More people were reporting asbestos to the health and safety authorities but the level was still very low with an occupational safety expert fearing much of the carcinogenic material was still not being identified as such.
Furthermore, the high cost of dealing with such material appropriately might also be encouraging people to dispose of it themselves at considerable risk, AME health and safety services director Aldo Busuttil said.
The Occupational Health and Safety Authority said it received 38 notifications in 2017, up from 13 in 2013. Its CEO, Mark Gauci, told the Times of Malta the increase was undoubtedly the result of more awareness of the legal obligations and the risks associated with its handling.
Asbestos was likely to be present in a high percentage of houses older than 25 years, Mr Busuttil warned. Although no figures are available for Malta, in 2011, it was reported that over half the houses in the UK still contained asbestos, despite a ban on asbestos products some years earlier.
The OHSA said that, in domestic buildings, the most likely culprits were water tanks, corrugated sheets and drainpipes while in commercial buildings, there might also be lagging for boilers, steam pipes and water pipes.
The fact that asbestos was often mixed with cement or woven into fabric or mats made it particularly difficult for people to recognise and Mr Busuttil is concerned that, in the current construction frenzy, untrained workers might rip out piping without realising the danger.
And, the fact that current generations were growing up in an era when asbestos was no longer in use meant that awareness would decline even further with time.
“There is a very detailed procedure for the safe handling of asbestos, involving not only masks and gloves but also disposable clothing to avoid contamination and, yet, there are still people who pile an old water tank into their car and take it to the civic amenity site,” Mr Busuttil said.
“Also, many DIY enthusiasts are ripping pipes out without realising the danger this could pose.”
Notification of asbestos on building sites, as laid down in the 2003 legislation, is mandatory except in cases where the risk is sporadic and of very low intensity, something that has to be established through an official risk assessment. Even when no notification is required, a plan of work has to be drawn up before the asbestos can be touched, which has to be submitted to the OHSA for prior approval.
However, the proper removal of asbestos by qualified and licensed companies did not come cheap: an average domestic project could entail thousands of euros in costs, Mr Busuttil said, which could deter people from coming forward.
Another issue is disposal.
Wasteserv receives asbestos at the civic amenity sites but Mr Busuttil was aghast at the way people were simply opening up the 20-foot container and transferring items from their car, wearing no protective clothing and oblivious to what contamination there might be inside from other dumped asbestos.
“It is an invisible danger but that does not make it any less deadly,” Mr Busuttil said.
“We need to raise the bar when it comes to safe practice.”