ILO sounds the ‘death knell for asbestos’
A statement from a United Nations body confirming its desire to see the end of asbestos use worldwide is the ‘death knell’ for a substance which claims one life every five minutes around the clock, the global union confederation ITUC has said.
Hazards 'green jobs' blog, 23 September 2010
Target Asia
Canada increased its asbestos exports last year. Asia is a key target market. But the International Ban Asbestos Secretariat is not letting the deadly trade go unopposed. A Hazards photofile.
Hazards 109, January-March 2010
Asbestos threats
It’s not enough
that the asbestos industry is using lies and spin to push is deadly product.
Now it is resorting to threats and the courts to harass its critics.
Hazards 103, July-September 2008
Stop! Asbestos!
The asbestos factories
have shut, but the asbestos hasn’t gone away. A new HSE/TUC guide
advises safety reps how to keep workplaces safe from asbestos –
including clearing out when there is a serious risk.
Hazards
97, February 2007 [pdf]
ILO to promote global asbestos ban
The
International Labour Office (ILO) is to pursue a global ban on asbestos,
the world’s biggest ever industrial killer. The landmark decision
came with the adoption of a resolution on 14 June 2006 at the ILO conference
in Geneva and followed a high level union campaign. Hazards asked Jukka Takala, director of ILO’s SafeWork programme, what ILO will now do to help make the world asbestos-free.
Hazards interview, June 2006
Breathtaking
Asbestos
diseases kill thousands in the UK every year. But these are not just statistics,
they are all stories of pain, hardship and bereavement.
Hazards 94,
May 2006 [pdf]
Selling death
Global asbestos plc blocked
a deal that would have made it more difficult to unload asbestos on the
developing world. It bought scientists and column inches in national papers.
And it is killing hundreds of thousands each year. Hazards exposes
the global asbestos industry's desperate battle for survival - at any
price.
Hazards 85, January-March 2004
Other features
Don't mess with the unions
A global union campaign has seen James Hardie's rapid descent from darling
of the stockmarket to company in crisis, facing protests and legal action
on three continents. Hazards 88, October-December 2004
Union declaration
Joint
Declaration from the International Building Trade Union Federations, made
at the Global Asbestos Congress, Tokyo, November 2004.
Full
declaration
Asbestos interests block global
safety move
Asbestos producer nations have blocked the addition
of chrysotile (white) asbestos to the UN list of highly dangerous substances
that cannot be exported to developing countries without their knowledge
and agreement.
Hazards update, 18 September 2004
Resources
International Ban Asbestos Secretariat
IBAS international listing of victim support groups
Asbestos Victims Support Groups Forum UK
Committee to Ban Asbestos in America (CBAA) The Committee to Ban Asbestos in America (CBAA) was formed by public health advocates to ban asbestos and fund federal medical and educational programs in the United States.
Damning brochure
Ban Asbestos Canada has produced a hard hitting brochure to be handed
out at Workers' Memorial Day 2008 events. High Resolution versions of
the brochure are available from the BAC website in Black and White [pdf] and Colour [pdf]
News
Canada: Red Cross tarnished by asbestos links
A board member of the Canadian Red Cross, criticised for her ties to the asbestos industry, has resigned abruptly from the humanitarian group’s governing body. The departure of Roshi Chadha came days after the organisation had rallied behind the "valued member" of its team, spurring protests from asbestos victims and campaigners around the world.
Montreal Gazette • International Ban Asbestos Secretariat • Risks 539 • 21 January 2012
Britain: Cancer strikes 50 years after exposure
A shipyard worker developed a deadly cancer 50 years after being exposed to asbestos in Merseyside’s shipyards. The 80-year-old Unite member from Liverpool was diagnosed with the asbestos related cancer mesothelioma in February 2011.
Thompsons Solicitors news release • Merseyside Asbestos Victims Support Group • Risks 538 • 14 January 2012
Britain: Governors can’t manage schools asbestos
Responsibility for the management of asbestos in state-funding schools must not be transferred to school governors, trade union campaign group has warned. The Joint Union Asbestos Committee (JUAC) is calling on the government to abandon its plans to make the governors of all state-funded schools responsible for the health and safety of their pupils and staff.
NUT news release • Asbestos in Schools • Risks 537 • 7 January 2012
Britain: HSE asbestos campaign is resurrected
The Health and Safety Executive’s award-winning ‘Hidden Killer’ asbestos campaign is to recommence, after being put on hold for over a year on government instruction. A phase of the campaign due to start in October 2010 was abandoned when the government introduced a blanket freeze on government-funded campaigns.
UCATT news release • HSE ‘Hidden Killer’ campaign • Risks 536 • 17 December 2011
Global: Horror at ‘immoral’ discount asbestos plan
Campaigners in India have condemned plans for a trade deal which could eliminate all tariffs on Canadian asbestos exports to the country. Ongoing negotiations for a Canada–India Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement were revealed by Canada's opposition New Democratic Party.
NDP news release • OEHNI news release • IBAS report • Risks 535 • 10 December 2011
Britain: Unite seeks asbestos justice
Supreme Court judges have been asked by Unite to end the uncertainty about whether people dying from the asbestos cancer and their families will be entitled to compensation. Unite’s appeal to the UK’s highest court, which started on 5 December, comes after insurance companies were partly successful in a test case about whether insurers are liable to pay claims for the fatal asbestos cancer, mesothelioma.
Unite news release • Thompsons Solicitors news release • Irwin Mitchell Solicitors news release • Risks 535 • 10 December 2011
[asbestos] Britain: Call for pleural plaques compensation
The “shameful situation” that denies workers in England and Wales compensation for asbestos related pleural plaques must end, the union Unite has said. The union was speaking out after the Northern Ireland Executive announced workers there would be allowed to claim for the condition, following Scotland’s lead.
