The Age.comAU, April 22, 2008 reported that one-in-10 Australian carpenters born before 1950 will die of mesothelioma, according to results of a British study to be released in Melbourne on Tuesday night.
They will be among 30,000 Australians who will die from mesothelioma between 2000 and 2050.
Cancer research specialist Professor Julian Peto made the findings during research into the lifetime occupations of 600 mesothelioma patients and an analysis of international trends in mesothelioma mortality. Prof Peto said the cause of mesothelioma was not restricted to the deadly blue asbestos, also known as crocidolite, but to brown asbestos (amosite) which was used in building products in Australia and Britain until the 1980s.
Brown asbestos was a major component in most asbestos cement sheeting and roofing used in the building industry.
"I think that is one of the things that's largely been missed in much of the discussion on mesothelioma," Prof Peto said. "The use of these products was completely uncontrolled. "Carpenters would chop it up with power saws without much concern at all. "And this was after we became aware of the dangers of blue asbestos."
Prof Peto's research also revealed that Australia and the UK have the highest rates of mesothelioma in the world, with 600 cases per year in Australia and almost 2,000 in Britain, and figures are rising.
He said that 10 per cent of Australian carpenters born before 1950 were likely to die of asbestos-related cancers.
The rate for Australia and the UK is more than five times that of the United States, mainly because of different construction methods, Prof Peto said.
Prof Peto's research also questions why it was once believed that asbestos exposure below a certain threshold would be safe.
The professor was due to deliver the Miegunyah Public Lecture at Melbourne University on Tuesday night.
http://news.theage.com.au/asbestos-will-kill-10-of-carpenters/20080422-27u6.html
Monday, 28 April 2008
Cottingley champion rower Denis Melody is killed by asbestos
Beeston Today, 17th April 2008 reported that a world champion rower and marathon runner from Cottingley died after contracting a deadly lung disease, probably due to exposure to asbestos during his working life, an inquest heard.
Denis Melody, 84, a divorced father-of-two, was a former leather processing manager who worked until he was 77. Mr Melody was still taking part in rowing competitions until September 2006. He was fit and healthy until he developed chest problems and was diagnosed with mesothelioma, a terminal condition. He died in January at the Wortley nursing home where he spent his final months.
The inquest heard Mr Melody spent his entire working life in the leather processing industry often in old factories and around machinery lagged with asbestos. He also served with the Royal Marines and could also have been in contact with asbestos on ships. A well-known marathon runner, Mr Melody took part in many races before taking up indoor rowing at the age of 77. He went on to take part in British and world championships, winning a gold medal in the men's veteran class in the world championships in America at 80.
The coroner, David Hinchliff told the court: "Mr Melody spent many years working in factories where machinery and boilers were lagged with asbestos and the likelihood was that it was in the work place he was exposed to it. In those days workers did not realise that fibres from asbestos caused health problems in later years and he developed mesothelioma."Pathologist Dr Lisa Barker told the court Mr Melody had well above the normal amount of asbestos in his lungs and had developed a rare type of tumour as a consequence.The corner recorded a verdict of industrial disease.
http://www.beestontoday.co.uk/news/Cottingley-champion-rower-Denis-Melody.3995168.jp
Denis Melody, 84, a divorced father-of-two, was a former leather processing manager who worked until he was 77. Mr Melody was still taking part in rowing competitions until September 2006. He was fit and healthy until he developed chest problems and was diagnosed with mesothelioma, a terminal condition. He died in January at the Wortley nursing home where he spent his final months.
The inquest heard Mr Melody spent his entire working life in the leather processing industry often in old factories and around machinery lagged with asbestos. He also served with the Royal Marines and could also have been in contact with asbestos on ships. A well-known marathon runner, Mr Melody took part in many races before taking up indoor rowing at the age of 77. He went on to take part in British and world championships, winning a gold medal in the men's veteran class in the world championships in America at 80.
The coroner, David Hinchliff told the court: "Mr Melody spent many years working in factories where machinery and boilers were lagged with asbestos and the likelihood was that it was in the work place he was exposed to it. In those days workers did not realise that fibres from asbestos caused health problems in later years and he developed mesothelioma."Pathologist Dr Lisa Barker told the court Mr Melody had well above the normal amount of asbestos in his lungs and had developed a rare type of tumour as a consequence.The corner recorded a verdict of industrial disease.
http://www.beestontoday.co.uk/news/Cottingley-champion-rower-Denis-Melody.3995168.jp
MP fights Lords asbestos decision
BBC 15th April 2008
A Norfolk MP has launched a campaign to get compensation for people who are affected by asbestosis. In October 2007, the Law Lords decided that scarring of the lungs should no longer be a compensatory illness.
Dr Ian Gibson, MP for Norwich North, has now started a campaign to overturn that decision.
The eastern region has one of the highest rates of death from the disease in the country, and that number is expected to peak by 2020.
Dr Gibson said the figures were particularly high in the East because of the nature of the region's industries and the amount of asbestos involved.
"Council houses had it, some of the factories used asbestos to prevent fires and also in the products they made, and of course there's been ship building," he said.
"And the families at home who washed the clothes the people used in the factories have also developed the lung cancer, called mesothelioma."
Dr Gibson said he was confident the campaign could overturn the decision.
To read the full story, please click on the link below:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/norfolk/7348915.stm
A Norfolk MP has launched a campaign to get compensation for people who are affected by asbestosis. In October 2007, the Law Lords decided that scarring of the lungs should no longer be a compensatory illness.
Dr Ian Gibson, MP for Norwich North, has now started a campaign to overturn that decision.
The eastern region has one of the highest rates of death from the disease in the country, and that number is expected to peak by 2020.
Dr Gibson said the figures were particularly high in the East because of the nature of the region's industries and the amount of asbestos involved.
"Council houses had it, some of the factories used asbestos to prevent fires and also in the products they made, and of course there's been ship building," he said.
"And the families at home who washed the clothes the people used in the factories have also developed the lung cancer, called mesothelioma."
Dr Gibson said he was confident the campaign could overturn the decision.
To read the full story, please click on the link below:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/norfolk/7348915.stm
More white collar asbestos victims
TUC Risks 19th April 2008 reported that more and more white collar workers are suffering from asbestos related diseases.
