Exposure to asbestos causes 5,000 deaths a year

The TUC has launched 'Asbestos: no hiding place' a new guide for workplace union safety representatives on how to help prevent exposure to asbestos, based on forthcoming Regulations from the Health and Safety Commission.

The move has bee prompted by an analysis of official figures by the TUC, which indicated that at least 5,000 people died in 2001 as a result of asbestos-related diseases. This figure is represents an increase of two thirds - up from 3,000 a decade ago.

In the guide, the TUC warns that the death toll will continue to rise if measures are not taken now to control asbestos exposure in British buildings.

TUC General Secretary John Monks said: "Asbestos was the ‘fatal fibre’ for most of the twentieth century, and its days as the ‘miracle mineral’ are long gone. But the death toll is continuing to rise, and unless we take steps now to stop more people being exposed to asbestos, the new century will see a modern plague of asbestos diseases. Asbestos is still a deadly dust, and safety reps need to know what they can do to help protect their work-mates."

The importation, sale and new use of asbestos was finally banned in Britain and across Europe in 1999, although some types of asbestos had been banned much earlier.

According to John Monks there are still vast amounts of asbestos in many buildings which means that workers involved in repair, renovation and removal will be at risk for a generation. As will, to a lesser extent, the people who work, visit or live in those buildings.

The new HSC Regulations, due out in the summer will impose new duties on employers and building owners, and the European Union is discussing a Directive which will drastically reduce the permitted exposure levels for people working with asbestos.

(AMcE)