Northern Ireland Executive news release • Unite news release • Risks 535 • 10 December 2011
Canada: Child pleads for end to asbestos industry
Heidi von Palleske and her daughter, Cavanagh Matmor, 11, travelled to Parliament Hill in Ottawa on 24 November to plead with Canada’s Conservative government to end its support of the asbestos industry. After 130 years, asbestos mining in Canada was suspended in November, but the industry could be revived if the Jeffrey mine in Asbestos, Quebec, secures a loan guarantee from the provincial government to open an underground mine.
Montreal Gazette • Related video • CTV News • Huffington Post • Stop Asbestos Canada website • Risks 534 • 3 December 2011
Australia: Home improvement show gives asbestos warning
A major Australian TV channel is to broadcast asbestos warnings on a popular home renovation programme, after a high profile union campaign. Unions NSW welcomed Channel Nine's decision to include an alert about the dangers of asbestos on ‘The Block’ and called on the other TV networks to follow suit.
Unions NSW news release • Asbestos Diseases Foundation of Australia • Risks 533 • 26 November 2011
Britain: Cases highlight college asbestos dangers
An asbestos related death in a college cleaner, a secretary in a university science department who also succumbed to an asbestos cancer and the prosecution of a university for criminal breaches of asbestos law prove education staff need better protection from the deadly fibre, the union UCU has said.
UCU news release • HSE news release • Sunday Mercury • Risks 533 • 26 November 2011
Britain: Safety cuts 'pose deadly risk in schools'
Children and teachers could die because of government cuts that will hamper the identification of asbestos in schools, Unite has warned. Unite assistant general secretary Gail Cartmail said the deadly material is still rife and that government plans to slash 35 from Health and Safety Executive budgets will mean even more people are exposed.
Morning Star • Huffington Post • Risks 533 • 26 November 2011
Canada: Government told to stop asbestos exports
Canadian opposition MPs renewed calls for the Canadian government to stop their efforts to block asbestos being listed on the UN's list of hazardous substances, and to help asbestos miners and communities dependent on the substance in their adjustment as that economy ends.
News report • ABC report on the effect on developing countries • Risks 532 • 19 November 2011
Britain: Cleaner killed by killer dust
A college cleaner died from mesothelioma after being exposed to asbestos at Grimsby College where she worked. Brenda Waddell, 61, developed the disease after being exposed to asbestos at the then Grimsby College, where she worked as a cleaner from 1984 to 2007.
Press report • Risks 532 • 19 November 2011
Britain: Asbestos deaths claim non-industrial workers
As new figures reveal asbestos cancers are claiming a record number of lives, the deaths of a nurse and a police officer from the asbestos cancer mesothelioma indicate how widespread the problem has become.
Grimsby Telegraph • Sunday Mercury • Risks 530 • 5 November 2011
Britain: Dock worker’s family get asbestos cancer payout
The family of a Humber shipyard welder who was killed by asbestos has received compensation. Lifelong GMB member Arthur Prestidge was 80 when he died from the asbestos cancer mesothelioma.
Thompsons Solicitors news release • Grimsby Telegraph • Risks 530 • 5 November 2011
Britain: Electrician gets pay out for cancer that will kill him
A former electrician diagnosed with an invariably fatal asbestos related cancer has received £140,000 compensation from his former employer’s insurers. The 76-year-old Unite member from Liverpool, whose name has not been released, was diagnosed with mesothelioma in October 2010.
Thompsons Solicitors news release • Risks 530 • 5 November 2011
Britain: Campaign slams ‘devastating’ schools asbestos findings
The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) has been criticised for putting a positive spin on the “devastating” findings of its investigation into asbestos management in independent, voluntary aided and foundation schools and academies.
HSE news release, list of inspected schools and inspection outcomes and asbestos management webpages • Asbestos in Schools campaign, news release [pdf] and summary of HSE study [pdf] • Risks 528 • 22 October 2011
Britain: Insurance industry slammed
The TUC has attacked the insurance industry for trying to stop workers or their dependants from claiming compensation after they are injured or made ill as a result of their employer's negligence.
Independent on Sunday • Guardian article • Touchstone blog • Risks 527 • 15 October 2011
Britain: Bid to cut asbestos compensation fails
The Supreme Court has rejected an attempt by the insurance industry to overturn the right of people in Scotland to claim compensation for pleural plaques. The House of Lords backed a previous attempt by the insurance industry to prevent damages being claimed by victims of pleural plaques but, unlike in England and Wales, the Scottish Government introduced legislation to restore this right on the grounds that pleural plaques could give rise to more serious conditions, like lung cancer, mesothelioma or asbestosis.
STUC press release. UCATT press release • Risks 527 • 15 October 2011
Britain: STUC names and shames insurance giants
The Scottish TUC has named and shamed the five insurance giants who went to the Supreme Court to try to overturn Scottish legislation giving pleural plaques sufferers a right to compensation. The five culprits have been named as AXA General Insurance Limited, AXA Insurance UK plc, which operates companies like Swiftcover.com, Norwich Union Insurance Limited (Aviva), Royal and Sun Alliance Insurance plc and Zurich Insurance plc.
STUC press release • Risks 527 • 15 October 2011
Global: Secretive PR firm pushes asbestos
A major US public relations company is attempting to derail a move to ban asbestos in Malaysia, but has refused to reveal who is funding its activities. Washington DC-based APCO Worldwide, whose previous credits including working for the tobacco industry to frustrate US government cancer prevention efforts, “is seeking to undermine an initiative to protect people in Malaysia from cancer caused by asbestos,” said Kelle Louaillier, president of Corporate Accountability International.
