New asbestos training requirement essential to protect drilling teams

RSK Asbestos Business Director Dave Sykes’ opinion piece first appeared in Ground Engineering magazine in June 2024.

The British Drilling Association (BDA) has announced that, from 1 October 2024, it will become a mandatory requirement for everyone undertaking the association’s audit to have completed asbestos awareness training. RSK Asbestos Business Director Dave Sykes believes that the new requirement is essential to protect the workforce and one that the drilling sector should step up and support. However, he is pragmatic about the challenges the October deadline will present.

The presence of asbestos in soil presents one of the greatest risks to UK ground investigation teams. This risk is associated with those opening inspection pits, engineering geologists managing trial pit excavations and groundworkers preparing sites for investigation. The presence of buried asbestos in reworked material is often undocumented, and those at the forefront of data capture for this area may be unaware of the risks waiting below ground level. Therefore, training is essential to ensure that teams can effectively identify, classify and mitigate against hazards present in brownfield development and, ultimately, keep everyone safe.

I cannot emphasise enough how crucial the BDA announcement is for the drilling sector and how it should really be a wake-up call for related industries. We will be doing all we can to support the drilling sector and others that choose to introduce similar commitments. However, as we give this our unqualified support, it is important to consider how this requirement will be delivered in line with the 1 October deadline. Rescheduling works to accommodate training sessions may not be possible and, for those 25% of BDA members not already implementing formal asbestos training, their leadership may need to review and identify appropriate training providers. Should others adopt the same approach, and I would wholeheartedly support this, there could potentially be thousands of people in the ground investigation and remediation industry who require training in the near future.

Despite managing the risk of asbestos being a legal requirement in the UK for more than 20 years, asbestos regulatory compliance can be viewed as an inconvenience or unnecessary cost. Possibly another contributory factor is the latency period for the onset of asbestos-related diseases being up to and over 20 years, so risks that have a more immediate impact may be taking precedence.

To be clear, asbestos is a non-threshold category one carcinogen. Frequent exposures over the course of a working life are likely to lead to the onset of asbestos-related diseases, which are often untreatable and can be fatal. Exposures are caused by disturbing asbestos-containing materials, leading to microscopic fibres becoming airborne, which are then inhaled and become embedded, primarily in the lungs. Unlike most other microscopic particles that find their way into our body, generally we cannot break down asbestos fibres.

Not formally banned until the end of 1999 (with some specialist exemptions), asbestos was used extensively in the UK, with the peak between 1950 and 1980. Geoenvironmental testing laboratories have previously reported that 80–90% of brownfield development sites contain some form of asbestos, although this issue is not isolated to brownfield only. The presence of asbestos could be linked to factors including poor recording of disposal, fly-tipping and poor historical practices during surveying, removal and demolition.

The Health and Safety Executive (HSE)-approved code of practice L143, Managing and working with asbestos, could be interpreted as only applicable to the built environment; however, the HSE clarified that that the term ‘premises’ extended to land, not just buildings, several years ago. The HSE-approved code of practice provides practical guidance on how to comply with the Control of Asbestos Regulations.

Over the last 10 years, we have seen a number of industry-led guidance documents introduced to assist with the challenge that asbestos presents to those conducting ground investigations and remediation. The Asbestos in Soil and Construction and Demolition Materials Joint Industry Working Group has also published a decision support tool that helps to categorise works to assist with project planning and risk assessments.

The data collected by the BDA over the last three years highlight that there may be a wider problem in the ground investigation industry where people who should have had suitable asbestos training may not have had any. While the deadline for introduction into audits is only four months away, there are many asbestos consultancies that should be well prepared and able to accommodate the likely surge in demand for training. Asbestos consultancies are having increasing levels of involvement during ground investigations and remediation projects.

As with most occupational health and safety training, there is a significant range of training providers available. The Independent Asbestos Training Providers (IATP) and the UK Asbestos Training Association (UKATA) endorse and audit members delivering asbestos training courses. Both have a syllabus specifically designed for awareness in soils and for groundworkers.

As the BDA correctly advises, choosing a course that covers all elements of the type of work you do is critical. This is why a non-specific awareness course may be insufficient. To accommodate the likely increase in demand, training can be provided in a variety of formats. While I would always encourage a tutor-led course, either in person or in virtual classrooms, e-learning courses are popular and could be an option. However, if candidates are predominantly site based, it can also lead to lack of engagement and gaps in learning due to restrictions on interaction and no opportunity to ask questions to develop greater understanding from their experience. At RSK, we have been delivering tutor-led industry-tailored asbestos training courses both in person and virtually.

Providing drilling teams with suitable hardware, such as laptops or tablets with connectivity, will enable attendance on virtual or e-learning sessions. Alternatively, safety standdowns in member or provider locations may be necessary, or having training providers conducting their training while drilling teams are on-site could be an option that providers may be able to accommodate.