South West summit to explore ways to reduce asbestos-related illness

Holders of licences for working with asbestos in the South West and Wales have been invited to a special summit on 23 June to explore ways to further reduce incidence of asbestos-related illness.

The invitation-only summit, organised by the Health & Safety Executive (HSE), is the fourth in a series and further events are due to run elsewhere in the country.

According to Andrew Kingscott, Asbestos Licensing Principal Inspector for the HSE, the summit aimed to show that “higher standards to protect health are achievable and needed”. Sessions on the day will explore some of the steps that can be taken.

Terry Jago, chief executive of ARCA (the Asbestos Removal Contractors Association) said that he was “delighted” at the HSE initiative.

Of the 3,500 asbestos-related deaths each year, around 600 are linked to work with asbestos in construction and related sectors.