Whilst I often talk about EAF and FAAM together as representing the finalé of the conference season, today I wanted to focus on the latter – as it’s just round the corner! Where the EAF focuses on policy and new tech, FAAM would focus on the science that makes all of that possible

In that, FAAM sees itself as the scientific arm of the asbestos industry, with a remit to bring academic rigour to the investigation of new techniques and technologies. This view has seen a broadening out of that approach. In the last two years FAAM and BOHS have sponsored research projects – very practical looks at particular challenges within the industry. I had the privilege of being involved in two of them: a look at gel cutting, and a workshop exploring the working dynamics between supervisors and analysts. I’m immensely proud that the latter has directly led to new guidance for the industry, and that the former represents the first new removal technique in the UK for 20 years.

FAAM registrar Jonathan Grant will be opening day one, cueing up keynote speaker and titan of the UK analytical establishment (almost for as long as there has been one), Professor Julian Peto with his lecture ‘An epidemiological assessment of the risk to workers from chrysotile asbestos – from Rochdale to Russia’

For those of you that are not familiar with the extent of Professor Peto’s work, his first publication on asbestos in 1977 was an update of Richard Doll’s study of Rochdale chrysotile textile workers and his most recent involvement with asbestos was as a member of the oversight panel on the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) 2024 publication on a Russian cohort of chrysotile miners and millers.  The Royal Society sums his career up as “an epidemiologist whose dose-response models for asbestos-related cancers contributed directly to reducing industrial exposure levels and subsequently to the European asbestos ban, and are still the accepted basis for environmental risk assessment.” It goes on to say that “he predicted the scale of the mesothelioma epidemic.”

His most recent work has led to a note of caution – “It’s worrying that there were 6 mesothelioma deaths per year below age 40 in the latest 4 years of British mortality data and only 2.7 per year in the previous 10 years, and the updated occupational mortality data for 2011-2020 now show an excess in female teachers born 1955-74 (19 mesothelioma deaths versus 12.3 expected) which he says borders on statistical significance.

Other talks to look out for on the programme – delving more into mesothelioma research and why non-occupational exposure is a concern, from Meso UK and University of Glasgow. Also, asbestos eradication from Australia – their vision to map the problem and the policy development for eradication.

There will be a talk on the critical question how do EU asbestos removal contracors plan to reduce exposure. Steve Sadley of ARCA follows that, potentially with thoughts on how we might follow in this drive to improve standards. I will also be giving you an update on FAAM’s gel cutting research project, with some new data, photos and videos.

I hope to see you at the 2024 Faculty of Asbestos Assessment and Management (FAAM) conference, on the 8-9 October. Click here to book your ticket for FAAM Asbestos 2024 and if you need any more encouragement – the early bird discount deadline has been extended and is now available until 20th September.

Author: Nick Garland, FFAAM