RightonCanada news release • Letter sent to Margery Kraus, President & CEO, APCO Worldwide, Washington, DC: Disassociate yourself from the discredited and deadly propaganda of the asbestos industry, health defenders tell APCO Worldwide. Montreal Gazette • Vancouver Sun • Risks 526 • 8 October 2011
Britain: Site firm pays £318,000 for asbestos death
The widow and family of a victim of an asbestos cancer have been awarded personal injury compensation of £318,000. Elizabeth Wolff, 69, from Kilmarnock, lodged a claim for damages after her former construction worker husband William, 66, died from mesothelioma in March 2007. Scotsman • Construction Enquirer • BBC News Online • Risks 526 • 8 October 2011
Britain: Unapologetic M&S fined £1m for asbestos crimes
Marks and Spencer plc and three of its contractors have been fined after putting members of the public, staff and construction workers at risk of exposure to asbestos-containing materials during the refurbishment of M&S stores.
HSE news release and asbestos webpages • Daily Telegraph • Risks 525 • 1 October 2011
Britain: Unite gears up for asbestos showdown
The union Unite is gearing up for a Supreme Court challenge that could deliver justice for asbestos victims. In December, the union will set out to overturn a Court of Appeal decision, known as the trigger test case.
Thompsons Solicitors news release • Evening Chronicle • Risks 525 • 1 October 2011
Britain: Union secures asbestos cancer payout
An electrician diagnosed with the asbestos related cancer mesothelioma has received £140,000 compensation from his former employer. The 71-year-old Unite member from Birmingham was diagnosed in 2009 with mesothelioma, an aggressive and deadly cancer caused by exposure to asbestos.
Thompsons Solicitors news release • Risks 525 • 1 October 2011
Britain: Worker exposed to high levels of blue asbestos
A company in Bath has been fined £600 with £6,013.45 costs after a builder was exposed to high levels of deadly blue asbestos. Jonathan Arnold, 49, was fitting pipework for a new central heating system at Oxford House, in Combe Down, Bath when he was exposed to high levels of loose-fill blue asbestos, also known as crocidolite.
HSE news release and asbestos webpages • Risks 524 • 24 September 2011
Britain: Tory MPs rebuked for asbestos ‘contempt’
A support group for sufferers of asbestos related diseases has condemned the behaviour of two Tory MPs during a committee debate on the impact of legal aid cuts. The group, which attended a hearing of the public bill committee on 13 September to hear the debate on the Legal Aid, Sentencing and Prosecution of Offenders Bill, said that Conservative MPs Ben Wallace and Ben Gummer had behaved like “rowdy public schoolboy” and displayed “contempt” for working people.
Asbestos Forum news release [pdf] • Morning Star • Public Bill Committee hearing, 13 September • Risks 524 • 24 September 2011
Britain: HSE moves to improve weak asbestos law
The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) is to change the law on asbestos at work, after accepting the current law fails to meet Europe’s minimum requirements. HSE’s admission it had under-implemented the European Commission’s 2003 directive on control of asbestos at work was first revealed by the trade union journal Hazards in April this year.
HSE consultative document [pdf] – response deadline 4 November 2011 • Hazards magazine • HSE news release and training pledge website • Risks 522 • 10 September 2011
Britain: Widow calls for action on asbestos in schools
The widow of a teacher who died after working in asbestos-contaminated schools for more than 20 years is to urge the government to save other families from suffering the same fate. Marilyn Butterfield said losing her husband Graham to the asbestos cancer malignant mesothelioma was “devastating.”
Irwin Mitchell news release • Telegraph and Argus • Morning Star • Risks 522 • 10 September 2011
Britain: Council fined over school asbestos exposures
Birmingham City Council and a Solihull refurbishment company have been fined for exposing three workers to asbestos during work on a school. Solihull Supplies Ltd was contracted by the council to refurbish the reception area at William Cowper Community Primary School, Birmingham, who then sub-contracted another firm to remove ceiling tiles at the school, but failed to carry out a proper risk assessment.
HSE news release and asbestos webpages • Risks 522 • 10 September 2011
Canada: Widow stands firm against government threats
An asbestos widow in Canada has been threatened with legal action after using the logo of the ruling Conservative party in an online advert critical of its support for global asbestos trade. The threatening letter to Michaela Keyserlingk appears to have backfired on the government, and has ensured her crusade against asbestos has become a major news story worldwide
Michaela Keyserlingk’s ban asbestos exports website • Toronto Star • Sierra Club of Canada blog • Global Toronto • Ottawa Citizen • Risks 519 • 20 August 2011
Australia: Home improvement shows overlook risks
TV home improvement programmes should include an on-air warning in each show about the dangers of asbestos, a top Australian union body has said. Unions NSW secretary Mark Lennon said: “These programmes are wildly popular and present a tremendous opportunity to outline the potential danger of asbestos as part of any home renovation.”
Unions NSW news release • Daily Telegraph • Risks 518 • 13 August 2011
Britain: Prosecutions over asbestos exposure
A Norfolk company and a contractor from Manchester have been fined after failing to manage asbestos removal work at a renovation site in Great Yarmouth. Mohammed Zahid was employed in May 2009 by Azam Bros Ltd to clear damage caused by a fire at two commercial units.
HSE news release • Risks 518 • 13 August 2011
Britain: Unite seeks justice for growing asbestos toll
Asbestos disease is affecting growing numbers in the North West, figures from the union Unite suggest. Since January 2010, Unite members and their families in the region have received £1.5m asbestos compensation.
Thompsons Solicitors news release • Risks 517 • 6 August 2011
Britain: M&S convicted of safety crimes
Marks and Spencer plc and two of its contractors have been convicted for putting members of the public, staff and construction workers at risk of exposure to asbestos-containing materials during the refurbishment of two stores. The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) prosecuted the retail giant, Willmott Dixon Construction Ltd and PA Realisations Ltd (formerly Pectel Ltd).
