed rocks, such as schists. Tremolite may weather to talc, and both tremolite and Actinolite may alter to chlorite or carbonates. The fibres of the magnesium-rich members in the series are economically important as asbestos; these varieties, sometimes known as amphibole asbestos, constitute the material to which the name asbestos was originally given. The fibres are fine and silky and possess appreciable tensile strength; those that occur in thin, felted sheets of interwoven fibres are called mountain leather; in thicker sheets, mountain cork; and in compact masses resembling dry wood, mountain wood.
· An amphibole is any of a group of common rock-forming silicate minerals. Amphiboles occur in most igneous rocks as minor and major constituents and form the major component in many metamorphic gneisses and schists. The amphiboles are inosilicates. They have two planes of well-developed prismatic cleavages that intersect at angles of about 124° and 56°. Many amphiboles develop elongate crystals, some becoming needle-like and fibrous. Several of these fibrous forms - Riebeckite, Cummingtonite, Anthophyllite, and Tremolite - are collectively called asbestos. In general, amphiboles crystallize in either the orthorhombic or monoclinic system.
The amphiboles show considerable variation in composition. Besides silicon (Si) and oxygen (O), their components include Sodium (Na), Calcium (Ca), Magnesium (Mg), Iron (Fe), Aluminium (Al), Hydrogen (H), and Fluorine (F). The general chemical formula of the amphibole group may be expressed as:
(Na,Ca)2-3(Mg,Fe3+,Al)5(Si,Al)3O22(OH,O,F)2
or (Mg,Fe2+,Fe3+,Al)7(Si,Al)8O22(OH,O,F)3.
The amphibole structure consists of double chains of silicon-oxygen tetrahedrons in which alternate tetrahedrons link two single chains by sharing an oxygen atom. The double-chain groups are bonded to parallel adjacent double chains by the Na, Ca and Mg, Fe2+, Fe3+, Al ions of the crystal. There are only small differences between the ionic sizes of Mg, Fe2+, Fe3+, and Al, so that the positions in the crystal that are occupied by Mg can also be occupied by these similarly sized ions (i.e., they can substitute for each other). The ionic sizes of Ca and Na are similar enough that they can substitute for each other. Moreover, the ionic size of Al is close enough to the size of Si that a limited Al substitution for Si occurs
Chrysotile asbestos, with its curly fibres, is in the serpentine family of minerals. Other types of asbestos, which all have needle-like fibres, are known as amphiboles.
Asbestos fibre masses tend to break easily into a dust composed of tiny particles that can float in the air and stick to clothes. The fibres may be easily inhaled or swallowed and can cause serious health problems ? especially lung fibrosis and sometimes, inter pleural cancer, called Mesothelioma. This illness is specific to Asbestos exposure.
Uses of Asbestos:
Asbestos has been mined and used commercially since the late eighteenth century but its use increased greatly from 1920. Since then, it has been used in many industries. For example, the building and construction industry uses it for strengthening cement and plastics as well as for insulation, fireproofing, and sound absorption. Shipbuilding and Railway engineering have used asbestos to insulate boilers, steam pipes, hot water pipes, and nuclear reactors. The automotive industry uses asbestos in vehicle brake shoes and clutch pads. More than 5,000 commonly used products contain or have contained asbestos. These include sewage piping, roofing and siding, casings for electrical wires, fire protection material, chemical tanks, electrical switchboards and components, and residential and industrial building materials; Friction products, such as clutch facings; brake linings for automobiles, railroad cars, and airplanes; and industrial friction materials;
In 1969 the Asbestos Regulations were introduced in Britain. It is estimated that there are 30,000 people living, who were employed in Britain?s Asbestos Industry. Almost every one over forty has been exposed to asbestos fibre in some degree. There are currently estimated 3000 cases of crippling or fatal illness in Britain, caused directly by breathing Asbestos fibre.
By the late 1970s, the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission banned the use of asbestos in wallboard patching compounds and gas fireplaces because these products released excessive amounts of asbestos fibres into the environment. Manufacturers of electric hair dryers voluntarily withdrew asbestos. These and other regulatory actions, coupled with widespread public concern about the hazards of asbestos, have resulted in decline in the use of asbestos. Use of asbestos in the USA amounted to about 560,000 metric tons in 1979, but it had dropped to about 55,000 metric tons by 1989.
3. What are the health hazards of exposure to asbestos?
Exposure to asbestos may increase the risk of several serious diseases:
· Asbestosis is a chronic lung ailment that can produce shortness of breath and permanent lung damage and increase the risk of dangerous lung infections. It is caused by prolonged inhalation of asbestos fibres. A type of pneumoconiosis, it is found primarily among workers whose occupations involved asbestos, principally mining, construction, and the manufacture of insulation, fireproofing, cement products, and automobile brakes. The disease is not limited solely to asbestos workers but is also known among people living near mines, factories, and construction sites.
