Archive for December, 2010
Co-op fined over shop asbestos
Shoppers and staff at a Co-op convenience store were put at risk of being exposed to asbestos following serious health and safety failures.
Bosses at the Co-operative Group Ltd took no immediate action despite being told there was brown asbestos in the ceiling when they took over the shop in Market Square, Royton.
A sub-contractor sent in to fit a fire alarm smashed a hole in one of the asbestos panels with a hammer, Manchester Minshull Street Crown Court was told.
Two female shop workers cleaned up the mess he had made and left the debris in an open bag at the rear of the store for two weeks. Read More
Northern TUC welcomes change in asbestos compensation policy
As a result of pressure brought to bear here in the North East and lobbying by the TUC Asbestos Support & Campaign Group the government has just decided to change its policy on posthumous pleural plaques claims.
Instead of an outright refusal they are now prepared to make a payment if a pleural plaques sufferer dies after having submitted an application. In appropriate cases the payment will be made to the deceased’s estate. The MOJ website FAQ page has published a clarification on the award of posthumous claims. Read More
Asbestos scandal
Viewed through an electron microscope, asbestos fibres look like thin glass straws, some no more than a fraction of a micrometre wide. If inhaled, they penetrate the soft alveoli of the lungs and the membranes that line the chest cavity. And there they stay. Over time, damaged cells can cause a malignant disease called mesothelioma, which often kills people, horribly, less than a year after diagnosis.
Before the widespread industrial use of asbestos began in the late nineteenth century, malignant mesothelioma was unheard of, yet it is now responsible for tens of thousands of deaths around the world every year. After the link between asbestos exposure and the disease was convincingly made in 1960, responsible nations eventually took strong measures to remove the mineral from commercial products and to halt mining and export. Less responsible nations did not; this is a scandal that deserves wider attention. Read More
Managing asbestos safely
Fiona Riley, from the Institution of Occupational Safety and Health’s Education Group, discusses how important it is that asbestos in schools is managed with the utmost caution
There has been a heated debate over the years as to whether asbestos needs to be removed completely from schools. The answer is no, it just needs to be managed safely. If those responsible are complying with their legal obligations then it is extremely unlikely that teachers or pupils will be put at any risk from the substance during the course of their day-to-day activities.
Asbestos-containing materials were widely used in public service buildings such as schools and hospitals constructed between 1945-1980. In the UK, it is estimated that around half a million non-domestic buildings still contain asbestos, however, the exact number of schools that are included in this figure is unknown.
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