Asbestos: The health risk This report discusses Health and Safety issue that appears in Bolton Wanderers FC

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Mark Nsianguana - 21123801

Bolton Wanderers – Health and Safety Issue

Bolton Wanderers has a large number of helpers and volunteers who offer their services free of charge to the club. They assist with community initiatives and at matches, giving the club a sense on continuity and involvement with the local community. The volunteers have the use of a meeting house at the edge of the ground which they use as a base for fund-raising initiatives and social events. It has just been confirmed that the roof space contains asbestos and the building will be evacuated and made safe immediately before it can go back to use.  What advice do you have for the club’s management team in relation to legal and procedural issues?

Asbestos: The health risk

This report discusses Health and Safety issue that appears in Bolton Wanderers FC. Asbestos, a highly toxic substance was found in a roof on one of the buildings. Several people were exposed to that substance and managers are forced to take immediate actions. However, the problem is not just based on Health and Safety matters but communicating the problem with the public, and so a risk assessment must be involved as well as legal procedures that have to be carried out. An organisation that is publicised must not only deal with the employer’s liability but as well as the public liability issues under duty care of regulations.

British Lung Foundation (2012) says that asbestos is a naturally occurring fibre which is mined in various parts of the world, notably South Africa and Canada. It can be processed in several ways for industrial use. Its properties of resistance to heat, electricity and sound, make it useful for a variety of purposes, particularly brake linings and insulation.

HSE (2012) says that asbestos is a problem because large amounts of asbestos were used in new and refurbished buildings before 2000. Usage began to decline in the 1970s and blue asbestos (crocidolite) had a voluntary ban in 1970. Blue and brown (amosite) asbestos were banned by law in 1985. Uses of white asbestos (chrysotile) were banned in 1999. Everything else and most second-hand supply (except for very high performance materials) were banned by 2000 (HSE, 2012). Therefore, all supply of materials containing asbestos is banned, including making materials available to a third party in any way, whether or not for any payment.

BBC Health (2012) says the effect of asbestosis don’t tend to appear for many years, often between 25 and 40 years later. The main symptom is shortness of breath, initially on exertion but later even at rest. Others include tiredness, a cough, chest tightness and chest pain.

Asbestos is dangerous when these fibres are inhaled they can cause serious diseases which are responsible for around 4000 deaths a year (HSE, 2012). There are four main diseases caused by asbestos which are mesothelioma, lung cancer, asbestosis, and diffuse pleural thickening.

  • Asbestos can cause thickening of the pleura, the membrane that line the outside of the lung. Often this will only be noted when an x-ray is performed for another reason. If the thickening is severe and widespread, it restricts lung function causing shortness of breath.
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  • Mesothelioma is a rare form of cancer that’s only caused by exposure to asbestos. It can occur in the pleura, where it may cause shortness of breath or chest pain, or the peritoneum (the lining of the abdominal wall), where it may cause intestinal obstruction.

  • Asbestosis is a type of scarring of the lung caused by asbestos fibres which have lodged in the lungs after being inhaled from the air. The scarring causes the lungs to shrink resulting in breathlessness.

  • Exposure to asbestos can increase the risk of developing lung cancer. A very important point is that ...

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