A company director who has spent two decades protecting people from the dangers of asbestos is giving organisations the chance to take advantage of his expert advice for free.

Ian Stone, of Northampton-based Acorn Analytical Services, entered the asbestos industry in January 2002 and has dedicated the majority of his career to raising awareness about the world’s biggest workplace killer.

For several years Ian ran ATAC, the UK’s leading association for the asbestos testing and consultancy industry, and he has actively lobbied governments about asbestos in schools.

With his Acorn colleagues, he wrote the highly acclaimed book, Asbestos The Dark Arts, produces educational podcasts about asbestos, is helping to train the next generation of asbestos consultants and surveyors and has launched a campaign to tackle the issue of asbestos in UK schools.

Over the past 20 years Ian has seen different pieces of asbestos legislation introduced but he feels more needs to be done to make people take the threat of asbestos seriously.

Ian said: “Every week we receive emergency calls from businesses across the country that fear they have disturbed asbestos during routine maintenance or building work.

“It’s heartbreaking when we visit these workplaces and then have to tell people they may have been exposed to asbestos. These are awful conversations to have and they shouldn’t still be happening.

“On average 5,000 people die from asbestos-related diseases in the UK every year and thousands more will continue to die each year if people aren’t educated about the dangers.

“If you work in a property which was built before 2000 it may contain asbestos and a dutyholder must be appointed to manage that risk.

“If businesses aren’t managing their asbestos we’d invite them to have a conversation with us. We’re not a charity but I’m happy to have 100 conversations and get no work from them if it means people go away more educated.

“It isn’t a good idea for people to ignore their asbestos – they could end up putting lives at risk and they may find themselves and their organisations being prosecuted.”

For further information visit www.acorn-as.com or call 0844 818 0895.