Global Asbestos Awareness Week 2026: Your Duty to Act

Global Asbestos Awareness Week runs from 1–7 April 2026 and shines a spotlight on the ongoing risks of asbestos and the lives still being lost every year. Despite being banned in the UK over 25 years ago, asbestos exposure continues to cause around 5,000 deaths annually from diseases such as mesothelioma, lung cancer and asbestosis.

This year, the Health and Safety Executive’s Work Right campaign is asking dutyholders and tradespeople alike to use the week to check what they are doing to manage asbestos and to share reliable guidance with others

Why asbestos is still a problem in 2026?

Asbestos was banned in new work in 1999, but it remains in hundreds of thousands of non‑domestic buildings and many homes built before 2000. It is often found in common building materials such as insulation boards, pipe lagging, sprayed coatings, ceiling tiles, cement sheets and textured coatings.

These materials are not usually dangerous if they are in good condition and left undisturbed, but they can release deadly fibres when drilled, cut, sanded or damaged during maintenance, refurbishment or demolition. That means anyone planning or carrying out work on pre‑2000 buildings still needs to treat asbestos as a live risk, not a historical one

Your legal duty to manage asbestos

If you are responsible for the maintenance or repair of non‑domestic premises, or the common parts of multi‑occupancy housing, you are likely to be the dutyholder under the Control of Asbestos Regulations. This includes:

• Offices, shops and industrial units

• Schools, hospitals and other public buildings

• Factories, warehouses and workshops

• Common areas of flats and mixed‑use premises

As a dutyholder you must take reasonable steps to find out if asbestos‑containing materials are present, keep an up‑to‑date asbestos register, assess the risk of anyone being exposed and put in place a written asbestos management plan. You must also make sure anyone liable to disturb asbestos – such as contractors, maintenance teams and installers – is given the right information and guidance before they start work.

Practical steps you can take this week

Global Asbestos Awareness Week is an ideal moment to pause and review how effectively you are managing asbestos in your buildings. Some simple, practical actions you can take include:

• Review your asbestos survey and register

  Check that surveys cover all relevant areas, are still current, and that your register is accessible and clearly identifies locations and condition of asbestos‑containing materials.

• Update your asbestos management plan

  Make sure your plan sets out who is responsible, how you control work on the fabric of the building, and how you will monitor the condition of asbestos over time.

• Brief staff and contractors

  Share clear information on where asbestos is located, what controls are required, and what to do if suspected asbestos is found or damaged.

• Use free official resources

  The Work Right “Asbestos – Your Duty” campaign provides free guidance, templates for registers and management plans, and shareable resources you can use in toolbox talks or tenant communications.

• Check your arrangements for emergency situations

  Confirm that people know how to stop work, isolate an area and seek competent advice if asbestos is unexpectedly disturbed.

Even small improvements in how information is recorded, communicated and checked can significantly reduce the chance of accidental exposure.

Tradespeople: protect your future

For tradespeople and small contractors, asbestos is still one of the most significant occupational health risks they face. Electricians, plumbers, joiners, roofers, heating engineers, decorators and general builders all have a high chance of disturbing asbestos if they are working on pre‑2000 buildings without proper checks.

How Asbestos Compliance services can help

If you're uncertain about the robustness of your current arrangements, we can provide a clear assessment of your position and identify areas for improvement. Professional audits evaluate your existing asbestos survey data, asbestos registers, and management plans against current legal standards and best practices, pinpointing gaps, inconsistencies, and practical actions.

Asbestos Compliance offers this type of assistance by auditing existing asbestos information, stress-testing management plans, and assisting dutyholders in transforming paper documents into effective, site-specific controls. We also conduct new asbestos management surveys to support daily operations and maintenance, as well as refurbishment surveys before any intrusive work, ensuring asbestos risks are identified and controlled before projects commence.

By integrating comprehensive audits with targeted management and refurbishment surveys, Asbestos Compliance helps you maintain an accurate asbestos register, keep your management plan active and effective, and demonstrate that you are fulfilling your duty to manage asbestos in a practical, defensible manner.

For further information from the HSE visit https://workright.campaign.gov.uk/asbestos-your-duty/news-global-asbestos-awareness-week-2026/