Asbestos Awareness Week: 1-7 April

Posted on March 31, 2026

Asbestos Awareness Week: Strengthening Awareness Across Your Sites

Asbestos Awareness Week (1–7 April) is a useful point in the year to refocus on asbestos safety across your projects. Although asbestos was banned in 1999, the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) continues to highlight that asbestos remains one of the biggest causes of work‑related deaths in Great Britain. Taking time to refresh awareness and revisit key information helps ensure that safe working practices remain consistent and effective.

Understanding the Ongoing Risks Highlighted by HSE

Despite being banned in the UK 25 years ago, asbestos is still responsible for around 5,000 deaths in Great Britain each year. Asbestos‑related diseases typically take decades to develop, meaning today’s exposures become tomorrow’s illnesses. HSE continues to stress that asbestos may still be present in any building built or refurbished before 2000, often hidden within materials such as:

Lagging on plant and pipework
Insulation products and fireproof panels
Asbestos cement roofing and sheeting
Sprayed coatings on structural steelwork

These materials become dangerous when damaged or disturbed during maintenance, refurbishment, or intrusive work. To support safer working practices, HSE is currently running two national campaigns aimed at raising awareness and helping prevent exposure.

Protect Your Future: For Tradespeople HSE’s Asbestos and You campaign Asbestos & You – Work Right provides essential guidance for trades who may encounter asbestos during routine work. It includes a free quick‑guide outlining what to look out for and what to do if asbestos is suspected. Guide for Trades
Asbestos – Your Duty: Duty Holders – those responsible for non‑domestic buildings (including offices, factories, schools, and public buildings – have a legal duty to manage asbestos. HSE’s ‘Your Duty’ campaign offers practical resources to help Duty Holders understand their responsibilities and maintain compliant asbestos management arrangements. Asbestos – Your Duty – Work Right

Keeping Asbestos Information Accurate and Accessible

HSE expects Duty Holders and contractors to ensure asbestos information is up to date and available to anyone who may disturb the fabric of a building. Over time, surveys may be updated, areas refurbished, or new information added, making periodic checks essential.

Good practice includes confirming that:

The asbestos register reflects the current condition of the building
Any recent surveys or changes have been incorporated
Information is communicated clearly during inductions and briefings
Supervisors and operatives know how to access the register

Accurate information supports better decision‑making and reduces the risk of accidental disturbance.

Refreshing Awareness Across the Workforce

HSE emphasises the importance of asbestos awareness training for anyone who may disturb ACMs during their work. Even experienced operatives benefit from regular reminders, particularly where tasks involve drilling, cutting, or accessing concealed areas.

Refresher awareness helps to:

Reinforce the importance of checking asbestos information
Challenge assumptions and complacency
Encourage operatives to stop and ask if something doesn’t look right
Promote open discussion about concerns or uncertainties

Short toolbox talks, briefings, or formal refresher sessions all help keep asbestos safety at the forefront of daily operations. Here at Courtley Health & Safety, we also provide 1/2-day Asbestos Awareness Training (which is free to our Members) to support employers in meeting HSE expectations and ensuring teams remain competent and confident when working around ACMs.

Using Asbestos Awareness Week as a prompt to refresh knowledge, review information, and reinforce expectations helps set a strong standard for the months ahead. A proactive approach now supports compliance with HSE guidance, reduces the risk of accidental disturbance, and helps ensure that everyone involved in your projects remains protected