HSE news release • Construction Enquirer • Risks 515 • 23 July 2011
Britain: Asbestos killed power station electrician
The family of a South Wales electrician who died from cancer caused by exposure to asbestos at a power station has been awarded “substantial compensation” following a lengthy legal battle. Unite member John Vaughan was 71 when he died from mesothelioma. He was exposed to asbestos while working at Aberthaw Power Station, which at the time was run by the Central Electricity Generating Board (CEGB).
WalesOnline • Risks 515 • 23 July 2011
Britain: Carpenter’s family helps local hospice
The family of a carpenter who died of an asbestos related disease has received a ‘substantial’ sum in compensation and has recovered costs for the hospice that helped him in the final stages of his illness. GMB member Grahame Chiverton from the Isle of Wight died in August 2008, three days before his 50th birthday, after a nine month battle with the asbestos-related cancer mesothelioma.
Thompsons Solicitors news release • Risks 514 • 16 July 2011
Italy: Call for 20 years jail for asbestos magnates
A public prosecutor has called for 20 year prison terms for two asbestos magnates charged with a wilful failure to protect worker and the public from the deadly fibre, resulting in thousands of deaths. At a criminal trial in Turin, prosecutor Raffaele Guariniello this week delivered a closing statement in the trial of Eternit’s Stephan Schmidheiny and Belgian Baron Jean Louis Marie Ghislain De Cartier de Marchienne.
Asbestos in the Dock report • Yahoo News • Risks 513 • 9 July 2011
Britain: Unions call for action to cut asbestos deaths
Unions are calling on the government to introduce a requirement on local authorities to give parents and school workers an annual report on the asbestos risk in schools. The Joint Union Asbestos Campaign (JUAC) says although every year asbestos-related mesothelioma claims the lives of 16 UK teachers, schools will no longer be “proactively” inspected, even though HSE knows a significant proportion of local authorities have serious flaws in the asbestos management systems.
UNISON news release • Risks 513 • 9 July 2011
Britain: Unite demands investment in asbestos treatment
The union Unite says the UK government must provide funds to investigate effective treatments for mesothelioma, the asbestos related cancer. Speaking on 1 July, Action Mesothelioma Day, Unite assistant general secretary Gail Cartmail, said: “The coalition needs to provide funds for greater investment into understanding and treating this terrible disease that kills 2,000 people a year… many of them working in the construction, engineering, ship building and rail industries.”
Unite news release • Risks 513 • 9 July 2011
Global: GMB slams Canada’s asbestos promotion
The UK union GMB has condemned Canada’s continuing defence of unfettered global asbestos trade. The union was speaking out on 1 July, which is both Canada Day and Action Mesothelioma Day.
GMB news release. Montreal Gazette • Risks 513 • 9 July 2011
Canada: Unions appalled’ at asbestos crassness
Canada’s top union leader has said he is ‘appalled’ the Canadian government has blocked an international effort to list chrysotile asbestos as a hazardous substance. The Rotterdam Convention meeting concluded on 24 June, with Canada having stepped in to block listing when it appeared a consensus might be reached on adding the cancer causing fibre to the ‘Prior Informed Consent’ list.
CLC news release and Ken Georgetti’s June 16, 2011 letter to Prime Minister Stephen Harper • Montreal Gazette and related story • The Tyee • Yukon News • The Province • Risks 512 • 2 July 2011
Britain: Warning on deadly ‘asbestos protection crisis’
There is an ‘asbestos protection crisis’ throughout the UK as a result of government cut backs on safety campaigns, enforcement and resources, a victims’ advocacy group has said. The warning came on 1 July as hundreds of sufferers of the aggressive and deadly cancer mesothelioma and their families gathered to mark Action Mesothelioma Day.
AVSGF news release [pdf] • HSE’s shelved ‘Hidden Killer’ campaign • Plymouth Herald • Telegraph and Argus • Action Mesothelioma Day • Risks 512 • 2 July 2011
Global: ILO admonishes Canada on asbestos
The Canadian government has been given a sharp warning by the top international standards body about its behaviour on asbestos. The International Labour Organisation has told Canada to adopt better standards to protect workers' health and to review outdated national laws and regulations on asbestos.
CLC presentation to the ILO meeting • IMF new report • A statement on Chrysotile at the Rotterdam Convention meeting • Risks 510 • 18 June 2011
Britain: Action Mesothelioma Day, 1 July 2011
Action Mesothelioma Day 2011 is being held on Friday 1 July, with events scheduled countrywide. Details of activities in Chesterfield, Dundee, Merseyside, Leicester, Leeds, Newcastle, Manchester and London are already available on the Mesothelioma UK website.
Action Mesothelioma Day, 1 July 2011 [pdf] • Mesothelioma UK • Risks 508 • 4 June 2011
Britain: Chief scientist confirms white asbestos risks
White asbestos deserves its top level cancer rating, the government’s chief scientific adviser has told ministers. In a letter to work and pensions secretary Iain Duncan Smith, Sir John Beddington said “it is my opinion that on the evidence available there is no justification for an imminent change to the international scientific consensus on the classification of chrysotile as a Class 1 carcinogen.”
BIS webpage on chrysotile asbestos • 11 May 2011 letter from Sir John Beddington to work and pensions secretary Iain Duncan Smith [pdf]. Meeting Notes - GCSA meeting on the Classification and Regulation of Chrysotile Asbestos, 7 March 2011 [pdf] • Risks 508 • 4 June 2011
Britain: Plea for asbestos victims 'fund of last resort'
Lawyers acting for people suffering from asbestos-related diseases have renewed their appeal for a ‘fund of last resort’ to step in when a firm’s employers’ liability insurer cannot be found. Claimant lawyers said they had waited more than a year for the results of a consultation on setting up an Employers’ Liability Insurance Bureau, reports the Law Gazette.
