CORDIS

Executive Summary:
The Alert range will be the world’s first real-time, affordable and portable products able to accurately warn of the presence of airborne asbestos fibres.
Responsible for 25,000 deaths in Europe every year asbestos related deaths are the world’s largest work-related killer. Asbestos bans implemented from 2000 and 3,000+ asbestos containing materials ensure tradespeople, asbestos surveyors and other construction sector workers remain at risk from exposure to asbestos with no knowledge or warning.
No known real-time, affordable asbestos monitors currently exist on the market. The Alert Project Consortium was established by Select to address this problem which directly affects our core customer base.
Our objective was to provide an affordable a real-time detector as a first line of defence helping to prevent prolonged unintentional exposure to airborne asbestos so appropriate safety measures can be taken.

Project Context and Objectives:
ALERT was a 3 year project, funded by the European Commission’s Framework 7 Programme within the “Research for SME Associations” scheme. The ALERT consortium was made up of a team of 11 organisations who were selected on the basis of their expertise in fields that were complimentary to the development work. The specialist knowledge of each consortium member involved a number of subject areas including electronic sub systems, ergonomics, particle characterisation and identification, algorithm development, hazardous waste removal and health and safety.

This summary highlights the projects scope and progress made during the third reporting period by consortium participants.

The need
Asbestos related diseases are the leading cause of occupational death in Europe. Some 500,000 European workers are expected to die by 2030 due to asbestos related diseases. Workers within the construction, demolition and remediation industries are continually exposed to this potent carcinogen through legacy products such as insulation, ceiling panels and water tanks.

Asbestos has been banned for use in many developed countries around the world but it is still mined in countries such as Canada, Russia, China and Kazakhstan (2.2 million tonnes, 2005). Countries which have banned its use for new products have a large stock of existing buildings that contain asbestos and asbestos containing products. Renovation and maintenance activities that disturb this legacy asbestos can generate aerosols of asbestos fibres and expose the worker. There are millions of tonnes of asbestos products in existing buildings across the EU. In the UK any building built before the year 2000 can contain asbestos products.

The International Labour Office estimate that more than 100,000 people die each year due to occupational exposure to asbestos.

Currently, the methods used for detection of asbestos are through air sampling which is sent to a lab for assessment. As this method can take several days to confirm the presence of asbestos, it is often too late to take action. At present, there are no “real time” methods to detect asbestos.

The solution
In order to address this major European concern, the Project’s Associations sought to develop a real time, low cost portable detector that could warn their members’ workers that they were being exposed to airborne asbestos fibres. Ground-breaking research carried out by University of Hertfordshire (UH) in the mid-1990s was identified as potentially offering a route to a low cost wearable monitor.
The original UoH patented research developed the technology of spatial light scattering analysis for particle classification and identification however, achieving this in real-time involved detector and processor technologies that a decade ago, were prohibitively expensive and too power-consuming for use in a low-cost portable monitor. Modifying the measurement techniques and quantifying the pattern discrimination algorithms so that they are amenable to development in a low cost, portable unit presented major challenges.

The ALERT project resulted in a real-time prototype detector for airborne asbestos which is a world first to offer such a capability. The prototypes have been tested in a wide variety of field locations including industrial, commercial, retail, and domestic buildings where asbestos removal or remediation work was underway. In each case, the prototypes successfully identified the presence or absence of asbestos to a 99% confidence level. Extensive testing of the prototypes has also been undertaken with end-users to assess and refine ergonomic factors associated with the ALERT detector’s use and deployment.

Overall, the project has successfully reached a stage where the prototype ALERT units can be produced with a view to bringing products to market in 2014.

Through the development of the ALERT detector, 30 million European workers will have the opportunity to protect themselves from the event of asbestos being present.

Project Results:
Scientific Objectives

1. Develop a detector with a spatial arrangement and pixel resolution sufficient to capture the scattering profile with minimal degradation of the information content of the pattern
2. Develop an airflow nozzle that ensures optimal fiber alignment before the fibers enter the measurement zone
3. Suitable data processing algorithm (s) for ALERT particle classification
4. Inlet an optical system designs to separate and align fibers in a laminar airflow such that residence time in the measurement volume can provide time to make a measurement
5. Air inlet laser sub-systems and data acquisition system integrated and returning results that match existing high cost custom detector

Technical Objectives
6. The measurement sub-systems and data can be miniaturised and replicate the offline ALERT prototype in real time
7. Develop a means of processing the scattering profile of fibers in real time with a power requirement consistent with the battery life target
8. Rechargeable battery life to be adequate for the task
9. Design the detector sub-systems such that the final unit can fit into a belt mounted unit that is ergonomic

Integrated Objectives

10. Low-cost measurement unit

This is the project’s third interim report and as no previous comments were made after the period 2 report, no changes need to be included for.

