Global Asbestos Awareness Week (1 to 7 April) is a timely opportunity to check you're compliant with law - access and share the information and resources available. We are calling on businesses, building managers and tradespeople across Great Britain to make sure they're compliant with the law. HSE currently has 2 asbestos campaigns which offer practical guidance and support: Asbestos and You
This campaign includes our free-to-download 'Quick guide for trades' with practical guidance for tradespeople on common examples of asbestos and where it can be found. Asbestos: Your Duty
Get guidance on legal duty and resources for building owners, landlords and those responsible for maintenance and repair. Here you'll find asbestos register and management plan templates. At our campaign website you can also: : You can find further in-depth guidance on asbestos on the HSE website, while for monthly news and updates sign up to our asbestos ebulletin. A 19-year-old labourer died after falling 6 floors from a ventilation shaft. The teenage worker was helping to dismantle scaffolding on the 12th-floor roof garden of a block of flats. As he stepped onto a ventilation shaft the covering gave way, and he fell 6 floors to his death. HSE's investigation found that: - the ventilation shaft had been covered only by a sheet of plasterboard and roofing foam
- routine inspections of the building did not include the roof garden area, so the inadequate covering went undetected and no warning was given to the scaffolding team
The construction firm were fined £42,200.
Read more about the incident in our press release: Construction firm fined after death of teenage labourer. Our website has guidance on working at height. For more health and safety stories visit our news centre, including: Our annual review illustrates how HSE uses science, engineering and analytical work to protect people and places. Case studies in this year's review include: - strengthening AI standards for cutting-edge people detection systems
- investigating potentially environmentally catastrophic releases of thousands of litres of highly corrosive acid
- research into safer liquid hydrogen refuelling stations
Visit HSE's website to download the 2026 Annual Science Review.
HSE has recently refreshed its training aimed at helping employers and safety professionals understand machinery safety regulations, safeguarding, and control systems. The next series of courses will be delivered in July, at HSE's Science and Research Centre, Buxton:
Visit our website for full details and dates of all training courses offered by HSE.
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