Law Gazette • Risks 508 • 4 June 2011
Finland: Unions track asbestos exposure risks
Unions in Finland are keeping track of workplace asbestos exposures, using a purpose designed “follow-up” card. The say the initiative, which was launched last month by the Breathing Association, the union confederations SAK and STTK, and the trade unions representing metal, electrical, paper and construction workers, will record information on individual worker’s exposures and on possible occupational diseases that could be related to those exposures.
Trade Union News from Finland • Risks 506 • 21 May 2011
Canada: Top union body slams asbestos trade
The leader of Canada’s national union federation has slammed the country’s prime minister for promoting asbestos in a bid to win votes. In a letter ahead of federal elections, which this week returned Stephen Harper’s Conservative Party with a substantial majority, Canadian Labour Congress (CLC) president Kenneth Georgetti condemned the prime minister’s vocal support for asbestos trade in a bid to win votes in Quebec, the region with the asbestos mines.
CLC letter • Risks 504 • 7 May 2011
Britain: UK will tighten too weak asbestos law
The UK version of a European Union-wide law on asbestos safety is to be amended after the European Commission (EC) ruled it is illegally lax. In a 28 April statement to the trade union magazine Hazards, the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) “confirmed its agreement” with the EC’s finding that the UK had actually under-implemented Europe’s asbestos law.
Hazards magazine • European Commission news release • HSE asbestos at work regulations webpages and the EC asbestos directive and infringement procedures • Risks 504 • 7 May 2011
Britain: Court upholds Scots pleural plaques payouts
Insurers have lost a legal bid to overturn a law in Scotland giving victims of an asbestos-related condition the right to claim damages. Unions welcomed the Court of Session decision to uphold the Damages (Asbestos-related Conditions)(Scotland) Act in 2009 which allows sufferers of pleural plaques, a usually benign scarring of the lungs, to make compensation claims
STUC news release • UCATT news release • Irwin Mitchell Solicitors news release • BBC News Online • Risks 502 • 16 April 2011
Global: Dismay at Canada’s asbestos shame
A major expansion of asbestos production in Canada is to go ahead, after the industry secured official support for a new mine. Global union federation BWI, which represents building workers in the asbestos disease frontline, condemned the decision by the Quebec provincial government to support the Jeffrey asbestos mine.
BWI news release • IBAS commentary • The Cold Truth • CBC News • Risks 503 • 30 April 2011
Britain: Survey reveals schools asbestos peril
Fears about asbestos exposures in schools have been raised after a survey uncovered “worrying shortcomings” in the management of the substance. The nationwide survey of more than 600 union safety representatives in schools “has flatly contradicted” Health and Safety Executive (HSE) claims that the government is meeting its legal obligations to address the issue of asbestos in schools, a trade union campaign group warned.
Unite news release • NUT news release • Asbestos in Schools • Risks 503 • 30 April 2011
Britain: Suspended sentence for asbestos crimes
A property developer has received community service and a suspended prison sentence after ordering the unsafe removal of asbestos from a former nightclub in Wrexham. Michael Murton, 35, admitted removing the asbestos from Scott's nightclub, endangering workers and the public.
HSE news release • Daily Post • BBC News Online • Risks 501 • 9 April 2011
Britain: Site firms fined for asbestos exposures
A plant hire company and a construction services firm have been fined for exposing employees and members of the public to asbestos at a London block of flats. An investigation by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) found Mansell Construction Services Ltd and subcontractor Woodlands Plant Hire Ltd failed to properly manage asbestos during a flat refurbishment job in December 2009.
HSE news release and asbestos webpages • Construction Enquirer • Risks 500 • 2 April 2010
Canada: Asbestos suffers a mortal blow?
A top union body in Quebec has dealt a serious blow to the province’s embattled asbestos industry. In an overwhelming voice vote, representatives of the 300,000-member Confederation of National Trade Unions (CSN) voted against the planned expansion of Canada’s last asbestos mine in the town of Asbestos, Quebec and says it now wants “to draw up a proposed schedule and transition and restructuring programme for workers in this industry, from a standpoint of triggering the necessary debate on banning asbestos with both levels of governments.”
CSN news release (English version - original in French) • Cold Truth blog • AOL News • Rabble.ca • Risks 498 • 19 March 2011
Britain: Suspended sentence for asbestos crimes
A site manager has been given a two month suspended sentence and 150 hours of community service for exposing a bricklayer to asbestos. Henry Bohlen, 63, from Barry, south Wales, directed the bricklayer to demolish a wall that contained asbestos, putting him at serious risk.
HSE news release and risk assessment webpages • Construction Enquirer • Risks 498 • 19 March 2011
Britain: Asbestos ruling ‘a victory for fairness’
The Supreme Court ruling allowing the family of a former Merseyside pupil a six-figure compensation payout following the exposure to asbestos at school which subsequently killed her, is a victory for fairness and a wake-up call for the government, the Association of Teachers and Lecturers (ATL) has said.
ATL news release • Risks 498 • 19 March 2011
Asbestos blunders led to £500,000 bill
A clean-up operation after a roofing company spread asbestos fibres around a Leicestershire town cost £500,000, a court has heard. Hampshire-based Concept Roofing and Cladding Services Ltd, who used pressurised water washers to clean roof panels on industrial units in Market Harborough, was fined £12,000 and ordered to pay costs of £22,375.
HSE news release • Leicester Mercury • Risks 497 • 12 March 2011
Britain: Welcome for cancer compensation precedent
Unions have welcomed a Supreme Court ruling that establishes workers may claim compensation after ‘low level’ exposures to a cancer causing substance at work. The Supreme Court this week upheld earlier rulings establishing there was no requirement for a claimant to show a doubling of risk in order to claim asbestos caused their cancer.
