Annual UK asbestos-related deaths of around 5,000, cited by removal specialist Rhodar, are being used to warn that ageing building stock still contains extensive legacy asbestos in insulation boards, sprayed coatings and pipe lagging. The warning targets civil and infrastructure works on schools, hospitals and 1960s–80s public buildings, where intrusive refurbishments, drilling and core sampling risk disturbing poorly documented asbestos-containing materials. Engineers are being urged to tighten pre-construction surveys, update asbestos registers and enforce licensed removal and enclosure protocols on all invasive works.

A 10 August 2025 rockslide in Alaska’s Tracy Arm Fjord sent more than 64 million m³ of rock and debris into the water, generating a megatsunami with an estimated maximum run-up of about 481 m along the steep fjord walls, the second-highest recorded after Lituya Bay 1958. The failure was linked to support loss from South Sawyer Glacier’s retreat, with the narrow fjord geometry strongly amplifying wave heights. No casualties occurred, but the near miss for cruise traffic signals a rising landslide–tsunami hazard in deglaciating fjords that must be factored into navigation and infrastructure risk assessments.

Willow Services (Southern) Ltd has been fined £20,000 plus £5,607 costs at Westminster Magistrates’ Court after roofer Mark Smith fell approximately 11 feet through an unguarded loft hatch while re-roofing a house in Waterlooville on 13 May 2024, suffering fractures to his L1 vertebra and hip. HSE investigators found the company had not planned the work at height, failed to install basic fall prevention around the loft opening, and provided no competent supervision. The case signals continued strict enforcement of Regulation 4(1) of the Work at Height Regulations 2005 on small contractors.