A former benefits officer and a nurse are the latest workplace victims of mesothelioma, the incurable asbestos cancer. The ex-benefits officer, who does not want to be named, has received almost £170,000 in damages after being exposed to asbestos in his office. The man, from Bury, was exposed while working at Prestwich Unemployment Benefit Office during the late 70s and early 80s. He worked for the Department for Work and Pensions for 30 years before retiring in 2000. The claimant was given a letter from his department in 1984 saying asbestos had been found throughout his office. He had kept the letter and it became crucial in his securing a payout.
Tony Whitston from the Greater Manchester Asbestos Victims Support Group said: 'This case demonstrates the shocking fact that office workers are vulnerable to asbestos exposure if asbestos is not properly managed in buildings.' Former nurse Margaret Forster, 68, is another mesothelioma victim and is appealing to her one-time colleagues for help in pursuing a claim against her former employers. Margaret believes she developed the condition after being exposed to asbestos dust at hospitals in Sunderland. She said: 'I feel disgruntled because I've worked all those years in the NHS helping patients to get better and now I've been the victim.
'She believes she came into contact with asbestos dust in basements while at the old Sunderland Royal Infirmary, Monkwearmouth Hospital and Sunderland Eye Infirmary.
Family members face asbestos peril
A former benefits officer and a nurse are the latest workplace victims of mesothelioma, the incurable asbestos cancer. The ex-benefits officer, who does not want to be named, has received almost £170,000 in damages after being exposed to asbestos in his office. The man, from Bury, was exposed while working at Prestwich Unemployment Benefit Office during the late 70s and early 80s. He worked for the Department for Work and Pensions for 30 years before retiring in 2000. The claimant was given a letter from his department in 1984 saying asbestos had been found throughout his office. He had kept the letter and it became crucial in his securing a payout.
Tony Whitston from the Greater Manchester Asbestos Victims Support Group said: 'This case demonstrates the shocking fact that office workers are vulnerable to asbestos exposure if asbestos is not properly managed in buildings.' Former nurse Margaret Forster, 68, is another mesothelioma victim and is appealing to her one-time colleagues for help in pursuing a claim against her former employers. Margaret believes she developed the condition after being exposed to asbestos dust at hospitals in Sunderland. She said: 'I feel disgruntled because I've worked all those years in the NHS helping patients to get better and now I've been the victim.
'She believes she came into contact with asbestos dust in basements while at the old Sunderland Royal Infirmary, Monkwearmouth Hospital and Sunderland Eye Infirmary.
Family members face asbestos peril
Alarming statistics of schools asbestos
Blackpool Gazette, 7th April 2008 reported that more than 90 per cent of Fylde coast schools contain the potentially lethal asbestos.
The poisonous material, which can cause death by asbestosis and mesothilioma, was found in 35 out of 38 schools in Blackpool, 28 out of the 29 schools in Fylde and 51 out of the 59 schools in Wyre. Council officials from both Blackpool Council and Lancashire County Council have played down the alarming statistic saying that management of the poisonous substance is under control and in compliance with health and safety guidance.
InformationThe Gazette revealed in 2006 how resort teachers had been warned not to pin pupils' work to walls for fear it could release asbestos. But the Association of Teachers and Lecturers (ATL) says it remains concerned. ATL general secretary, Dr Mary Bousted, said: "We are deeply concerned about the continuing risk to teachers, support staff and pupils from asbestos in schools."There is still too little information about asbestos."Many teachers and pupils will be unaware, and because asbestos-related illnesses take between 15 to 60 years to develop, it is difficult to know how many will become ill or die as a result of exposure."The health of thousands of young people, and those working in education, is far too precious to allow this to be swept under the carpet any longer."
To read the full article please click on the link below:
http://www.blackpoolgazette.co.uk/blackpoolnews/Alarming-statistics-of-schools-asbestos.3952147.jp
The poisonous material, which can cause death by asbestosis and mesothilioma, was found in 35 out of 38 schools in Blackpool, 28 out of the 29 schools in Fylde and 51 out of the 59 schools in Wyre. Council officials from both Blackpool Council and Lancashire County Council have played down the alarming statistic saying that management of the poisonous substance is under control and in compliance with health and safety guidance.
InformationThe Gazette revealed in 2006 how resort teachers had been warned not to pin pupils' work to walls for fear it could release asbestos. But the Association of Teachers and Lecturers (ATL) says it remains concerned. ATL general secretary, Dr Mary Bousted, said: "We are deeply concerned about the continuing risk to teachers, support staff and pupils from asbestos in schools."There is still too little information about asbestos."Many teachers and pupils will be unaware, and because asbestos-related illnesses take between 15 to 60 years to develop, it is difficult to know how many will become ill or die as a result of exposure."The health of thousands of young people, and those working in education, is far too precious to allow this to be swept under the carpet any longer."
To read the full article please click on the link below:
http://www.blackpoolgazette.co.uk/blackpoolnews/Alarming-statistics-of-schools-asbestos.3952147.jp
Reassurance on asbestos fears
York Press 7th April 2008 reported that former shoppers and members of staff at York's closed down Woolworth's store were reassured today that they were not put at risk by asbestos in the building.
An expert from City of York Council said asbestos was not dangerous unless it was disturbed, and this had not happened before the store in Spurriergate closed down earlier this year.
Principal health and safety officer Steve Adamthwaite said: "Asbestos is found in a lot of buildings built during the 1960s and 1970s.
"The Control of Asbestos at Work Regulations ensure that people in control of buildings where asbestos is present identify where it is and ensure that it is not disturbed.
"Woolworths did this effectively, and there would have been no danger to members of the public or to staff who worked at the store."
The Press reported last week how asbestos insulation boards were being removed from the building, where Boots plans to open a new store this summer.
York has a long history of problems caused by an "asbestos timebomb" at the former carriageworks in Holgate Road, with scores of former workers having died from exposure to the deadly dust during their careers at the factory. But in that case dust was often flying around the factory, with some workers throwing asbestos "snowballs" at each other, unaware of the dangers.
Boots today said it agreed with the council that the asbestos at the former Woolworth's store posed no threat. A spokeswoman said: "Boots support Steve Adamthwaite's position and believe there is no cause for concern. This is normal practice and our contractors are carrying out these works under controlled conditions. "We remain committed to always putting our customers' health and safety requirements above trading performance."
