Young tradespeople receive an important warning from 61-year-old carpenter

John Jackson is a 61-year-old carpenter who has spent his life working at a range of carpentry firms. He has also been diagnosed with mesothelioma, which he can trace back to working with asbestos in the 1960s and 70s. After discovering through the Health and Safety Executive that 20 people a week die from asbestos-related problems, he wants to get the word out to younger generations.

Mr Jackson explained:

"Most tradespeople will know the use of asbestos is illegal, however the ban only started in 1999. This means many older buildings still contain it and many younger tradespeople will not have worked directly with it and may be unfamiliar with what it looks like and where it can be found. Alarmingly it seems tradespeople are now being exposed to asbestos through a lack of training and ignorance of the dangers.

I now face an uncertain future and am concerned family members who came into contact with asbestos from my work overalls may also be at risk. My aim, whilst I am well enough, is to educate fellow carpenters and other tradespeople to the potential dangers of asbestos exposure."

He now hopes that with the help of Anglia Asbestos Support Group, sponsored locally by solicitors Ashtons Legal, he can get the word out and young tradespeople gain access to the knowledge they need to spot asbestos in its many forms and react accordingly.

Here at C&D Consultancy we share Mr Jackson's concerns, which is why we offer regular training slots for asbestos awareness. If you would like to learn more, or know a young tradesperson this training would benefit, please email Stuart who'll answer any questions you have.

Source: Norwich Evening News

Craft project aims to raise awareness of asbestos-related disease

Derbyshire Asbestos Support Team charity volunteers have decided to make a patchwork banner made up of stories about mesothelioma sufferers. The banner will be launched at the charity's conference in Derby this month. It is hoped displaying the banner will help raise awareness about the disease.

The charity, setup in 2002, focuses on supporting those who suffer with mesothelioma across the East Midlands, and worryingly they are seeing an increase in new cases recently.

Margaret Bailey, ambassador for the charity, said the patchwork will be a "poignant reminder" of the impacts the disease.

Source: Derby Telegraph

HSE released Mesothelioma mortality statistics 1968-2012

The Health and Safety Executive have released a new guide covering mesothelioma mortality rates during a period covering 44 years.

Here's the summary from the document:

Most mesothelioma deaths occurring now are a legacy of past occupational exposures to asbestos when it was widely used in the building industry.

The latest information shows:

• The number of mesothelioma deaths increased to 2,535 in 2012 from 2,291 in 2011. This was largely due to an increase in male deaths aged 65 years or more (Mesothelioma register).
• In 2012 there were 2 126 male deaths and 409 female deaths.
• The number of new cases of mesothelioma assessed for Industrial Injuries Disablement Benefit has increased from 1 985 in 2011 to 2 125 new cases in 2012 (IIDB).
• Men who worked in the building industry when asbestos was used extensively are now among those most at risk of mesothelioma.

The 7-page document is free to access online and download if you prefer.

Mesothelioma Act compensation amounts increased

Victims of the fatal asbestos-induced cancer Mesothelioma who have not been able to trace a liable employer or an employer's liability insurer will, from now on, be able to apply for compensation packages worth an average of £123,000.

The Government announced in March that it had increased this amount from the initial £115,000 debated in the House of Commons in January "after making savings in the administration costs of the scheme"

Around 3,500 victims of mesothelioma or their families can apply for compensation from now and will receive payments from July this year, as part of a £380 million package.

Mike Penning (Works & Pensions Minister), who is well known to those of us who work in demolition via his links with the NFDC said "This will end years of injustice for mesothelioma victims and their families, who have had to endure this terrible disease with little hope of any compensation from the insurance industry"

The Mesothelioma Act was passed in January and allowed for the creation of a new package of support, funded by insurance firms, to compensate more than 800 eligible people in 2014 and 300 every year after that until 2024.

Children of the 60s played with asbestos, are beginning to suffer now

Back in January the BBC covered the story of Caroline Wilcock, and her unfortunate situation is worth bringing up again because it is so close to something we are passionate about: ridding the UK of asbestos safely.

Caroline grew up in the 1960s living in the County Durham village of Bowburn. That was also where a factory was hard at work producing asbestos goods. Nobody wore protective clothing, the doors of the factory were always open, and a white dust was always settling on everything in the village. Worse still, the children used to play with the asbestos like it was chalk.

Caroline is now 51 and has been diagnosed with mesothelioma. The parent company of the asbestos factory, Cape Intermediate Holdings, isn't accepting responsibility for her illness, but has made her an offer for an out of court settlement. She's the first villager known about to have contracted mesothelioma, but her lawyers believes there may be many more misdiagnosed, still yet to find out they have cancer, or who have already privately settled with Cape.

You can read Caroline's full story over at BBC News Tyne & Wear

Another tragic early death from Mesothelioma

Take a few minutes to watch the Adam Sager story - Losing Breath below.