NUT news release • UCATT news release • Risks 497 • 12 March 2011
Britain: Backing for ‘low level’ asbestos exposure payouts
Two families have won groundbreaking claims for compensation after loved ones died from cancer caused by exposure to "low level" asbestos. Seven Supreme Court justices unanimously ruled there was no requirement for a claimant to show a doubling of risk.
The Supreme Court press summary [pdf] and full judgment [pdf] • John Pickering • Solicitors news release • Asbestos Forum news release [pdf] • Asbestos in Schools news release • BBC News Online • Liverpool Daily News • Daily Post • Solicitors Journal • The Independent • Risks 497 • 12 March 2011
Britain: Union rep gets asbestos cancer payout
A former GMB shop steward and shipyard convenor from South Shields has received a “substantial” payout just nine weeks after he was diagnosed with an asbestos cancer. The 81 year-old, whose name has not been released and who has the incurable cancer mesothelioma, was exposed to asbestos while working as a chipper and painter for shipyards on the River Tyne, including Redheads Ship Repairers and Tyne Dock Engineering in South Shields.
Thompsons Solicitors news release • Risks 495 • 26 February 2011
Britain: Firms have to pay asbestos care costs
An insurer’s decision to drop an appeal against a landmark court judgment should now clear the way for hospices across the country to secure vital funding for the end of life care of industrial illness victims. The announcement comes just days before a scheduled appeal against a decision by the High Court last year, that ruled the company responsible for the death of James Willson from the asbestos related cancer mesothelioma should contribute to his hospice care costs.
Irwin Mitchell news release • Risks 494 • 19 February 2011
Britain: Asbestos law not up to Euro standard
The UK version of a European Union-wide law on asbestos safety is illegally lax and must be amended, the government has been told. The TUC, which had warned against the dilution of essential safety measures, said the European Commission (EC) ruling nails the myth the UK “gold-plates” Euro laws.
European Commission news release • HSE asbestos at work regulations webpages and the EC asbestos directive and infringement procedure • Risks 494 • 19 February 2011
Global: Canadian asbestos ‘tsunami’ planned for India
The governments of Quebec and India have agreed to draw up an accord on “investment and sustainable development” in mining activities which will include Canada’s asbestos exports. However, unions, safety and environmental campaigners say Quebec plans to export an “asbestos tsunami” to India which could lead to tens of thousands of deaths a year.
IBAS news report • BWI news release • Government of India news release. Montreal Gazette • Risks 493 • 12 February 2011
Global: Asbestos lobby resorts to threats
Shady asbestos industry lobbyists are running a campaign of intimidation targeting key campaigners seeking ban on the deadly fibre. The UK-based International Ban Asbestos Secretariat (IBAS), which coordinates a network for campaign groups worldwide, says in recent weeks “the internet has been flooded by accusations against individuals and groups campaigning to ban asbestos.”
IBAS news report • Risks 493 • 12 February 2011
Britain: Government enforced asbestos silence will kill
Workers will die as a result of the ban on official campaigns introduced by the government, construction union UCATT has warned. The Health and Safety Executive’s (HSE) award-winning Hidden Killer campaign, which is among the affected campaigns, was launched in 2008 after figures showed asbestos disease was killing 20 construction tradesmen every week.
UCATT news release • Daily Mirror • Construction Enquirer • Risks 492 • 5 February 2011
Britain: Caterpillar worker’s died of asbestos cancer
The family of a Unite member has received compensation after he died from an asbestos related cancer. Denis Aspin was exposed to asbestos at Caterpillar UK’s Desford factory, where he was employed as an assembler from 1979 until 2008 when he took voluntary redundancy.
Thompsons Solicitors news release • Risks 491 • 29 January 2011
Global: End made-in-Canada deaths in Asia
Plans to expand asbestos production in Canada will result in an estimated 30,000 deaths in Asia, public health experts and campaigners have warned. A spate of protests in Asia, North America and Europe late last year have continued into 2011, with events in India, Korea and Canada highlighting the human consequences of any decision by authorities that would allow an expansion of asbestos mining in the Canadian province of Quebec.
IBAS news • Montreal Gazette • Raging Grannies • Risks 490 • 22 January 2011
Britain: Son’s battle for justice for his dad
The son of a former employee of the Longbridge car plant, who died after being exposed to asbestos, has launched a search for former colleagues who may be able to help in his battle for justice. John Amos, from Rednal, Birmingham, was diagnosed with the incurable asbestos-related cancer mesothelioma in May 2009, just days before he died aged 79 on 22 May 2009.
Irwin Mitchell news release. Anyone who can assist with information concerning asbestos working practices at the Rover site in Longbridge, should contact Alida Coates on 0870 1500 100 • Risks 490 • 22 January 2011
Global: Asbestos deaths toll under-estimated
The number of deaths related to asbestos exposures worldwide has been dramatically under-estimated, as some major asbestos using nations are failing to report any related cancers, a new study has concluded. A group of experts from Japan, Taiwan and the UK, writing this month in the peer-reviewed journal Environmental Health Perspectives, say their analysis supports a worldwide ban on asbestos production and use.
Park E-K, Takahashi K, Hoshuyama T, Cheng T-J, Delgermaa V, and others. Global magnitude of reported and unreported mesothelioma, Environmental Health Perspectives, published online 6 January 2011. doi:10.1289/ehp.1002845 • Risks 489 • 15 January 2011
Global: Asbestos safety reassurances rubbished
A claim by a Canadian minister that a monitoring scheme will ensure safe use of its asbestos exports has been rubbished by campaigners. The exchange is the latest prompted by plans to massively expand asbestos production in the Canadian province of Quebec, a move for which the industry is seeking financial support from the provincial government.