To read the full story please click on the link below:
http://www.yorkpress.co.uk/news/yorknews/display.var.2176637.0.reassurance_on_asbestos_fears.php
An expert from City of York Council said asbestos was not dangerous unless it was disturbed, and this had not happened before the store in Spurriergate closed down earlier this year.
Principal health and safety officer Steve Adamthwaite said: "Asbestos is found in a lot of buildings built during the 1960s and 1970s.
"The Control of Asbestos at Work Regulations ensure that people in control of buildings where asbestos is present identify where it is and ensure that it is not disturbed.
"Woolworths did this effectively, and there would have been no danger to members of the public or to staff who worked at the store."
The Press reported last week how asbestos insulation boards were being removed from the building, where Boots plans to open a new store this summer.
York has a long history of problems caused by an "asbestos timebomb" at the former carriageworks in Holgate Road, with scores of former workers having died from exposure to the deadly dust during their careers at the factory. But in that case dust was often flying around the factory, with some workers throwing asbestos "snowballs" at each other, unaware of the dangers.
Boots today said it agreed with the council that the asbestos at the former Woolworth's store posed no threat. A spokeswoman said: "Boots support Steve Adamthwaite's position and believe there is no cause for concern. This is normal practice and our contractors are carrying out these works under controlled conditions. "We remain committed to always putting our customers' health and safety requirements above trading performance."
To read the full story please click on the link below:
http://www.yorkpress.co.uk/news/yorknews/display.var.2176637.0.reassurance_on_asbestos_fears.php
Newbury Town council shell out over £8,000 to remove asbestos from town hall cellars
Newbury Weekly News 11th April 2008 reported that Newbury town council will spend over £8000 of its precept on removing harmful asbestos from the town hall cellars.
At a meeting of the Community Services Committee last Wednesday (April 2), councillors agreed to spend the money to remove the harmful building material to comply with building regulations. According to councillors, the £8000 to cover the work had been accommodated in the town council’s budget for this year so would not cost the precept payer more next year to cover an unexpected deficit. The removal work will cost £7,065 but inspections will have to be carried out following its removal at an additional cost of £990 excluding VAT.
The cellars, which are used to store archive files and house the building’s gas and electricity meters have been closed until the asbestos, which was discovered after a recent structural survey, has been cleared. The town hall reception area will be closed for two weeks while the works are carried out and access to the building will be diverted through a temporary reception at the civic entrance. Town council services manager, Granville Taylor said the cellars had to be accessed on a regular basis to check the meters. He said: “Some of the asbestos could have been from the original structure and some of it was put in afterwards but that was long before our time.” The work will start on April 21.
To read the story plese click on the link below:
http://www.newburytoday.co.uk/News/Article.aspx?articleID=6602
At a meeting of the Community Services Committee last Wednesday (April 2), councillors agreed to spend the money to remove the harmful building material to comply with building regulations. According to councillors, the £8000 to cover the work had been accommodated in the town council’s budget for this year so would not cost the precept payer more next year to cover an unexpected deficit. The removal work will cost £7,065 but inspections will have to be carried out following its removal at an additional cost of £990 excluding VAT.
The cellars, which are used to store archive files and house the building’s gas and electricity meters have been closed until the asbestos, which was discovered after a recent structural survey, has been cleared. The town hall reception area will be closed for two weeks while the works are carried out and access to the building will be diverted through a temporary reception at the civic entrance. Town council services manager, Granville Taylor said the cellars had to be accessed on a regular basis to check the meters. He said: “Some of the asbestos could have been from the original structure and some of it was put in afterwards but that was long before our time.” The work will start on April 21.
To read the story plese click on the link below:
http://www.newburytoday.co.uk/News/Article.aspx?articleID=6602
'Get rid of school asbestos'
Yorkshire Evening Post 12th April 2008, reported that children at a Leeds primary school are sitting on toilet seats made from asbestos.
The revelation came during an inquest into the death of Gordon Gomersall, a former teacher from the school, who developed the fatal condition mesothelioma last summer. The cancer is caused by inhaling particles of asbestos which can stay dormant in a victim's lungs for decades before a tumour is triggered.
Now his widow is calling for asbestos to be removed from all city schools.
A letter from Leeds City Council read out to Leeds Coroner's Court said that some asbestos removal at Templenewsam Halton Primary School, where Mr Gomersall taught for 20 years, took place in the late 1970s. But a safety survey in June 2005 said there was still asbestos in the school built in 1944 including toilet seats, cisterns, ceiling and floor tiles. These were deemed 'low risk' and not removed but abestos found in the boiler house and caretaker's store were a 'medium risk' and the areas cleaned.
Today the widow of Mr Gomersall, who died just two months after he was diagnosed with a tumour in his chest last July, called for asbestos to be removed from all schools in the city.
Barbara Gomersall, 72, from Crossgates, told the YEP: "If such a miniscule particle of asbestos is so dangerous and can lie 40 years or more before activating and causing such a horrendous death, surely it's time that all this so-called low risk asbestos is completely eradicated."
To read the full account, please click on the link below:
http://www.yorkshireeveningpost.co.uk/news/39Get-rid-of-school-asbestos39.3975694.jp
The revelation came during an inquest into the death of Gordon Gomersall, a former teacher from the school, who developed the fatal condition mesothelioma last summer. The cancer is caused by inhaling particles of asbestos which can stay dormant in a victim's lungs for decades before a tumour is triggered.
Now his widow is calling for asbestos to be removed from all city schools.
A letter from Leeds City Council read out to Leeds Coroner's Court said that some asbestos removal at Templenewsam Halton Primary School, where Mr Gomersall taught for 20 years, took place in the late 1970s. But a safety survey in June 2005 said there was still asbestos in the school built in 1944 including toilet seats, cisterns, ceiling and floor tiles. These were deemed 'low risk' and not removed but abestos found in the boiler house and caretaker's store were a 'medium risk' and the areas cleaned.
Today the widow of Mr Gomersall, who died just two months after he was diagnosed with a tumour in his chest last July, called for asbestos to be removed from all schools in the city.
