Asbestos 'licence to kill’
NZPA staff correspondent London New controls on British contractors carrying out asbestos removal work have been branded a licence to kill. The controls, which will come into force next month, require that all contractors must be licensed by the Government’s Health and Safety Executive before they can begin stripping the lethal material from buildings. The executive has so far granted licences to more than 700 contractors. But it admits it knows little or nothing about many of them, while others have been convicted of asbestosrelated offences. It also admits that ho extra staff have been appointed to police the procedure. The health and safety officer of the General Municipal, Boilermakers, and Allied Trades Union, Mr David Gee, told the “Sunday Times” newspaper that the controls were ,f a licence to kill.” “The executive does not have the manpower to deal with the workload it already has, ■a.'id now a new set of regulations has been thrown at it to deal with.
“The way licences have been granted make us worried that cowboy operators will be given spurious recognition.” The executive’s chief factory inspector, Mr Jim Hammer, said licences were being granted to dubious contractors because “under the terms of the licence, we can monitor and investigate their actions. We did not think it was equitable not to license someone just because they did not have a track record.” He said there were no extra staff to deal with the new controls. The Asbestos Removal
Contractors’ Association (A.R.C.A.) has already approached the Health and Safety Executive to express its fears that “cowboy” businesses have been given licences. Asbestos-stripping requires special skills and equipment because of the danger to workers and people nearby. Growing public alarm about asbestos-related diseases, which include cancer, has led to many councils campaigning to remove the material from houses and workplaces. One London council alone found 10,000 homes containing asbestos.
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Press, 25 July 1984, Page 4
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317Asbestos 'licence to kill’ Press, 25 July 1984, Page 4
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