News

10 Nov - Joiners 'more likely to be working with asbestos during recession'

Tuesday, 10 Nov 2009

Joiners are more likely to come into contact with asbestos during the recession, according to an industry expert. Tony Barry, senior instructor at the National Construction College, Birmingham, said that due to the current economic climate it is currently cheaper to refurbish older buildings, which may contain the dangerous material,… Read more

06 Nov - Workers warned of asbestos danger

Friday, 6 Nov 2009

Workers have been warned about the danger of asbestos in London, which has one of the highest rates of related deaths in the UK. Sixty women in Barking and Dagenham, east London, died from asbestos-related cancer between 1981 and 2005 - five times the national mortality rate. It killed 2,663… Read more

06 Nov - Asbestos exposure is 'absolutely disgusting'

Friday, 6 Nov 2009

A former pipe fitter diagnosed with an asbestos-related disease has backed a new campaign launched by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE). Chris Morgan, 58, from Lewisham, is suffering from terminal cancer having been exposed to the deadly material while working in the Hatton Gardens area of Westminster. He said… Read more

06 Nov - Asbestos risks 'are not a thing of the past'

Friday, 6 Nov 2009

The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) has warned public liability insurance customers that asbestos is still a very real danger, as a new campaign gets underway. Rosi Edwards, HSE regional director for the West Midlands, said that asbestos-related illnesses claim the lives of up to 4,000 people every year, more… Read more

05 Nov - Building contractors 'still not aware of asbestos risks'

Friday, 6 Nov 2009

A widow has claimed that public liability insurance customers are still not aware of the dangers of asbestos, as the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) launches a campaign warning about the deadly material. Margaret Dyson, from Glossop, lost her husband Harold last year from asbestos-related disease mesothelioma after being exposed… Read more

05 Nov - Working with asbestos 'not worth the risk'

Friday, 6 Nov 2009

Plumbers liability insurance customers have been told that they should not risk working with asbestos, as a new awareness campaign on the material launches. Chris Gillies, north-east Health and Safety Executive (HSE) principal inspector, said that workers should be thinking of it as not just protecting themselves but also protecting… Read more

New figures show overall improvement in UK health and safety record

Thursday, 5 Nov 2009

Britain is one of the safest places to work in the EU, the HSE is claiming, following the release of its latest statistics on the number of people killed, injured, or made ill at work last year. The figures for April 2008 to March 2009 confirm the provisional total of… Read more

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… Read more

Agencies failing to protect asbestos-removal workers

Wednesday, 4 Nov 2009

A government watchdog has warned a host of employment agencies after they were found to have advertised for asbestos-removal workers without properly checking the health and safety implications of the work involved. The Employment Agency Standards (EAS) inspectorate received intelligence that employment agencies were advertising vacancies for asbestos-removal workers without… Read more

Hidden killer warning for tradesmen in Scotland

Wednesday, 4 Nov 2009

Tradesmen across Scotland are the target of a new national campaign warning them to beware of a hidden killer − asbestos. A total of 2617 of Scottish men died from mesothelioma − a cancer caused by breathing in the deadly fibres − between 1981 and 2005, higher than the national… Read more