Barbara Gomersall, 72, from Crossgates, told the YEP: "If such a miniscule particle of asbestos is so dangerous and can lie 40 years or more before activating and causing such a horrendous death, surely it's time that all this so-called low risk asbestos is completely eradicated."
To read the full account, please click on the link below:
http://www.yorkshireeveningpost.co.uk/news/39Get-rid-of-school-asbestos39.3975694.jp
Grace Reaches Asbestos Deal
Chemical and Engineering News 14th April 2008 reported that W.R. Grace had reached a settlement that could allow the firm to emerge from seven years of bankruptcy by the end of 2008.
The deal will set up a trust fund worth more than $3 billion to compensate all present and future asbestos-related personal injury claimants. Under the plan, reached with claimant representative committees set up by the U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Pittsburgh, Grace will make an initial cash contribution of $250 million to fund the trust and then pay a further $1.6 billion over 15 years. The company will also contribute rights to its asbestos liability insurance coverage, which could amount to about $900 million, and rights to buy 10 million shares of Grace stock.
In addition, the trust will contain cash and stock now worth about $1.2 billion from Fresenius Medical Care and Sealed Air, companies that had acquired former Grace businesses. An asbestos claimants committee had sued the two companies in 2002, charging that Grace "fraudulently transferred" assets to the new owners when it was technically bankrupt because of asbestos claims.
Once the trust is set up, Grace will be shielded from further personal injury claims.
Grace CEO Fred E. Festa says the agreement "will be good for our shareholders, customers, creditors, and our employees." He adds that "a lot of work remains to be done before we can confirm a plan of reorganization, but I am optimistic we will be successful in reaching that goal by the end of this year or early in 2009."
One reason the bankruptcy case has dragged on for seven years is that Grace has forcefully contested asbestos claimants' estimates of its liability for about 100,000 outstanding claims. The Pittsburgh bankruptcy court judge was presiding over a trial to value the asbestos claims when the two sides struck a deal. Without the deal, the wrangling could have prolonged the bankruptcy case for several more years.
Grace still has to settle property damage and attic insulation claims. But the company says those issues shouldn't affect the timetable for emergence from bankruptcy.
http://pubs.acs.org/cen/news/86/i15/8615notw6.html
The deal will set up a trust fund worth more than $3 billion to compensate all present and future asbestos-related personal injury claimants. Under the plan, reached with claimant representative committees set up by the U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Pittsburgh, Grace will make an initial cash contribution of $250 million to fund the trust and then pay a further $1.6 billion over 15 years. The company will also contribute rights to its asbestos liability insurance coverage, which could amount to about $900 million, and rights to buy 10 million shares of Grace stock.
In addition, the trust will contain cash and stock now worth about $1.2 billion from Fresenius Medical Care and Sealed Air, companies that had acquired former Grace businesses. An asbestos claimants committee had sued the two companies in 2002, charging that Grace "fraudulently transferred" assets to the new owners when it was technically bankrupt because of asbestos claims.
Once the trust is set up, Grace will be shielded from further personal injury claims.
Grace CEO Fred E. Festa says the agreement "will be good for our shareholders, customers, creditors, and our employees." He adds that "a lot of work remains to be done before we can confirm a plan of reorganization, but I am optimistic we will be successful in reaching that goal by the end of this year or early in 2009."
One reason the bankruptcy case has dragged on for seven years is that Grace has forcefully contested asbestos claimants' estimates of its liability for about 100,000 outstanding claims. The Pittsburgh bankruptcy court judge was presiding over a trial to value the asbestos claims when the two sides struck a deal. Without the deal, the wrangling could have prolonged the bankruptcy case for several more years.
Grace still has to settle property damage and attic insulation claims. But the company says those issues shouldn't affect the timetable for emergence from bankruptcy.
http://pubs.acs.org/cen/news/86/i15/8615notw6.html
Marlborough woman died after washing asbestos covered clothes
This is Wiltshire.co.uk reported on 12th April that a pensioner died 45 years after she used to wash her husband's asbestos-covered work overalls.
Olive Brown, of Marlborough, was diagnosed with mesothelioma - cancer of the lining of the lung - in April last year. Her health began to deteriorate and she died in September.
An inquest heard that she washed her husband Eric's overalls weekly for nine months in 1962.
At the time Eric, now 77, worked for a builders' merchant.
There he came into direct contact with asbestos products used for insulation.
He said: "I only worked for them for nine months and it cost me my wife's life.
"I feel awful about what my wife went through, but she put on a brave front and not once did she complain.
"But I'm very pragmatic. It's happened.
"You can't turn the clock back, unfortunately, so what's the point of getting angry?"
In the hardware store where he worked they would frequently sell asbestos products such as asbestos stove mats.
"Asbestos was a normal material and we sold all sorts of asbestos products," he said.
David Ridley, the Deputy Wiltshire Coroner, who presided over the case, recorded a narrative verdict.
He said: "Her husband didn't wash his hands and instead rubbed them into his overalls.
"This was then handled and washed by Olive on a weekly basis."
He said Olive died from the industrial disease mesothelioma, when she was exposed with contact of her husband's work clothing.
To read the full story please likc on the link below:
http://www.thisiswiltshire.co.uk/news/headlines/display.var.2193756.0.marlborough_woman_died_after_washing_asbestos_covered_clothes.php
Olive Brown, of Marlborough, was diagnosed with mesothelioma - cancer of the lining of the lung - in April last year. Her health began to deteriorate and she died in September.
An inquest heard that she washed her husband Eric's overalls weekly for nine months in 1962.
At the time Eric, now 77, worked for a builders' merchant.
There he came into direct contact with asbestos products used for insulation.
He said: "I only worked for them for nine months and it cost me my wife's life.
"I feel awful about what my wife went through, but she put on a brave front and not once did she complain.
"But I'm very pragmatic. It's happened.
"You can't turn the clock back, unfortunately, so what's the point of getting angry?"
In the hardware store where he worked they would frequently sell asbestos products such as asbestos stove mats.
"Asbestos was a normal material and we sold all sorts of asbestos products," he said.
David Ridley, the Deputy Wiltshire Coroner, who presided over the case, recorded a narrative verdict.
He said: "Her husband didn't wash his hands and instead rubbed them into his overalls.
