Asbestos diseases a 'hell of a burden' as death toll continues to rise

Wednesday, 4 Nov 2009

Former chief construction inspector Stephen Williams has described the effects of asbestos-related diseases as “a hell of a burden on society”, and said he hopes the safety regulator’s new awareness campaign will help drive down risks for workers handling the deadly substance.

Speaking in his capacity as the now-regional director for the Health and Safety Executive’s London division, Mr Williams said many workers did not realise asbestos could be present in any building constructed or refurbished before 2000.

The HSE, launching its Hidden Killers campaign, this week said more than 35,000 Britons died from mesothelioma between 1977 and 2007, with the annual rate of deaths increasing.

Latest annual figures show that 2,156 people died from the disease in 2007 alone, up five per cent on the previous year.

Mr Williams told cnplus.co.uk: “What comes across reading the figures is the size of the problem – these are big figures. It is far more than the number of people killed on the roads.

“But what the HSE is finding is that workers, particularly tradespeople, don’t think they are personally at risk.

“Each death represents an individual tragedy and is a hell of a burden on society.”

The asbestos campaign launch comes just six weeks after the HSE’s radio advertising about the number of people killed by asbestos was ruled as misleading and banned because of an objection to the fatality statistics used.

It was the first complaint the Advertising Standards Authority has ever upheld in relation to a HSE campaign.

But Mr Williams said the new campaign had not been launched in response to the ban. He said: “We have re-launched the campaign because our first campaign was extremely successful. We are very, very keen to make sure we get the message across.”

He admitted it was much more difficult to tackle health issues in construction than problems with safety, adding: “If you have an unguarded scaffold, then you can see there is a risk you can fall. If there is dust in the air, it is much more difficult.

“But the risk is real; the risk is genuine.”

The HSE this week launched the £1.2 million, month-long campaign which will see more than 500,000 information packs sent out, as well as targeted press and radio adverts.

 

Source: Construction News Nov 09