Benchmarking: What asbestos remains in the built environment, at what rate is this
currently being disturbed and how will industry trends impact on this?

Background

To enable strategic and transformative advances in health and safety across the diverse construction sector through technology and innovation and the new opportunities and risks arising from it. To underpin construction and building safety regulatory regimes with evidence-based approaches and enable effective oversight across the whole built environment. To inform standards and guidance development to improve the safety and standard of buildings and develop effective strategies to measure and build competence across the construction and building safety sectors. To ensure that our approach to regulating chemicals and microbial control agents: is effective, efficient and agile, reflecting current and developing scientific understanding and technical knowledge; reinforces our position as an internationally influential regulator; and enables society to derive the benefits of access to safe and sustainable use of chemicals; and ensure there is no harm to workers, bystanders and consumers or unacceptable effects on the environment.

Next steps

Get in touch with hsecsa@hse.gov.uk

Source

This question was published as part of the set of ARIs in this document:

HS Es Areas of Research Interest ARI 2023

Related UKRI funded projects


  • Rapid Asbestos Detection Device

    Asbestos is a naturally occurring fibrous mineral with extraordinary tensile strength & excellent resistance to heat & chemicals, making it an attractive building material. It was used extensively up to 1999 befo...

    Funded by: Innovate UK

    Lead research organisation: GREENWALL ENVIROMENTAL EVOLUTION LIMITED

    Why might this be relevant?

    The project aims to develop a portable, cost-effective, real-time asbestos detection device that can immediately detect whether asbestos is present in any building or material, which would fully answer the question.

  • University of Portsmouth Higher Education Corporation and Artisan Environmental Limited

    To develop an innovative Artificial Intelligence tool for asbestos management in buildings. Clients will benefit from reduced cost, increased accuracy and compliance, and reduced ongoing risk....

    Funded by: Innovate UK

    Lead research organisation: UNIVERSITY OF PORTSMOUTH

    Why might this be relevant?

    The project aims to develop an innovative Artificial Intelligence tool for asbestos management in buildings, which could partially answer the question by reducing cost, increasing accuracy and compliance, and reducing ongoing risk.

  • Commercial applications for treated material following denaturing of chrysotile asbestos

    Asbestos is a hazardous material the use of which was banned across Europe in 1999\. Asbestos still accounts for about 5,000 deaths a year in the UK. Currently all asbestos that is removed from buildings around the world...

    Funded by: Innovate UK

    Lead research organisation: THERMAL RECYCLING (UK) LIMITED

    Why might this be relevant?

    The project aims to identify the best use of treated material from denatured asbestos, but does not directly address the question of asbestos remaining in the built environment, disturbance rate, or industry trends.

  • Integrated automated asbestos fibre-counting and digital certification technology

    Asbestos presents a major occupational and public health risk, both in developed regions (where the material can be disturbed in buildings), and in developing regions where extraction, processing and use shows no sign of...

    Funded by: Innovate UK

    Lead research organisation: ETHOS ENVIRONMENTAL LTD.

  • ACME: Asbestos Containing Materials evaluation

    Viridian is an innovation company supplying nuclear sites with radiometric characterisation tools in support of decommissioning. It has developed a novel laser sampling tool, ViridiScope(r) for use in nuclear characteris...

    Funded by: Innovate UK

    Lead research organisation: VIRIDIAN CONSULTANTS LIMITED

  • Alert PRO2000 & Cloud Data Platform

    Alert Technology Ltd (ALT) developers of the 'Asbestos ALERT' - the world's first real-time warning device for airborne asbestos fibres are now working on the second-generation product in their innovative range, the ALER...

    Funded by: Innovate UK

    Lead research organisation: ALERT TECHNOLOGY LTD