"This was then handled and washed by Olive on a weekly basis."
He said Olive died from the industrial disease mesothelioma, when she was exposed with contact of her husband's work clothing.
To read the full story please likc on the link below:
http://www.thisiswiltshire.co.uk/news/headlines/display.var.2193756.0.marlborough_woman_died_after_washing_asbestos_covered_clothes.php
Experts highlight spreading cancer risks
TUC Risks 12th April 2008 reported that a global epidemic of preventable industrial cancers is killing hundreds of thousands each year because governments and employers are failing to take simple and effective preventive action.
Top cancer prevention experts and trade union officers and workplace reps from around the world, meeting in Scotland later this month to prepare an occupational and environmental cancer prevention strategy, will reveal the full extent of the problem and will call for the use of safer substances and processes and a phase out of the worst cancer-causing culprits. The event, hosted by the University of Stirling and supported by UK unions, Hazards magazine and the Hazards Campaign will reveal in industrialised nationals including the UK, far more people die each year from occupational and environmental cancers than from all road fatalities and murders combined.
Andrew Watterson, who leads the Occupational and Environmental Health Research Group at the University of Stirling and is co-organiser of the conference, said: 'Today, there are more people in more countries exposed to more cancer causing industrial substances than in any time in history. We use hundreds of cancer-causing substances in, quite literally, industrial quantities when there are healthier and frequently better alternatives. If we change work practices we can remedy the sick workplace rather than indulge in a hit-and-miss attempt at a cure.' He added: 'There is a silver bullet cure to occupational cancers, but it is not a drug or surgery.
Industrialised countries including the UK are failing to make the link between workplace pollutants and cancer, failing to give preventive advice and failing to provide support for the affected individuals.' Researchers in the UK and in New Zealand have estimated the price to society of each occupational cancer at between £1m and £2.5m. Preventive measures like substitution of harmful chemicals with safer alternatives could introduce healthier work methods, often at minimal cost.
Top cancer prevention experts and trade union officers and workplace reps from around the world, meeting in Scotland later this month to prepare an occupational and environmental cancer prevention strategy, will reveal the full extent of the problem and will call for the use of safer substances and processes and a phase out of the worst cancer-causing culprits. The event, hosted by the University of Stirling and supported by UK unions, Hazards magazine and the Hazards Campaign will reveal in industrialised nationals including the UK, far more people die each year from occupational and environmental cancers than from all road fatalities and murders combined.
Andrew Watterson, who leads the Occupational and Environmental Health Research Group at the University of Stirling and is co-organiser of the conference, said: 'Today, there are more people in more countries exposed to more cancer causing industrial substances than in any time in history. We use hundreds of cancer-causing substances in, quite literally, industrial quantities when there are healthier and frequently better alternatives. If we change work practices we can remedy the sick workplace rather than indulge in a hit-and-miss attempt at a cure.' He added: 'There is a silver bullet cure to occupational cancers, but it is not a drug or surgery.
Industrialised countries including the UK are failing to make the link between workplace pollutants and cancer, failing to give preventive advice and failing to provide support for the affected individuals.' Researchers in the UK and in New Zealand have estimated the price to society of each occupational cancer at between £1m and £2.5m. Preventive measures like substitution of harmful chemicals with safer alternatives could introduce healthier work methods, often at minimal cost.
Thursday, 3 April 2008
Work to shift RSH asbestos
Shropshire Star 26th March 2008 reported that patients at the Royal Shrewsbury Hospital will be moved while work is carried out this year to deal with asbestos found in parts of the building.
Hospital managers today said asbestos had been found in the children’s and maternity departments and "work to re-encapsulate the asbestos was due to start shortly".
The vital work, costing a five-figure sum and expected to last weeks, is being carried out to contain and manage the asbestos in the wards.
Parts of the wards will be relocated while the work is carried out.
Trish Rowson, director of service delivery at the Shrewsbury and Telford Hospital NHS Trust, said: "Many older buildings were built using asbestos and all organisations have an important legal duty to understand where asbestos exists in their buildings, to assess any risk and to put effective plans in place to manage that risk.
"This is particularly important in hospitals and forms part of our routine maintenance and survey work.
"As part of our ongoing programme to survey our hospital buildings, we have decided that we need to undertake some remedial work in our children’s and maternity departments at the Royal Shrewsbury Hospital.Ê
"The asbestos in those buildings is currently managed and contained and a programme of work will start soon to ensure that it continues to be managed and contained in future.
"We regret that there will be some relocation of children’s and maternity services while work is under way. We apologise for any inconvenience this may cause and would like to reassure patients and families that their health and safety is our top priority while this work is under way."
Ms Rowson said when assessing the buildings, the trust needed to consider guidance from the Health and Safety Executive.
She said the HSE said if asbestos was safely managed and contained, it did not present a health hazard.
Ms Rowson said: "They also advise organisations that they should not remove asbestos unnecessarily."
http://www.shropshirestar.com/2008/03/26/work-to-shift-rsh-asbestos/
Hospital managers today said asbestos had been found in the children’s and maternity departments and "work to re-encapsulate the asbestos was due to start shortly".
The vital work, costing a five-figure sum and expected to last weeks, is being carried out to contain and manage the asbestos in the wards.
Parts of the wards will be relocated while the work is carried out.
Trish Rowson, director of service delivery at the Shrewsbury and Telford Hospital NHS Trust, said: "Many older buildings were built using asbestos and all organisations have an important legal duty to understand where asbestos exists in their buildings, to assess any risk and to put effective plans in place to manage that risk.
"This is particularly important in hospitals and forms part of our routine maintenance and survey work.
"As part of our ongoing programme to survey our hospital buildings, we have decided that we need to undertake some remedial work in our children’s and maternity departments at the Royal Shrewsbury Hospital.Ê
"The asbestos in those buildings is currently managed and contained and a programme of work will start soon to ensure that it continues to be managed and contained in future.
"We regret that there will be some relocation of children’s and maternity services while work is under way. We apologise for any inconvenience this may cause and would like to reassure patients and families that their health and safety is our top priority while this work is under way."
Ms Rowson said when assessing the buildings, the trust needed to consider guidance from the Health and Safety Executive.
She said the HSE said if asbestos was safely managed and contained, it did not present a health hazard.
