Industry giant launches new training initiative.
Keltbray Group has announced the launch of a unique Asbestos in Soils training course, the first of its kind in the UK.
It sets out to combine theory and practice in Keltbray’s new training centre at Silvertown in east London, where the company has built a specially designed practical training area that has been modelled on a typical brownfield site. This means delegates can test their newly acquired theoretical skills in practice and carry out mock excavation exercises to assess and monitor for asbestos contaminants in soil. The course has been designed by Keltbray Remediation; a specialist division of Keltbray Group, which provides remediation solutions for brownfield sites, in partnership with the leading engineering, design, and environmental consultancy, Ramboll.
“The Asbestos in Soils module can be attended as a stand-alone one-day module. It can also be attended in addition to our one-day UKATA-approved Non-Licensed Work with Asbestos (Category B) training course.”
The Asbestos in Soils training course is targeted at contractors that operate in the areas of earth works, demolition, civils and housebuilding, as well as consultants that undertake intrusive works through site investigation, and Environmental Health Officers from regulators, such as the Environment Agency and local authorities.
The course has been extensively piloted, combining a half day desk-based theory session that covers legislation, decontamination, testing, permitting and best practice handling followed by a half day of practical workshops using role play and ‘real life’ scenarios covering decision making and disposal options which has been well received.
“Dealing with asbestos in soils is an increasing challenge as we start to remediate brownfield sites that pre-date year 2000, when asbestos was widely used in the construction of industrial or residential buildings and refurbishments. The most hazardous forms of asbestos were used in fireproofing, insulation, pipe lagging and corrugated roofing sheets and other exterior cladding materials, and they were often just buried as part of demolition works before asbestos prohibition laws came into force,” explained Keltbray Remediation Managing Director, Joe Jackson.
Every week approximately 20 tradespeople in the UK die from diseases caused by exposure to asbestos fibres. With experts predicting the UK’s annual death rate from asbestos of around 5,000 (Health & Safety Executive Asbestos Danger) is set to soar in the next five years.
“Asbestos is deadly if not handled correctly. As experts in the handling of asbestos-containing materials, we are therefore pleased to launch this training facility to help highlight the dangers of asbestos in soils and provide training to those who are likely to come into contact with these materials, so they know how to handle it,” Joe continued.
If you are interested in attending one of Keltbray’s Asbestos in Soil courses, you can sign up via this link: Keltbray Training Services
