MPs urge HSE to act on asbestos

摘要

The HSE is not doing enough to assess current levels of risk from asbestos in non-domestic buildings or to evaluate options for its safe removal, a report1 from the House of Commons Work and Pensions Committee has concluded. The report, which looks at the HSE's approach to asbestos management, also calls on the government to provide more funding to boost asbestos inspection and enforcement. The committee highlights concerns that an increase in retrofitting buildings to meet the government's net zero ambitions means more asbestos-containing materials (ACMs) will be disturbed in the next few decades, and that reliance on the current Control of Asbestos Regulations 2012 will not be sufficient to protect people's health. Instead, it wants to see the government and HSE commit to a system-wide strategy and specific deadline to remove asbestos from non-domestic buildings within 40 years.