Asbestos fibres that have been inhaled remain in the lungs for years and eventually cause excessive scarring and fibrosis, resulting in a stiffening of the lungs that continues long after exposure ceases. Greater effort is needed to make the stiffened lungs expand during breathing, and shortness of breath and inadequate oxygenation of the blood result. Persons with advanced cases of the disease have a dry cough, and the increased cardiac effort needed to expand the lungs may induce a secondary heart disease. An increased incidence of lung cancer and of malignant Mesothelioma (a rare cancer of the membrane lining the lungs) is also associated with asbestos inhalation and asbestosis. There is no effective treatment for asbestosis.
Asbestosis usually results only after at least 10 years' exposure to asbestos, and the first symptoms do not appear until many years after the initial exposure; shipyard workers exposed to asbestos during World War II began developing asbestosis in the 1960s and '70s. (Mesothelioma, by contrast, can develop after relatively little exposure to asbestos.) It is now known that cigarette smoking seriously aggravates the symptoms of asbestosis. The incidence of asbestosis increased after 1950, probably due to the increasingly widespread industrial use of asbestos. This use declined from the 1970s and had been prohibited in many countries by the 1990s owing to asbestos fibres' deleterious effects on the lungs. Lung cancer;
· Mesothelioma-a relatively rare cancer of the thin membranes that line the chest and abdomen; and
· Other cancers, such as those of the larynx and of the gastrointestinal tract.
4. Who is at risk?
Since the early 1920s, millions of workers have been exposed to asbestos dust, including the men and women who worked in shipyards during the peak shipbuilding years of World War II. Health hazards from asbestos dust have been recognized in workers exposed in shipbuilding trades, asbestos mining and milling, manufacturing of asbestos textiles and other asbestos products, insulation work in the construction and building trades, brake repair, and a variety of other auto-motive trades. Demolition workers, drywall removers, and fire fighters also may be exposed to asbestos dust. As a result of Government regulations and improved work practices, today's workers (those without previous exposure) are likely to face smaller risks than did those exposed in the past.
Although it is known that the risk to workers increases with heavier exposure and longer exposure time, investigators have found asbestos-related diseases in some shipyard workers exposed to high levels of asbestos fibres for only brief periods (as little as 1 or 2 months). Even workers who may not have worked directly with asbestos but whose jobs were located near contaminated areas have developed asbestosis, Mesothelioma, and other cancers associated with asbestos exposure.
Generally, workers who develop asbestos-related diseases show no signs of illness until many years after first exposure. For example, the time between first exposure to asbestos and the appearance of lung cancer is generally 15 years or more; a lag of 30 to 35 years is not unusual. The lag period for development of Mesothelioma and asbestosis is even greater, often as long as 40 to 45 years.
There is also some evidence that family members of workers heavily exposed to asbestos face an increased risk of developing Mesothelioma and perhaps other asbestos-related diseases. This risk is thought to result from exposure to asbestos dust brought into the home on the shoes, clothing, skin, and hair of workers.
5. How great is the risk?
Relatively few workers exposed to asbestos will develop diseases related to their exposure. In fact, many will experience no ill effects. There are no known cases of Mesothelioma from exposure to Chrysotile (curly, white asbestos). The amphobile group is so associated and further, amphobiles promote fibrosis many times more readily. Laws in Britain and America treat Chrysotile as a carcinogen, however.
Asbestos that is bonded into finished products such as walls, tiles, and pipes poses no risk to health as long as it is not damaged or disturbed (for example, by sawing or drilling) in such a way as to release fibres into the air. When asbestos particles are set free and inhaled, however, exposed individuals are at risk of developing an asbestos-related disease. Once these nearly indestructible fibres work their way into body tissues, they tend to stay there indefinitely.
The risk of developing asbestos-related diseases varies with the type of industry in which the exposure occurred and with the extent of the exposure. In addition, different types of asbestos fibres may be associated with different health risks. For example, results of several studies suggest that Crocidolite and Amosite are more likely than Chrysotile to cause lung cancer, asbestosis, and, in particular, Mesothelioma. Even so, no fibre type can be considered harmless, and people working with asbestos should always take proper safety precautions.
6. How does smoking affect risk?
Many studies have shown that the combination of smoking and asbestos exposure is particularly hazardous. For non-smokers who work with asbestos, the Lung Cancer and Emphysema risk is about five times greater than for those in the general population. By contrast, smokers who also are heavily exposed to asbestos are about fifteen times more likely to develop lung cancer than are unexposed non-smokers. Smoking does not appear to increase the risk of Mesothelioma, however.