Potential Impact:
The use of asbestos was banned throughout the European Union as of January 1, 2005, but despite this ban we are left with major environmental and public health problems resulting from decades of widespread and uncontrolled asbestos use. Addressing these concerns, the Brussels Declaration, adopted at the European Asbestos Conference: Policy, Health and Human Rights25 acknowledged that:
“Asbestos products in European homes, commercial buildings and infrastructures and asbestos waste in our environment continue to cause unprecedented levels of diseases and mortality.”

The Brussels Declaration called on the European Parliament and the European Commission to take action to prevent future hazardous exposures; it recommended:
- rigorous enforcement of EU and national health and safety asbestos legislation
- the 2003 (EU) Directive should be strengthened by eliminating the concept of “sporadic and of low intensity exposure”
- target for an asbestos free Europe by 2028 (see H&S - section 1.8 example 2)

A 2010 statement on asbestos issued by the World Health Organization (WHO) was categorical:
“All types of asbestos cause lung cancer, mesothelioma, cancer of the larynx, ovary and asbestosis (fibrosis of the lungs). Exposure to asbestos occurs through inhalation of fibres in the air in the working environment, ambient air in the vicinity of point sources such as factories handling asbestos, or indoor air in housing and buildings containing friable (crumbly) asbestos materials. Currently, about 125 million people in the world are exposed to asbestos at the workplace. In 2004, asbestos-related lung cancer, mesothelioma and asbestosis from occupational exposures resulted in 107,000 deaths and 1,523,000 DALYs26 [disability-adjusted life years]. In addition, several thousands of deaths can be attributed to other asbestos-related diseases, as well as to non-occupational exposures to asbestos.”

Further WHO conclusions and recommendations state:
“There is evidence on substantial under-reporting which would suggest even higher numbers of persons with ARDs. In many countries with reliable health statistics, the incidences of mesothelioma deaths from the asbestos exposures in the past are continuously increasing due to long latency period.”
“Even in the countries which have banned the use of all new asbestos a large body of asbestos materials and materials containing asbestos as a component do still prevail in the facilities, structures, industrial settings, buildings, vehicles and in many other locations. Many countries have emphasised the importance of making risk-based
decisions about whether asbestos currently in buildings should be removed (with attendant risks to those doing this work, and possibly others) or managed by safe methods of retention (in which the potential release of fibres is minimised). It is important to protect carefully workers' health in the demolition and other works from a potential exposure to existing asbestos. Adequate measures should also be instituted for protection of the health of population and environment in the handling and disposal of asbestos waste and asbestos containing materials.
There should be systematic surveys of the existing asbestos in various settings and proper labelling, information and guidance should be provided for behaviour and actions in such environments.”

The estimated death rates only show the numbers killed through occupational exposure. It is well documented that the impacts of asbestos exposure, including mesothelioma and asbestosis are found in the families of exposed tradespersons. The fibres will stick to clothes, hair and skin and will be brought back into the family home, which over a long period increases the environmental exposure levels in the home. The greater social impact extends into the families of these people, who usually suffer because the “bread maker” is likely to have lost years of productivity, requiring the family to find other sources of income and support their loved one through illness.

Cost to Health Care
Prof Stephen Spiro of the British Lung Foundation estimated around 2,000 people a year required treatment on the UK NHS as a result of asbestos-related illnesses at a cost of between £5,000 and £20,000 - (this equates to £10m - £40m a year on asbestos related illnesses only). There must also be a cost for the remaining 2,400 people in the UK that die each Select Group

Alert Exploitation – Delivery Report D8.6
D8.6 – Final Exploitation and Usage Plan 108
year. ….. Source: BBC News Wales, 7th March 2013 (online)
Welsh Ministers have been urged to consider whether businesses and insurers should pay NHS medical bills for all industrial diseases in Wales. The call comes from Welsh Assembly Members considering a bill to give the Welsh government powers to recover the estimated £2m annual cost of treating asbestos patients (this is a figure for Wales only). Source: BBC News Wales, 7th March 2013 (online)


