Shield Environmental Services is to hold free asbestos awareness courses for senior managers and directors to highlight the dangers posed by the UK’s legacy of asbestos use.
The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) estimate that more than 4,000 people in the UK will suffer from some form of asbestos-related disease this year.

Shield Environmental Services is involved in the detection and removal of asbestos, as well as providing asbestos training, remediation and insulation services to commercial and domestic customers.

The asbestos awareness course gives basic knowledge of asbestos-containing materials, along with information on the latest asbestos regulations and how HSE inspectors are interpreting them. It also covers the requirements of regulation 10 of the Control of Asbestos Regulations 2006, which states that training is mandatory for anyone liable to be exposed to asbestos fibres at work.

The half-day asbestos awareness courses will take place at Shield's headquarters in Bristol in July and August.

Shield Environmental Services hopes managers and directors will enroll their employees on the courses. Firms in construction and allied trades, as well as building maintenance and facilities management are being targeted for asbestos training but the firm says all building managers should be aware of the asbestos risks.

The firm is on average accepting 10 students per class will be led by Shield's training manager, Kevin Staniforth.

Staniforth said 'Employers are currently endangering the health of their employees and leaving their businesses open to prosecution and litigation. This is evidenced by the fact that every week HSE inspectors are serving safety notices on businesses that are in breach of asbestos rules.'

Courses will initially take place in Bristol but may also be held at the company's offices in Taunton, Plymouth, Redruth, Falmouth, Newcastle and Southampton. To find out more call Karen Spencer on 0117 3012 659.