As many as 20 tradespeople a week could be dying from asbestos damage to their lungs, the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) say.

Even though asbestos is now banned, people working in the construction, maintenance or demolition industries could still come into contact with asbestos dust, putting their health in danger. Exposure to asbestos is a risk, whether tradespeople are working on domestic or industrial premises.

The HSE estimates that tradespeople could encounter absestos 100 times a year. It has launched the “Beware Asbestos” campaign, which aims to stem the rising number of asbestos-related deaths.

You can find more information on the HSE web pages on asbestos, where there is also a free asbestos web app to help tradespeople indentify where they could come into contact with asbestos in their day-to-day work.