Vancouver Sun • Asbestos scandal: Irresponsible policies could cause an epidemic of malignant lung disease, Nature, 15 December 2010 • Risks 487 • 18 December 2010
Britain: 'Asbestos on shirt' woman dies of cancer
A 44-year-old woman has lost her battle against a cancer she believed was caused by asbestos dust on her grandfather's work clothes. Mother-of-two Debra Stevenson, of Plymouth, was diagnosed with mesothelioma in December 2008 and died on 5 December 2010.
Western Morning News • Risks 487 • 18 December 2010
Global: Screw tightens on Canada’s asbestos pushers
Canada has been hit with a global barrage of criticism this week for its support for asbestos exports worldwide. Protesters targeted headquarters of the Canadian federal and Quebec provincial governments in London, Hong Kong, Japan, the Philippines, Korea, Indonesia, India and elsewhere highlighting Canada’s commitment to continued asbestos exports and current plans to expand production in the country.
IBAS press pack on the Asian delegation to Quebec [pdf] • BWI statement and briefing [pdf] • Asbestos Forum news release [pdf] • Salon • The Olympian • Ottawa Citizen • ABC News • Globe and Mail • CBC News • Washington Post • Morning Star •
Canada accused of hypocrisy over asbestos exports. Tony Kirby, The Lancet, Volume 376, Issue 9757, pages 1973-1974, 11 December 2010 • Risks 486 • 11 December 2010
Global: Asian asbestos campaigners target Quebec
A group of activists from Asia will descend on Quebec this month to warn the Canadian province’s government about the deadly price paid as a result of its asbestos exports. The delegation, which includes asbestos victims and union representatives, has sent a letter to the province’s premier, Jean Charest, urging him not to underwrite the cost of a massive expansion of asbestos mining at the Jeffrey mine in the town of Asbestos.
Financial Times • CTV • Montreal Gazette • International Ban Asbestos Secretariat.
UK protest: A protest will be held outside Canada House at Trafalgar Square, London, on 9 December, to coincide with an Asian delegation to Quebec. It is supported by unions, support groups and the TUC. Assemble 11 am [flyer pdf] • Risks 485 • 4 December 2010
India: Asbestos multinational’s victims get payouts
Ninety-seven Indian citizens injured by asbestos have finally secured compensation for injuries sustained at the hands of a British company - Turner & Newall Ltd. (T&N). Madhumita Dutta, from Chennai-based Corporate Accountability Desk, commented: “While the amounts paid by the T&N trust are modest, nevertheless an important principle has been established.”
IBAS • Risks 484 • 27 November 2010
China: Study confirms asbestos lung cancer risk
A study in China has confirmed workers exposed to the only remaining form of asbestos in production are at a greatly increased risk of lung cancer. The research published in the journal Occupational and Environmental Medicine, found asbestos workers in the “high exposure” group were 3.66 times more likely to develop lung cancer.
Eiji Yano, Xiaorong Wang, Mianzhen Wang, Hong Qiu and Zhiming Wang. Lung cancer mortality from exposure to chrysotile asbestos and smoking: a case-control study within a cohort in China, Occupational and Environmental Medicine, volume 67, pages 867-871, 2010 [abstract and full text] • International Ban Asbestos Secretariat. • Risks 483 • 20 November 2010
Britain: DIY asbestos removal leads to fine
A Norwich construction company has been fined £30,000 after endangering employees’ lives when it opted to cut costs by undertaking an asbestos removal job at its own HQ. Magistrates heard that members of staff at East Anglian Construction Ltd, a subsidiary of Peter Colby Commercials, had been asked to remove the hazardous building material from the company’s headquarters.
Norwich City Council news release • Norwich Evening News • Risks 483 • 20 November 2010
Global: More bad news for the asbestos pushers
Campaigners pressing for a global ban on asbestos will have further aggravated asbestos lobbyists this week, with the publication of a full page advert in two major Canadian newspapers condemning asbestos exports and use. The ad, which is signed by prominent experts and campaigners and national and international trade union, safety and medical organisations, has subsequently appeared on websites and social networking sites worldwide.
RightOnCanada.ca advert calling for an end to Canadian asbestos exports [pdf] • Risks 483 • 20 November 2010
Britain: Asbestos illnesses killing more women
There has been an alarming increase in the number of women dying of an asbestos-related cancer, with low level exposures in non-industrial jobs suspected as the cause. Latest official figures show that mesothelioma, a cancer caused by exposure to asbestos, is the most rapidly increasing cancer in women.
Daily Mirror • HSE statistics webpages and mesothelioma statistics • Risks 482 • 13 November 2010
Britain: Unite takes asbestos fight to Supreme Court
Unite has confirmed it will go to the Supreme Court to challenge a Court of Appeal ruling it says threatens to deprive thousands of asbestos cancer victims and their families of their rightful compensation. The appeal court ruled last month that in some asbestos cases employers’ liability insurance is triggered not at the time of the exposure to asbestos in the workplace, but when symptoms of asbestos related disease emerged.
Unite news release • Thompsons Solicitors news release • Morning Star • HSE statistics webpages and mesothelioma statistics • Risks 481 • 6 November 2010
Britain: TUC concern at asbestos ruling
The TUC has expressed grave concern at the continued uncertainty facing people dying from asbestos diseases, following a Court of Appeal ruling on compensation payments. Three appeal court judges ruled that only some sufferers could recover damages for the fatal harm they sustained as a result of work exposures decades ago.
TUC news release • Irwin Mitchell Solicitors news release • Thompsons Solicitors news release • John Pickering Solicitors news release • Solicitors Journal • Risks 478 • 16 October 2010
Britain: ‘Perverse’ ruling is an insult to the dying
Asbestos campaigners and unions have criticised a ‘perverse’ Court of Appeal ruling which has left workers dying of asbestos cancers facing delays to their compensation payments or without recourse to compensation at all.