Ms Rowson said: "They also advise organisations that they should not remove asbestos unnecessarily."
http://www.shropshirestar.com/2008/03/26/work-to-shift-rsh-asbestos/
Huge rebuild of asbestos hospital
BBC NEWS Wales reported on 20th March 2008 that a major Welsh hospital riddled with asbestos will be rebuilt at a cost of up to £300m.
Glan Clwyd Hospital at Bodelwyddan, near Rhyl, will be rebuilt on the same site because officials say it does not meet fire safety standards.
The present hospital was designed in the 1960s, built in the 70s and opened in 1980.
The building has been described as having structural problems which do not meet today's requirements, but is said not to be unsafe to staff, patients or the public.
A senior health official has said previously that there are only risks if the asbestos is disturbed.
To read the full article click on the link below
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/wales/north_east/7306535.stm
Glan Clwyd Hospital at Bodelwyddan, near Rhyl, will be rebuilt on the same site because officials say it does not meet fire safety standards.
The present hospital was designed in the 1960s, built in the 70s and opened in 1980.
The building has been described as having structural problems which do not meet today's requirements, but is said not to be unsafe to staff, patients or the public.
A senior health official has said previously that there are only risks if the asbestos is disturbed.
To read the full article click on the link below
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/wales/north_east/7306535.stm
'We ate dinner with asbestos in the air'
This is Cheshire.co.uk,March 27th 2008 reported that the wife of a retired painter and decorator who died of mesothelioma has spoken of her anger that he contracted asbestos-related cancer through his work.
Jean Robinson said words could not describe her emotions when she was told that Alan, her husband of 30 years, had between three to 18 months to live.
He was 67 when he was diagnosed last March with the killer disease mesothelioma after suffering from chronic breathing problems for previous months.
He had spent 15 years, from 1955 to 1970, working as a painter and decorator for the former Crosfields Works, off Liverpool Road, and it was during this time that he was exposed to asbestos.
Mrs Robinson, who is 56, said: "We saw a consultant at Broadgreen Hospital who told us the bad news that nothing could be done and they were 99 per cent sure it was mesothelioma."
Mr Robinson would follow workers lagging pipes with asbestos before painting them and he remembers the dust could be seen in the atmosphere.
"We ate our dinner and had our brews in that atmosphere and we would shake the dust off our overalls in the locker room," he said during our interview this week.
"We weren't told anything about the dangers or given the proper gear, which would have countered it.
Crosfields was taken over by Unilever some years ago.
To read the full article please click on the link below:
http://www.thisischeshire.co.uk/display.var.2148758.0.we_ate_dinner_with_asbestos_in_the_air.php
Jean Robinson said words could not describe her emotions when she was told that Alan, her husband of 30 years, had between three to 18 months to live.
He was 67 when he was diagnosed last March with the killer disease mesothelioma after suffering from chronic breathing problems for previous months.
He had spent 15 years, from 1955 to 1970, working as a painter and decorator for the former Crosfields Works, off Liverpool Road, and it was during this time that he was exposed to asbestos.
Mrs Robinson, who is 56, said: "We saw a consultant at Broadgreen Hospital who told us the bad news that nothing could be done and they were 99 per cent sure it was mesothelioma."
Mr Robinson would follow workers lagging pipes with asbestos before painting them and he remembers the dust could be seen in the atmosphere.
"We ate our dinner and had our brews in that atmosphere and we would shake the dust off our overalls in the locker room," he said during our interview this week.
"We weren't told anything about the dangers or given the proper gear, which would have countered it.
Crosfields was taken over by Unilever some years ago.
To read the full article please click on the link below:
http://www.thisischeshire.co.uk/display.var.2148758.0.we_ate_dinner_with_asbestos_in_the_air.php
Insulation linked to rare form of disease
Brantford Expositer Canada29th March 2008 reported that a Canadian family has just suffered its sixth asbestos cancer death;
A Manitoba woman who has been leading a crusade against the federal government for using asbestos-laden insulation has lost a sixth family member to a related cancer, the Winnipeg Free Press says in a report out of Ottawa.
"I can't put into words how I feel about this," said Raven ThunderSky, whose half-sister Rita Swain died earlier this week.
Swain, who was in her 50s, had been diagnosed with mesothelioma more than three years ago. The rare cancer was in the lining of her stomach.
Mesothelioma results from exposure to asbestos, and Swain was exposed as a child growing up in a home with Zonolite insulation in Berens River, Manitoba.
ThunderSky has asbestos-related lung disease. Both of her parents, and four of her sisters have died of asbestos-related illnesses. Five had mesothelioma, and one had asbestosis.
Most of them were exposed at the family's home in Poplar River, Man. Swain is the first in the family whose exposure came from a different location.
Zonolite is a pebble-like attic insulation made from vermiculite that was tainted with asbestos when it was mined in Libby, Mont. That mine closed in 1990 because of the asbestos problem.
The Canadian government had recommended that homeowners use Zonolite, and even provided grants for its installation under the Canadian Home Insulation Program between 1977 and 1984.
An estimated 200,000 to 300,000 homeowners took the government up on the offer.
An estimated 300,000 homes in Canada have the product in their attics.
To read the article in full please click on the link below: http://www.brantfordexpositor.ca/ArticleDisplay.aspx?e=963954
A Manitoba woman who has been leading a crusade against the federal government for using asbestos-laden insulation has lost a sixth family member to a related cancer, the Winnipeg Free Press says in a report out of Ottawa.
"I can't put into words how I feel about this," said Raven ThunderSky, whose half-sister Rita Swain died earlier this week.
Swain, who was in her 50s, had been diagnosed with mesothelioma more than three years ago. The rare cancer was in the lining of her stomach.
Mesothelioma results from exposure to asbestos, and Swain was exposed as a child growing up in a home with Zonolite insulation in Berens River, Manitoba.
ThunderSky has asbestos-related lung disease. Both of her parents, and four of her sisters have died of asbestos-related illnesses. Five had mesothelioma, and one had asbestosis.
Most of them were exposed at the family's home in Poplar River, Man. Swain is the first in the family whose exposure came from a different location.
Zonolite is a pebble-like attic insulation made from vermiculite that was tainted with asbestos when it was mined in Libby, Mont. That mine closed in 1990 because of the asbestos problem.
