Am I at risk?

If you worked in an industry such as a building or construction, particularly from the 1970s to the 1990s. You may have been exposed to asbestos.

These days you are only likely to come into contact with asbestos if your work puts you at risk of damaging any asbestos remaining in old buildings. Examples include:

• Heating and ventilation engineers
• Demolition workers
• Plumbers
• Construction workers
• Electricians

When am I most at risk?

You are most at risk when:

• The building you are working on was built before the year 2000
• You are working on an unfamiliar site
• Asbestos-containing materials were not identified before the job was started
• Asbestos-containing materials were identified but this information was not passed on by the people in charge to the people doing the work · you haven’t done a risk assessment
• You don’t know how to recognise and work safely with asbestos
• You know how to work safely with asbestos, but you choose to put yourself at risk by not following proper precautions, perhaps to save time or because no one else is following proper procedures

Things to Remember

• You cannot see or smell asbestos fibres in the air
• The effects of being exposed to asbestos take many years to show up.
• People who smoke and are also exposed to asbestos fibres are at a much greater risk of developing lung cancer
• Asbestos is only a danger when fibres are made airborne and breathed in
• As long as the asbestos is in good condition and is located somewhere where it can’t be easily damaged then it shouldn’t be a risk to you.