7. Who needs to be examined?
Individuals who have been exposed (or suspect they have been exposed) to asbestos dust on the job or at home via a family contact should inform their physician of their exposure history and any symptoms. A thorough physical examination, including a chest x-ray and lung function tests, may be recommended. Interpretation of the chest x-ray may require the help of a specialist who is experienced in reading x-rays for asbestos-related diseases. Other tests also may be necessary.
As noted earlier, the symptoms of asbestos-related diseases may not become apparent for many decades after exposure. If any of the following symptoms develop, a physical examination should be scheduled without delay:
· Shortness of breath;
· A cough or a change in cough pattern;
· Blood in the sputum (fluid) coughed up from the lungs;
· Pain in the chest or abdomen;
· Difficulty in swallowing or prolonged hoarseness; and/or
· Significant weight loss.
8. What are the treatments for asbestos-related diseases?
The key to successful treatment of asbestos-related diseases lies in early detection. The health problems caused by asbestosis are due mainly to lung infections, like pneumonia, that attack weakened lungs. Early medical attention and prompt, aggressive treatment offer the best chance of success in controlling such infections. Depending on the situation, doctors may give a vaccine against influenza or pneumococcal pneumonia as a protective measure.
Treatment of cancer is tailored to the individual patient and may include surgery, anticancer drugs, radiation, or combinations of these therapies.
9. How can workers protect themselves?
Employers are required to follow regulations dealing with occupational asbestos exposure. Workers should use all protective equipment provided by their employers and follow recommended work practices and safety procedures.
Guidance on the suitable selection of PPE, under the Asbestos and PPE Regulations is available as a separate bulletin from Bill Parker Associates. The Health & Safety Executive publishes a useful guide to the Selection of suitable respirators.
10. What should people who have been exposed to asbestos do?
It is important for exposed individuals to:
· Get regular health checkups;
· Get prompt medical attention for any respiratory illness; and
· Use all protective equipment, work practices, and safety procedures designed for working around asbestos. British COSHH Regulations require RPE specifically fit tested to subjects, using an approved test. There is no requirement for this to be done by UKAS laboratories, contrary to popular rumour.
People with asbestos-related diseases also may qualify for financial help, including medical payments, under compensation judgements.
11. Is there a danger of domestic exposure from products contaminated with asbestos particles?
Asbestos is so widely used that the entire population has been exposed to some degree. Air, beverages, drinking water, food, drug and dental preparations, and a variety of consumer products all may contain small amounts of asbestos. In addition, asbestos fibres are released into the environment from natural deposits in the earth and as a result of wear and deterioration of asbestos products.
DIY enthusiasts, finding asbestos, should use PPE when breaking or handling old asbestos/ concrete sheet material and contact the local authority for guidance on disposal by a licensed contractor. It is illegal, in Britain, to put asbestos waste in the usual refuse disposals and there are severe penalties for doing so.
Further Chemistry:
Asbestos Containing Material (ACMs) generally involves filling compounds of similar chemical base. Such material is generally granular and does not usually present a respiratory hazard. Exceptions include Oxides of Silicone, such as Quartz. When finely divided (0.5 to 15 Microns), these materials are hard and sharp, promoting interstitial tissue damage and consequent fibrosis of the lungs.
1. Anhydrite~ Calcium Sulphate without water associated in the molecule (CaSO4). Black board chalk is made from this.
2. Gypsum~ Hydrated Calcium Sulphate (CaSO4. 2H20), or, Plaster of Paris.
3. Calcite~ Calcium Carbonate. These minerals include Limestone and chalk. A further Carbonate of Calcium is Aragonite - CaCO4. Here, Calcium is tetra-valent; where, in most Calcium reactions, the metal ?prefers? bi-valency. Where the physical and morphic properties of the Carbonates are substantially different, chemical reactions are similar. Subjected to acid- even in the form of Sulphurous rainfall, these minerals liberate Carbon Dioxide and water, to produce the acid salt. Calcium Salts are generally insoluble in water ~ Hydroxide being an exception.
4. Silica~ is often found associated with Calcium Carbonate and the two react on heating, to produce Calcium Silicate, Ca2SiO4., or Larnite.
5. Magnesite~ is Magnesium Carbonate. Magnesium salts have similar characteristics to those of Calcium; the metals being adjacent in the Electro-chemical series. Quartz is Silica (SiO4). It is hard and brittle but has a very low coefficient of expansion making it suitable for heat screens (Mica) and insulation. Silica is a semi-conductor, the crystal adopting polar planes, when exposed to EMF.
6. Monthorillonite is amorphous clay, used in sealing Asbestos insulation.