The Canadian government had recommended that homeowners use Zonolite, and even provided grants for its installation under the Canadian Home Insulation Program between 1977 and 1984.
An estimated 200,000 to 300,000 homeowners took the government up on the offer.
An estimated 300,000 homes in Canada have the product in their attics.
To read the article in full please click on the link below: http://www.brantfordexpositor.ca/ArticleDisplay.aspx?e=963954
South Africa: Govt Prohibits Use of Asbestos
All Africa .com BuaNews (Tshwane) reported on 27th March that Environmental Affairs and Tourism Minister Marthinus van Schalkwyk has announced that the use, manufacture and processing of asbestos will be prohibited in South Africa with immediate effect.
The Regulations for the Prohibition of the Use, Manufacturing, Import and Export of Asbestos and Asbestos Containing Materials will be promulgated on 28 March and will take effect immediately, said the minister during a media briefing on Thursday.
The regulations form part of the Environment Conservation Act 1989.
"A grace period of 120 days will be allowed for any person or merchant who is currently dealing in asbestos or asbestos containing materials to clear their stocks," said Mr van Schalkwyk.
The main objectives of the new regulations is to prohibit the use, processing or manufacturing, of any asbestos or asbestos containing product unless it can be proven that no suitable alternative exists.
South Africa will now prohibit the import or export of any asbestos or asbestos containing product, and will also stop the import of any asbestos or asbestos containing waste material other than from a member of the Southern African Development Community (SADC).
The regulations do, however, make provision for asbestos to be used for research purposes.
The health implications of exposure to airborne asbestos fibres were highlighted in the 1930s and specific links to certain cancers were first made in South Africa in the early 1960s.
Asbestos once accounted for three percent of the value of South Africa's minerals.
South Africa was the fifth largest supplier of chrysotile, produced 97 percent of the world's crocidolite and 100 percent of all of the amosite.
To read the full account please click on the link below:
http://allafrica.com/stories/200803270988.html
The Regulations for the Prohibition of the Use, Manufacturing, Import and Export of Asbestos and Asbestos Containing Materials will be promulgated on 28 March and will take effect immediately, said the minister during a media briefing on Thursday.
The regulations form part of the Environment Conservation Act 1989.
"A grace period of 120 days will be allowed for any person or merchant who is currently dealing in asbestos or asbestos containing materials to clear their stocks," said Mr van Schalkwyk.
The main objectives of the new regulations is to prohibit the use, processing or manufacturing, of any asbestos or asbestos containing product unless it can be proven that no suitable alternative exists.
South Africa will now prohibit the import or export of any asbestos or asbestos containing product, and will also stop the import of any asbestos or asbestos containing waste material other than from a member of the Southern African Development Community (SADC).
The regulations do, however, make provision for asbestos to be used for research purposes.
The health implications of exposure to airborne asbestos fibres were highlighted in the 1930s and specific links to certain cancers were first made in South Africa in the early 1960s.
Asbestos once accounted for three percent of the value of South Africa's minerals.
South Africa was the fifth largest supplier of chrysotile, produced 97 percent of the world's crocidolite and 100 percent of all of the amosite.
To read the full account please click on the link below:
http://allafrica.com/stories/200803270988.html
45 more health cases linked to asbestos works
Daily Yomiuri Japan, reported on 31st March that a further 45 people have been confirmed with health problems after exposure to asbestos from a former factory site in Ota Ward, Tokyo, the ward office said Saturday.
One man in his 70s died in October of pericardial mesothelioma--a form of cancer caused by exposure to asbestos--and seven other people developed health problems after inhaling asbestos, according to the ward office.
The victims are all aged between 50 and 90 and have lived near the former Omori factory of asbestos-related products manufacturer Miyadera Insulation Corp., which is based in Shinagawa Ward, Tokyo.
At least 10 people in the ward are believed to have been affected by airborne asbestos, but none of them came down with symptoms of asbestos-related conditions such as pericardial mesothelioma.
Asbestos-related health problems were detected in ward residents who live near the site, with one person dying and eight others being diagnosed with pleural effusion, also called water on the chest.
This led the ward office to give free medical examinations to 916 residents and former residents who lived within one kilometer of the site.
Three of the 45 newly found cases of health problems involved former employees of the factory and 29 were family members and associates of employees. A further three used to play on the site as children, while 10 said they had never entered the site.
(Mar. 31, 2008)
http://www.yomiuri.co.jp/dy/national/20080331TDY02309.htm
One man in his 70s died in October of pericardial mesothelioma--a form of cancer caused by exposure to asbestos--and seven other people developed health problems after inhaling asbestos, according to the ward office.
The victims are all aged between 50 and 90 and have lived near the former Omori factory of asbestos-related products manufacturer Miyadera Insulation Corp., which is based in Shinagawa Ward, Tokyo.
At least 10 people in the ward are believed to have been affected by airborne asbestos, but none of them came down with symptoms of asbestos-related conditions such as pericardial mesothelioma.
Asbestos-related health problems were detected in ward residents who live near the site, with one person dying and eight others being diagnosed with pleural effusion, also called water on the chest.
This led the ward office to give free medical examinations to 916 residents and former residents who lived within one kilometer of the site.
Three of the 45 newly found cases of health problems involved former employees of the factory and 29 were family members and associates of employees. A further three used to play on the site as children, while 10 said they had never entered the site.
(Mar. 31, 2008)
http://www.yomiuri.co.jp/dy/national/20080331TDY02309.htm
Consultation on pleural plaques payouts
TUC Risks 29th March 2008 reported that top personal injury lawyers have welcomed a pledge by prime minister Gordon Brown to produce a consultation paper on the plight of victims of pleural plaques, an injury caused by exposure to asbestos.
In October last year the highest court in the UK, the House of Lords, announced that it would not overturn a ruling of the Court of Appeal in January 2006, which now prevents sufferers of pleural plaques from claiming compensation. The Court of Appeal's ruling reversed over 20 years of established practice, during which time sufferers of pleural plaques had been able to claim compensation for the condition.
