Skip to main content

British Workers Ignorant to the Dangers of Asbestos

A British Lung Foundation survey has revealed that most tradespeople
are unaware of the health risks posed by asbestos. Out of 400 people in
this survey relating to asbestos, it was found that 75% had not
received any form of asbestos awareness training. The survey showed
that asbestos related diseases are currently the main cause of work
related ill health. The asbestos related survey estimated that
approximately 3000 people die each year due to exposure to the mineral
dust.


Asbestos was commonly used in the construction of many buildings due to
its insulation and fire retardant properties. Asbestos was used in some
building materials until 1999; however most was phased out in the early
1980s. Tradespeople now have the highest risk of developing asbestos
related lung cancers, mesothelioma and asbestosis as they regularly
disturb and come into contact with materials that may contain asbestos
fibres. Building owners should always consider having an asbestos
survey carried out on their premise. An asbestos survey can help
evaluate the presence and extent of any suspect asbestos containing
materials in any building and assess their condition.


The British Lung Foundation survey relating to asbestos concentrated on
builders, carpenters, plumbers, electricians, joiners and gas fitters.
The survey found one in 10 had felt under pressure to continue working
even if they had not seen an asbestos survey for the building and
suspected that asbestos was present. In addition, nearly a third of
those in the survey mistakenly believed that they did not need to see
any types of asbestos survey because asbestos had already been removed
from all British buildings.


The majority of tradesmen - 81% in the British Lung Foundation’s
asbestos survey - said they never, rarely or only sometimes asked if
the site they were working on had been checked for asbestos via an
official asbestos survey, before they started a job - even though it is
a legal requirement for them to see an Asbestos survey which informs
them of the presence of asbestos.


Under the Control of Asbestos Regulations 2006, it is a legal
requirement that all those that may disturb the fabric of any building
must have Asbestos Awareness Training. This form of awareness training
for asbestos helps tradespeople increase their general awareness of
asbestos within their working environment.
It has been estimated that as many as 20 tradespeople die every week as
a result of exposure to asbestos in their workplace. In fact exposure
to asbestos has been deemed as one of Britain’s biggest workplace
killers.


So why isn’t asbestos awareness training a number one priority for
all tradespeople because with better training they would reduce their
risks of asbestos related lung disease and mesothelioma. However if the
British tradespeople continue their ignorance to the dangers of
asbestos and don’t put their own health first then campaigns, like
those run by the British Lung Foundation, to eliminate asbestos related
cancers such as mesothelioma and make them a disease of the past, are a
lost cause.


So lets all strive to make our British tradespeople more aware of the
dangers of asbestos by making sure asbestos awareness training is a
core skill they all own and all tradespeople are presented with an
official asbestos survey before they start a job on a particular site.

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

Why You Need A Lawsuit Asbestos Lawyer

The number of asbestos lawsuits filed and the number of asbestos lawsuit lawyers who will take up an asbestos lawsuit case are a sad reflection of a long-time construction mistake that may lead to the ill health of over 250,000 Americans by the year 2020. If you think you may have been exposed to asbestos without proper protective filter masks, you may be entitled to file a lawsuit with the help of an asbestos lawyer. A natural, fibrous form of a number of minerals, asbestos was used since ancient times in fabrics because of its durability and fireproofing ability. For over seventy years, asbestos was used in the insulation of and as fireproofing material in numerous buildings. Over 30 millions tons of asbestos in America alone made its way into the walls of commercial buildings, home, schools, shipyards, and industrial sites. Construction workers labored with asbestos without protection. In the 1970s, however, the medical community, faced with an overwhelming number of construction ...

What are Mesothelioma Cancers? An Overview Of Mesothelioma Cancers

 What are Mesothelioma Cancers? Mesothelioma cancers are the cancers that spread in the mesothelium tissues. Mesothelium in general is the name of tissue that forms lining of different body organs such as heart, lungs, abdomen and reproductive organs. The lining around abdominal organs is known as peritoneal membrane. Lining around lungs is called pleural membrane while the lining around heart is called pericardium. These linings perform two functions. They protect the internal organs by producing a lubricating fluid and to allow the smooth movement of the internal organs. Mesothelioma cancers are the cancers affecting these membranes. The names of the cancers depend on the tissue or linings they affect. Peritoneal mesothelioma, pleural mesothelioma and pericardial mesothelioma are the names of cancers of linings of abdomen, lungs and heart, respectively. Pleural mesothelioma is the most common of all mesothelioma cancers and is found in 70 % of the mesothelioma patients. Pe...

Mesothelioma EPIDEMIOLOGY

While an association of malignant, mesotheliomas with radiation or zeolite exposure, severe pulmonary disease, recurrent diverticulosis, and even one case of lipoid aspiration pneumonia has been reported, asbestos remains the most frequent etiologic cause with contact documented in perhaps half of all patients with malignant pleural and peritoneal primaries. While only one of the first 13 cases of malignant testicular mesothelioma reported in the literature involved an asbestos-exposed individual, 3 of the 4 most recently described cases had been heavily exposed. To date, asbestos does not appear to be implicated in the etiology of benign mesotheliomas of any site or of malignant pericardial primaries. The association of asbestos contact and an excess risk of bronchogenic cancer had been established in 1955 by Doll, although case reports first appeared as early as 1935. The role of asbestos in the etiology of mesothelioma was first convincingly documented by Wagner et al. in 1960. Th...