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Lack Of Building Firm Asbestos Awareness Leads To Fibre Exposure And Prosecution
Every year 1.8 million people in the UK are exposed to asbestos and at least 2,000 cases of mesothelioma diagnosed. Between 2007 and 2008, deaths from mesothelioma increased by three per cent to 2,249.
Asbestos awareness, for circumstances when it is least expected, is of course, still a matter of life and death. One vital group of workers in constant danger of exposure to asbestos yet rarely mentioned are the emergency services.
Secondary exposure to asbestos, equally a deadly health threat, occurs where a spouse or members of the same family are also at high risk of contracting mesothelioma or other asbestosis diseases because the asbestos fibres have been brought home on boiler suits, work clothes, footwear and even in the hair.
The prevalence of asbestos, which was used as an inexpensive insulator and fire retardant material throughout most of the twentieth century, meant no industry was likely to be untouched by its’ presence.
Wilfully ignoring warnings or simply cutting corners to save time and money?