If there is any remote chance that you may disturb asbestos, and believe me there is that chance, then you need asbestos awareness training so why not book a course now. They run weekly around the UK with prices from £50.00 plus VAT.

That's not a lot to learn something that could save your life. Contact margaret@demolishdismantle.co.uk for more details.

Court ruling removes black hole surrounding asbestos claims

Asbestos is a killer, typically in the form of mesothelioma, but it may not present as an illness for many years, even decades after exposure. That can make it incredibly difficult, or even impossible to take action against an employer who allowed unprotected exposure to asbestos to occur all those years ago. However, a recent ruling has given hope to current and future mesothelioma sufferers.

David Bavaird died of asbestos-related lung disease back in 2008. His exposure was traced back to his employer East Kilbride Development Corporation. The company was wound up 17 years ago and the liabilities assumed by South Lanarkshire Council, but the council claimed it was not liable for Bavaird's ilnness because he wasn't ill back in 1996 when the council took on the company liabilities.

Such a claim formed a black hole for asbestos-related illness claims, but the court has rejected the council's view and holds them liable. In so doing, it sets a precedent and hopefully means other companies and organizations cannot slip through the net in future when claims are made by the individuals suffering with mesothelioma.

Source: BBC News

American actor Ed Lauter dies of mesothelioma

We all know the dangers of working around asbestos without the right training and equipment, but most of the population is relying on asbestos being managed properly to protect them from harm. Still, people are contracting mesothelioma and it is killing them.

One such recent high-profile case is that of Ed Lauter. The well-known American actor has appeared in over 200 movies and TV shows over a career that spanned 40+ years. But his career and life have been cut short by mesothelioma. He leaves behind a wife and four children as well as several projects in post-production.

We wish his family well and hope that the cause of his mesothelioma was found and appropriate action taken to stop it harming anyone else.

Source: BBC News

Joint Industry Board launches asbestos awareness campaign

The Joint Industry Board (JIB) has this month launched an industry-wide asbestos awareness campaign, which has had the help of Alan North, JIB member and ECA past president. Alan explains in the video below how he came to be diagnosed with mesothelioma after being exposed to asbestos when younger.


Identifying and working with asbestos can only be done by people who have been trained properly. To book your asbestos awareness course with us now, please get in touch via john.woodward@demolishdismantle.co.uk

Fatality numbers fall but does that show the real picture?

HSE figures for fatal accidents show a fall this year to 148 from 172 the previous year so should we all congratulate ourselves on a job well done and a safer construction industry?

The answer is NO.

What the HSE figures do not show is that in the UK we killed 5 members of the public, many more people suffered life changing injuries, and the figures do not reflect the 12,000 people who died from occupational diseases such as Mesothelioma.

The Construction industry, where demolition industry figures lie, saw 39 fatalities (a rate of 1.9 deaths per 100,000 workers) and is a decrease from 48 deaths in 2011/12 so we are moving in the right direction as opposed to the waste industry which saw a 100% increase in fatalities last year.

Back in 2009/10 the fatality figures dropped to 147 and then increased dramatically the following year to 175 so we all need to work to ensure that this year's drop is a permanent trend and we must strive for zero accidents from now.

Is zero accidents realistic in today's climate? Is zero accidents achievable? The answer to both questions is YES, but we will only achieve our goal if we all up our game with training and supervision.

So what are the biggest killers:-

1. Occupational diseases caused from exposure to chemicals and substances that are hazardous to health. Too many people breath in hazardous substances that kill them but we are amazed how few companies understand that wearing of masks will prevent exposure and will save lives. The COSHH regulations make it mandatory for risk assessments to be done for all substances and rpe issued if the risk assessments show the need. That rpe must be suitable for task and correctly face fitted and face fitting should be done by a competent trained person. Details of mask requirements are covered in our free to download toolbox talk
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2. Work at height is still the second biggest killer and from our experience one of the reasons is the lack of training in the workplace, hemce our releasing the new 1, 2, 3 suite of work at height courses.
3. Being struck by falling objects. Make sure that exclusion zones are in place and rigidly enforced.
4. Being struck by moving vehicles. This is particularly pertinent in London where a number of RTA's have resulted in the death of a cyclist. As a direct result of these accidents we have launched a Driver CPC course on Safe Urban Driving.

Asbestos awareness training

Our sister site Demolish & Dismantle had a post yesterday about the Mesothelioma Bill that was debated in Parliament earlier this week. The Bill is designed to set up a fund for compensation for mesothelioma sufferers and we support the idea.

Mesothelioma is an awful disease, as can be seen from the video below, but it is not contagious. You can only get the disease by breathing in asbestos fibres, and can occur if you are unsure of the risks from asbestos exposure, so why not book yourself onto an Asbestos Awareness course and get the information you need to prevent exposure to this deadly product.

Courses are available on a weekly basis around the country and can be booked by emailing john.woodward@demolishdismantle.co.uk