Asbestos
| For more information on Asbestos click here for the relevant chapter of the TUC guide to health and safety "Hazards at Work |
Asbestos is the UK's biggest workplace killer.
The three main types of asbestos - blue, brown and white asbestos - can still be found in the workplace. There is no safe level of exposure and all types are dangerous.
Around 5,000 people die each year from mesothelioma and asbestos related lung cancer - 13 people for every day of the year. These figures are rising and it is predicted that by 2010 some 10,000 people in Britain will die every year from exposure to asbestos, more than twice the number of road accident deaths. Before the death rate declines, up to a quarter of a million people in Britain may have died from asbestos exposures.
There are up to six million tonnes of asbestos in schools, hospitals, ships, offices and factories - and the homes we live in. The importation, supply, and use of all asbestos throughout Britain is prohibited.
The TUC and HSE have jointly produced guidance for safety representatives on managing asbestos and what the law says. It can be found at http://www.tuc.org.uk/h_and_s/tuc-12793-f0.cfm
Links
TUC Safety Reps' checklist on the duty to manage asbestos
TUC managing asbestos factsheet
The most recent documents available on this subject are:
Insurers defeated over plaques law
Insurance giants have lost a legal bid to overturn a Scottish law which allows victims of an asbestos-related condition to claim damages.
PDF version available for download
15 January 2010
Agencies in asbestos jobs blunder
Eleven employment agencies have been warned by the Employment Agency Standards inspectorate (EAS) after advertising for asbestos removal workers without properly checking the health and safety implications.
PDF version available for download
6 November 2009
New warning on Britain's biggest work killer
Britain's biggest workplace killer could blight another generation of building workers unless urgent action is taken to tackle asbestos risks.
PDF version available for download
6 November 2009
Asbestos death toll ‘under-estimated'
The Health and Safety Executive's estimate of 4,000 asbestos related deaths a year falls well short of the real toll, campaigners and health experts have said
25 September 2009
Asbestos kills more than roads – confirmed
The Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) has confirmed that more people are killed by asbestos each year than die on Britain's roads, but has criticised a Health and Safety Executive (HSE) radio advertisement for not making clear the HSE asbestos deaths figure
25 September 2009
ASA ruling ‘unfortunate' but HSE asbestos campaign still hits the spot
Commenting on the Advertising Standards Authority's (ASA) decision today (Wednesday) to uphold a complaint against the Health and Safety Executive's (HSE) Asbestos: The Hidden Killer campaign, TUC General Secretary Brendan Barber said:
23 September 2009
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