Impacts on Environments
Improving the air quality for all workers in buildings is very important. There is a need to carry out regular maintenance for the safety and comfort of occupants, all trades will be required to work in potentially hazardous conditions. Therefore it is vital to provide a reliable instrument capable of, proactively not reactively, identifying and alerting tradesmen or building occupants as to the presence and dangers of airborne asbestos …. This must be done In Real Time!
Building codes for commercial buildings now require asbestos surveys to be carried out before major works can commence. These proactive location tests are only relevant to the surfaces and spaces examined – they cannot determine airborne contamination in real time or how conditions might change once work has begun disturbing other materials – for the first time Alert will help overcome these problems.
Improving work time efficiency by reducing site evacuation every time asbestos is suspected will dramatically increase productivity.

Carbon Footprint / Energy Conservation
Reducing the carbon footprint and moving to a low carbon future is now the goal of every country in the world. To do this within existing buildings there will be a continuing need to disturb the building fabric to improve insulation performance and replace inefficient equipment. This puts workmen in real danger.
It is generally accepted that there are NO safe levels of asbestos exposure!

Decommissioning power stations, old factories and ships
The need to upgrade the UK's national power supplies is very high. To do this many nuclear power stations, as well as traditional generators, will have to be decommissioned. This work will disturb high volumes of asbestos causing health and safety dangers and also major work delays possibly causing cost over runs and setbacks for all concerned.

Demolition Industry
Select has already addressed both the World and German demolition industry associations in Amsterdam and Berlin to raise awareness of its progress with very strong interest levels and requests for future conference features.

Construction and Demolition Equipment
Volvo Commercial has expressed interest in placing Alert equipment in the cabs of their equipment that might have exposure to dust from demolition works. This would be a common problem with other manufactures of like equipment.

Air Quality in the workplace
Real time monitoring of air quality is urgently required to ensure the continued safety for both working contractors and occupants living and working within commercial and public buildings including schools and hospitals.

Health & Safety and Safer Working Conditions
April 2012 saw the upgrade of Asbestos handling H&S regulations in the UK to align with the EU. Awareness campaigns continue to educate contractor to understand the dangers associated with asbestos.
Dangerous working conditions will leave employers liable to litigation. Insurance settlements currently range between £20K and £400k per person this will increase if employers and building owners do not maintain their duty of care responsibilities. If you multiply £50,000 a low average settlement by 500,000 deaths over 20 years, just in Europe alone this equates to £25 billion.
The HSE have already started safety campaigns and training for workers in buildings and workers engaged in the safe handling and disposal of asbestos. The “Asbestos Awareness” campaign is now compulsory for construction workers which will raise the profile within the industry sectors. Until now there has not been a method of detecting airborne asbestos proactively and in real time. Asbestos related deaths are double the deaths on UK roads.
Select has now established a working relationship with one of Europe’s largest Trade Unions (EBWWF) who is lobbying the EU Commission to totally eradicate asbestos. There is now an active “Asbestos Free by 2023” campaign which will help raise awareness and educate about the dangers of asbestos and to promote worker safety. These campaigns will require equipment like Alert to address their goals.

Land Reclamation - Hazardous Waste Management
Real time and long term monitoring of hazardous waste sites will become a growing concern to site users, owners, local authorities and residents near to these location. Select has two consortium partners in Estonia and Italy that wish to distribute. Select will present the technology to the Italian Remtech exhibitions on September 19th 2013 in Ferrara Italy (reclamation sector) and to the Dutch National Asbestos Conference in Utrecht in October 2013.

Energy Savings - Carbon Footprint
Safer investigations and energy surveys will lead to better insulated buildings, less wasted energy, reduced carbon footprint levels and less exposure to asbestos for contractors.
Asbestos – Threat to improving Energy Efficiency
Exposure to this widely used material, with both its continued use overseas and the legacy of decades of now hidden in materials will hamper efforts to improve the carbon footprint of buildings and to upgrade inefficient energy equipment - Asbestos will continue to be a global threat to health, safety and a barrier to improved energy efficiency.

List of Websites:

http://www.asbestos-alert.eu/index.php
http://www.asbestos-alert.com/

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