Archive for November, 2010
Asbestos – understanding the risks
Asbestos continues to cause untold damage in the construction industry. Ian Rippin, commercial director of the National Laboratory Service (NLS), explains what it is, what it does and how to test for its presence
WHEN asbestos is damaged fine fibres become airborne and can be inhaled which can penetrate the lung tissue and trigger an inflammatory reaction. The body registers the problem and white blood cells are sent to engulf and attack the fibres. However, the fibres usually destroy the blood cells, causing fibrosis – irreversible scarring of the lungs.
Popular in the late 1800s, during the time of the Industrial Revolution, asbestos was used routinely as insulation for steam pipes, turbines, boilers, kilns, ovens and other high-temperature products. Previous observations of the health risks were forgotten or ignored at that time.
The first diagnosis of asbestosis was made in 1924 following the death of a woman aged thirty-three, after twenty years of working with the material. As a result of the diagnosis, a study was commissioned on asbestos workers in England, revealing twenty-five percent suffered from an asbestos-related lung disease. Laws were passed in 1931 to increase ventilation and to make asbestosis a recognised work- related disease.
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Asbestos linked to early death of ship engineer
AN engineer who was exposed to asbestos while working at a shipbuilding yard died from industrial disease. Former Rolls-Royce worker Harry Rigby recalled blowing asbestos dust from his overalls while working in the 1950s at Cammell Laird, Birkenhead, before he moved to Derby.
In a statement read out at Derby and South Derbyshire Coroner’s Court, he recalled seeing blue, white and brown asbestos in the air while he worked close to asbestos-lagged pipes. Mr Rigby, of Breaston, started to feel breathless in early 2008, struggling to tend to his garden and do odd jobs around the house.
He was diagnosed with pleural plaques – a form of asbestosis – in October 2008 and died at the Royal Derby Hospital, aged 71, last month.
In 2008, as part of a successful compensation claim before his death, Mr Rigby, of Holly Avenue, was examined by respiratory physician Dr David Baldwin.
In it he said: “Over the last 12 months my breathing has become gradually worse. I am now unable to walk 100 yards without having to stop and I have to rest after climbing one flight of steps.
“I worked from 1955 to 1960 as an apprentice engineer at Cammell Laird. The pipes were lagged in asbestos and I would see the blue, white and brown dust. I would use the air lines to blow the dust off me and my overalls.”
Mr Rigby carried on working at Cammell Laird, away from the pipework, until 1975 when he moved to Derby and took up a role as an electrical design engineer at Rolls-Royce. He still worked on ships, but said any exposure to asbestos would have been “minimal.” Read More
Window company exposed workers to asbestos
The owner of a Welshpool-based window and conservatory installation company has been fined for failing to protect its workers from exposure to asbestos.
Four employees were exposed while removing soffits on a property at Chirbury Gate, Montgomery, Powys, between 16 and 17 June 2009.
An investigation by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) found that Philip Leslie Davies, (54), trading as Meadow View Windows and Conservatories, had failed to take effective measures to prevent or reduce his employees being exposed to the potentially deadly substance.
Mr Davies, of Shrewsbury, admitted exposing employees to asbestos, failing to carry out a suitable and sufficient assessment, and failing to ensure adequate information, instruction and training was provided to employees.
He was charged with breaching of Regulations 5, 10(1) and 11(1)(a) of the Control of Asbestos at Work Regulations 2006.
He was fined a total of £3,000 (£1,000 for each charge) and ordered to pay costs of £1,615 at Welshpool Magistrates Court on 19 November 2010
HSE inspector Chris Wilcox said:
“Four of Mr Davies’ employees were exposed to asbestos in circumstances that were wholly avoidable.
“They now have to live with the fear of becoming ill with a life-threatening lung disease.
“Those working in the roofline products industry must check for the presence of asbestos and be fully aware of the legal requirements for working with asbestos-containing materials.”
Asbestos is the biggest single cause of work-related deaths in the UK, with an estimated 4,000 people dying every year. Information on working safely with asbestos is available at www.hse.go.uk/asbestos[1]
The court also ordered the defendant to pay a separate £15 victim surcharge, the proceeds of which will be spent on services for victims and witnesses.
Source: HSE – 19/11/2010
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Asbestos Related Disease – Joiner died from asbestos cancer
A joiner who was exposed to asbestos at work, died as a result of an industrial disease, an inquest heard.
Ernest Gittins, aged 70, had worked as a joiner for 44 years after leaving school aged 16. His wife of 25 years, Irene, learned that he had been exposed to asbestos when she spoke to former work colleagues, who attended his funeral.
Mrs Gittins, of Roxton Close, Horwich, told Bolton Coroners Court: “Other people told me that he used to cut asbestos sheets with an electric saw. “He did not wear any protective clothing, as there was nothing then, they said.”
He became unwell in January this year, and doctors thought he had pulled a muscle in his shoulder. In May he and his wife went to the Isle of Wight to celebrate their silver wedding anniversary, and he was in pain and could not lie down.
But it was only a short time before his death that the family was told that he had malignant mesothelioma, a type of cancer.
Assistant deputy coroner Peter Watson recorded a verdict of death caused by industrial disease. He said: “Clearly he was a very hard working man for many years, working in conditions that would perhaps not be acceptable in this day and age.”
Source: The Bolton News
The UKAS Accredited Asbestos Inspection Bodies blog is an information portal developed by the UKAS Accredited Asbestos Inspection Firms listed on this site. For more information about asbestos surveys, subscribe to our RSS newsfeed here. Alternatively, you can subscribe to AIB Blog by Email or follow us on Twitter @UKAS_AIB