it seems to be that comments made on the subject of regulations or other peoples opinions of the introduction of tighter control are somewhat clouded. Should it not be that those people given the task of facilities management and who have been employed for a considerable time by the same company, have by now eliminated this problem from there buildings. What i find is that although the asbestos problems have been widely reported for many years,those people who did nothing then are now going to have to pay the price and answer to the board why they have this problem so many years on. In conclusion the comments of an ill informed politician are hardly going to make any difference at this stage, but the lack of action in the past has greater potential for disaster in the future.

I find it difficult to understand why Mr Bercow has, at this stage in the implementation of a very necessary and important piece of legislation, chosen to question the necessity of it. The contents of the amended CAW regs have been the subject of a highly publicised and extensive period of consultation, where Mr Bercow could, and should, have registered his concerns. The timetable for implementation has been avaliable both internally within central government and externally for some considerable time - why wait until the last minute to make, in my humble opinion, unwarrented comments. Could it be that we have a case of party politics and "oneupmanship" with a need for personal recognition to take precedence over peoples lives - or is it that after a career of protecting people from risk I'm becoming cynical in my interpretation of the motives of politicians!

Its good to see there are so many people for the regulations to clarify or tighten up what should have been done years ago. I wonder if the MP concerned has yet seen somebody slowly die of an asbestos related disease ( Mesothelioma) and the effects it produces on the dependants. Especially as the death occured before the regulations came into being!

The asbestos issue has been with us for many years, indeed white asbestos was banned for most uses many years ago but the voice of opposition was not as great as it is at present. What we are seeing is the asbestos cement industry trying to ensure its survival. Yes asbestos cement is a low risk product if managed correctly, it is wrong to consider that the material will not release asbestos fibres, for over time the material degrades as the cement within the product is washed away.
The proposed new duty is in itself not a new responsibility, but a clarification of already existing requirements. This matter has been debated widely and the HSE has published two consultation documents on this matter. Any construction professional who has not been aware of this debate should consider what future they have for the matter has been reported in almost all of the construction and property press over the last 2 to 3 years with the RICS even running a series of road shows for members to advise on the proposals.
The cost of asbestos removal is high, would you seriously wish to place yourself in a highly hazardous environment without just rewards. The asbestos abatement industry is the second most regulated sector in the UK preceded only by the nuclear sector and compliance costs. The insurance industry has considerably reason to be concerned about those who deal with asbestos given the fact the asbestos claims have cost insurers dearly.
I have been dealing with asbestos as a consultant now for the best part of 20 years, and in the publics mind we have two approaches to asbestos, these being blind panic or total apathy. This debate about the white asbestos issue is putting more lives at risk, and confusing people even more.
As an industry we estimate that we have between 500-700 competent surveyors and in terms costs these individuals are charged at considerably lower fees than professional building surveyors. The asbestos removal sector only has around 450 active companies many of which employ fewer than 20 people, these organisation will not meet the demand that is predicted, so simple economics of supply and demand will apply.

In so far as the concern is about unscrupulous contractors, isn't the answer to take action against them/ regulate their activities more, rather than to try to block very necessary and sensible protective measures? Also, half the rest of the world doesn't seem to consider white asbestos safe or low risk. Should this really be a party political issue anyway?

Thought the reaction of the RICS to the Tory Party opposition might be of interest. RICS policy officer Stuart Poore said:
"Mr Bercow?s comments are hugely unhelpful and go against the spirit of legislation designed to protect peoples? lives. These measures have been subjected to extensive consultation with all relevant stakeholders and have been widely accepted by the property industry across Europe.
"To suggest that white asbestos is categorically of very low risk compared to its brown and blue relatives is socially irresponsible. The incubation period for asbestos related diseases is 30-40 years, so any research that concludes white asbestos is safe could be flawed, potentially fatally."
White asbestos is often mixed with blue and brown. It cannot be identified by its colour. When detected in any inhabited building, asbestos should be regarded as potentially dangerous, regardless of its appearance.

Given the enormous amount of asbestos in the country and the knee-jerk horrors associated with it, and the relatively small numbers of surveyors and abatement specialists, is anyone really surprised at the exorbitant amounts charged - human nature is a wonderful thing.

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