Gordon Brown's announcement of a consultation came during prime minister's questions time earlier this month. Roger Maddocks, industrial disease specialist at law firm Irwin Mitchell, said the consultation was 'good news after a continual onslaught by insurers to deny innocent victims of asbestos exposure compensation for injury caused by their employer's negligence.' He added: 'I represent many families who will be devastated by their diagnosis. Pleural plaques are physical scars, often a cause of great anxiety and at times a precursor to very serious, and sometimes fatal, disease.'
In the same week they announced that a panel of experts convened by construction union UCATT has advised MPs the government should overturn the Law Lords decision blocking compensation for pleural plaque sufferers. Top medical and legal experts addressed a 26 March seminar held in the House of Commons to brief MPs.
Asbestos disease expert Professor Mark Britton told MPs most people were diagnosed with pleural plaques by accident, when they were x-rayed for other diseases. He also emphasised the debilitating mental affects of the disease.
He said: 'People's whole quality of life disintegrates and it leaves mental casualties.'
Matthew Cartledge, a senior partner with trade union lawyers OH Parsons, said it was 'just plain wrong' that overturning the Law Lords ruling would be difficult for government. He also said it was essential that pleural plaque sufferers should be able to claim provisional damages and be able to identify the company and insurers who were liable - something only likely to happen at the moment after sufferers go on to develop potentially fatal asbestos cancers.
MP Michael Clapham, who chaired the meeting, said 'it is important to keep up the pressure. This place does not move without pressure.' UCATT has distributed 100,000 campaign postcards, to be sent directly to justice minister Jack Straw, urging him to overturn the Law Lords decision.
In October last year the highest court in the UK, the House of Lords, announced that it would not overturn a ruling of the Court of Appeal in January 2006, which now prevents sufferers of pleural plaques from claiming compensation. The Court of Appeal's ruling reversed over 20 years of established practice, during which time sufferers of pleural plaques had been able to claim compensation for the condition.
Gordon Brown's announcement of a consultation came during prime minister's questions time earlier this month. Roger Maddocks, industrial disease specialist at law firm Irwin Mitchell, said the consultation was 'good news after a continual onslaught by insurers to deny innocent victims of asbestos exposure compensation for injury caused by their employer's negligence.' He added: 'I represent many families who will be devastated by their diagnosis. Pleural plaques are physical scars, often a cause of great anxiety and at times a precursor to very serious, and sometimes fatal, disease.'
In the same week they announced that a panel of experts convened by construction union UCATT has advised MPs the government should overturn the Law Lords decision blocking compensation for pleural plaque sufferers. Top medical and legal experts addressed a 26 March seminar held in the House of Commons to brief MPs.
Asbestos disease expert Professor Mark Britton told MPs most people were diagnosed with pleural plaques by accident, when they were x-rayed for other diseases. He also emphasised the debilitating mental affects of the disease.
He said: 'People's whole quality of life disintegrates and it leaves mental casualties.'
Matthew Cartledge, a senior partner with trade union lawyers OH Parsons, said it was 'just plain wrong' that overturning the Law Lords ruling would be difficult for government. He also said it was essential that pleural plaque sufferers should be able to claim provisional damages and be able to identify the company and insurers who were liable - something only likely to happen at the moment after sufferers go on to develop potentially fatal asbestos cancers.
MP Michael Clapham, who chaired the meeting, said 'it is important to keep up the pressure. This place does not move without pressure.' UCATT has distributed 100,000 campaign postcards, to be sent directly to justice minister Jack Straw, urging him to overturn the Law Lords decision.
Six figure payout for asbestos death
TUC Risks 29th March reported that a Yorkshire widow has received a six-figure compensation payout after her husband died of an asbestos cancer.
Sylvia Worth, 54, was awarded £122,000 in damages. Her husband, Harry, who was in his late 60s when he died, was exposed to asbestos as a teenager, while working as an apprentice electrician at the Campbell & Isherwood shipyard on Tyneside, now known as Sorbo Ten Ltd. He was diagnosed with mesothelioma in February 2004 and died just a few months later in June 2004. Mrs Worth said Harry could not believe he could develop such a deadly disease from the few years he worked alongside asbestos. 'He was astounded when he was diagnosed. He thought you had to work with asbestos for a lifetime before you could get something like mesothelioma. He said to the doctor that he hadn't been near asbestos in 45 years.'
Sylvia Worth, 54, was awarded £122,000 in damages. Her husband, Harry, who was in his late 60s when he died, was exposed to asbestos as a teenager, while working as an apprentice electrician at the Campbell & Isherwood shipyard on Tyneside, now known as Sorbo Ten Ltd. He was diagnosed with mesothelioma in February 2004 and died just a few months later in June 2004. Mrs Worth said Harry could not believe he could develop such a deadly disease from the few years he worked alongside asbestos. 'He was astounded when he was diagnosed. He thought you had to work with asbestos for a lifetime before you could get something like mesothelioma. He said to the doctor that he hadn't been near asbestos in 45 years.'
Crossing The Divide
Legal and Medical on 20th, March 2008 reported that lawyers and insurers on both sides of the personal injury divide will be asked to behave themselves for a multi track code pilot for PI cases above £250,000.
A number of major industry bodies including FOIL, APIL, MASS, the Motor Insurer’s Bureau, RBSI, AXA, Zurich and Norwich Union have put together a protocol covering the behaviour of representatives for claimants and defendants when handling high value claims.
The code seeks to encourage both parites to communicate early and resolve liability quickly. They should also take into account interim payments, care regimes, accommodation etc., where it is appropriate.
It is hoped that this protocol will remove the enormous burden of cost that legal fees represent in many settlements at the moment.
To read a full account, please click on the link below
http://www.legal-medical.co.uk/news/11800.html?msgid=586692681&rcptid=5661
A number of major industry bodies including FOIL, APIL, MASS, the Motor Insurer’s Bureau, RBSI, AXA, Zurich and Norwich Union have put together a protocol covering the behaviour of representatives for claimants and defendants when handling high value claims.
The code seeks to encourage both parites to communicate early and resolve liability quickly. They should also take into account interim payments, care regimes, accommodation etc., where it is appropriate.
It is hoped that this protocol will remove the enormous burden of cost that legal fees represent in many settlements at the moment.
To read a full account, please click on the link below
http://www.legal-medical.co.uk/news/11800.html?msgid=586692681&rcptid=5661
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