Confronting the continuing problem of asbestos in Scotland: report on a Scottish public sector initiative for the 21st century

Our plain-English summary of Confronting the continuing problem of asbestos in Scotland: report on a Scottish public sector initiative for the 21st century, by T. Gorman, A. Watterson (New Solutions, 2004).

The study

• Authors: T. Gorman, A. Watterson
• Journal: New Solutions
• Published: 2004;14(1):77-98
• Cited by: 2 articles, as counted by NIH iCite
• Read it: PubMed · Publisher

Abstract

This article outlines a Scottish initiative for tackling asbestos in local authority (municipal) buildings. It explores issues surrounding municipal asbestos usage, financial costs, health and safety management and control and also support systems to assist asbestos victims and their families. Some solutions are offered to address these issues.

In plain English

This article was a policy report, not a research study. It described a Convention of Scottish Local Authorities (COSLA) working group, begun in Clydebank in April 2002, that looked at asbestos in council buildings such as schools, houses and leisure facilities. It also covered costs, the management of contractors, and support for asbestos victims. In one council, more than 90% of the costs and 175 of 255 recorded entries were for asbestos work in schools and other educational establishments. Removing damaged asbestos in ten schools ranged from £15,000 in the lowest case to £3 million in the highest, just under £8 million in total. An ad hoc calculation for one council put the initial costs of complying with the 2002 asbestos regulations for 188 schools and 700 public buildings at £1,617,980. In one council's study, unannounced visits found unsafe practices at twelve of fifteen construction sites. The authors stated that no method existed to accurately calculate the total asbestos costs to councils. The working group concluded that all council staff who may come into contact with asbestos should receive asbestos awareness training.

We wrote this plain-English summary from the full article with the help of AI, and a second AI model checked each sentence against the article. It is not the authors' wording; the abstract and the article are their own account.

What the study did and found

• Design: Policy report summarizing the work of a local government working group, with case examples from individual councils; not a research study
• Who was studied: Scottish local authorities (municipal councils) and the buildings they are responsible for; the COSLA working group met from April 2002 and produced a working report in June 2002
• Exposure: Asbestos-containing materials in council-owned buildings, including cement products, sprays, insulating boards, coatings, tiles and lagging; risk to maintenance and building workers who disturb them
• Main results:
  • In a study by one Scottish council, more than 90% of the costs and 175 of the 255 entries were for asbestos-related work in schools and other educational establishments
  • Costs of removing damaged asbestos in ten schools ranged from £15,000 to £3 million, totalling just under £8 million
  • Across the removal operations included in the report, three thousand children were removed from their classrooms
  • An ad hoc calculation for one council, based on HSE/HSC average figures (188 schools at £3,360 and 700 public buildings at £1,409), gave total initial compliance costs of £1,617,980
  • In one council's study, a council inspector made unannounced visits to fifteen construction sites; unsafe practices were found at twelve, and improvement or prohibition notices were issued
  • Unplanned (emergency) asbestos removal jobs had higher costs and longer time scales than pre-planned projects
  • Six of the councils contacted provided documented asbestos management policies. Their general aims were consistent, but the actual policies could be viewed as inconsistent
  • Legal action against companies involved in putting asbestos-containing materials into council properties did not appear feasible at that stage
• The authors' conclusion: The working group concluded that asbestos awareness training and guidance should be provided to all local authority staff who may come into contact with asbestos at work
• Limitations the authors state:
  • No method was available to accurately calculate the total asbestos-associated costs to Scottish councils
  • Councils do not systematically record asbestos-related spending beyond management and removal costs
  • It was too early to assess the impact of the new regulations

Related studies

• Asbestos in Scotland — T. Gorman, R. Johnston, et al. (2004)
• Port Allegany Asbestos Health Program: a community response to a public health problem — E.C. Holstein, K.W. Deuschle, et al. (1984)
• Potential public health problems of asbestos in Jamaica — H.O. Reid, I.A. Kahwa (1995)
• Asbestos in public water supplies: discussion of future problems — J.P. Hills (1979)
• Feasibility and safety of outpatient medical thoracoscopy at a large tertiary medical center: a collaborative medical-surgical initiative — Z.S. DePew, D. Wigle, et al. (2014)
• Factors affecting the mesothelioma detection rate within national and international epidemiological studies: insights from Scottish linked cancer registry-mortality data — D.R. Camidge, D.L. Stockton, et al. (2006)

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