Asbestos Forum news release [pdf] • Unite news release • UCATT news release • GMB news release • Morning Star • Birmingham Mail • Risks 478 • 16 October 2010
Britain: Families at risk from deadly asbestos
It’s not just your own asbestos exposures at work that can lead to a deadly cancer, they can hit your family too, recent cases affecting a daughter, a wife and a granddaughter have demonstrated.
Portsmouth News • Daily Echo • The Sun • Risks 476 • 2 October 2010
Britain: NUT critical of schools asbestos assurances
The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) has ‘misplaced’ confidence in a survey it says establishes the ability of schools to safety manage asbestos, teaching union NUT has said. NUT general secretary Christine Blower said inspectors only visited 42 authorities, adding: “The other 110 simply completed an on-line survey, making the survey essentially a paper exercise, reliant on local authorities admitting to failings in their system of asbestos management in order to trigger a visit from the HSE.”
HSE news release, survey findings and asbestos management webpages • NUT news release • Edexec • Asbestos in Schools • Risks 475 • 25 September 2010
Global: ITUC welcomes asbestos ‘death knell’
A statement from a United Nations body confirming its desire to see the end of asbestos use worldwide is the ‘death knell’ for a substance which claims one life every five minutes around the clock, the global union confederation ITUC has said. The International Labour Organisation (ILO) this month warned in an official position statement that industry lobbyists pushing asbestos around the world must not claim to have ILO support.
ITUC news release • ITUC/Hazards green jobs, safe jobs blog • BWI news report • World Health Organisation asbestos briefing, July 2010 • International Labour Organisation (ILO) position statement on asbestos • Risks 474 • 18 September 2010
Britain: MOD censured for asbestos crimes
The Ministry of Defence (MOD) has received a formal Crown Censure from the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) after potentially exposing workers to deadly asbestos fibres. The action relates to criminal breaches of safety law however the ministry, as a government body, cannot be prosecuted in the criminal courts.
HSE news releases on the MoD Crown Censure and the Interserve fine • HSE managing asbestos webpages • Risks 474 • 18 September 2010
Britain: Deadly asbestos risks onboard ships
A union campaign to secure tougher controls against the threats posed by asbestos on ships has won backing from delegates to TUC’s Congress. Seafarers’ union Nautilus International secured unanimous support for a motion expressing concern at the continued presence of asbestos on ships – despite international rules introduced in 2002 to prevent its use.
Nautilus news release • Risks 474 • 18 September 2010
Global: Asbestos use must stop, confirms ILO
Asbestos industry lobbyists pushing the deadly fibre on the developing world must not claim to have the support of the International Labour Organisation, the United Nations body has indicated. As well as encouraging governments to sign up to ILO conventions, the statement highlights ILO’s commitment to “promoting the elimination of the future use of all forms of asbestos and asbestos-containing materials.”
The ILO position on safety in the use of asbestos, ILO, September 2010 [pdf] • Risks 473 • 11 September 2010
Global: Canada gives asbestos mine more money
A last-ditch effort to revive Quebec’s asbestos industry has received a government cash lifeline while the deadly mining operation scrabbles to find private investors. The rapid approval by the Quebec government of a Can$3.5 million (£2.15m) guaranteed line of credit, plus political support from Canada’s federal government, means the Jeffrey mine in Asbestos, Quebec will reopen for the month of September while it courts possible investors from the UK and India.
IBAS news release • Toronto Star • CBC News • Risks 472 • 28 August 2010
Britain: Shipbreaker fined over asbestos risks
A North Lincolnshire shipbreaking company put its workers and others at risk of exposure to asbestos, a court has heard. Marine reclamation company Acetech Construction Limited, purchased a Polish former fishing vessel, ‘The Patricia III’, in 2007 for dismantling and selling on as scrap.
HSE news release and asbestos webpages • Risks 471 • 28 August 2010
Britain: Asbestos disturbed at primary school
A Solihull building firm has been fined £1,000 after failing to take precautions against asbestos while working at a school. The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) prosecuted the company after bosses at Greswolde Construction Ltd failed to warn employees the substance was present, despite being in possession of a survey detailing the location of the asbestos.
HSE news release • Risks 471 • 28 August 2010
Britain: Trades led to asbestos cancers
Two men from the West Midlands developed cancer as a result of exposures to asbestos at work. Iain Shoolbred, a workplace illness expert with Irwin Mitchell Solicitors, is representing is appealing to former work colleagues of Ronald Webster and Barry Halford to come forward with information about working practices, which could prove essential to their compensation claims.
Irwin Mitchell Solicitors news releases on the Ronald Webster and Barry Halford cases. Anyone who worked with either should contact Iain Shoolbred at Irwin Mitchell solicitors on 0870 1500 100 • Risks 470 • 21 August 2010
Britain: Council condemned over schools risks
The leadership of a London council has been condemned by UNISON for its “staggering” failure to address potentially deadly health risks to school staff and pupils. A Health and Safety Executive (HSE) investigation into the possible presence of asbestos and legionella bacteria in four schools in the London borough of Waltham Forest found that the council had no plans to deal with the risk of exposure to pupils.
Labournet • Morning Star • Waltham Forest Guardian • Daily Mirror • Asbestos in schools website • HSE legionnaires and asbestos webpages • Risks 470 • 21 August 2010
Britain: Firm must pay for hospice cancer care
The High Court has ruled a company responsible for a man’s death from an asbestos cancer should contribute to his hospice care costs. The ‘landmark’ case involves James Willson who in 1951, aged 20, went to work erecting new boilers at Deptford Power Station and subsequently died of the asbestos cancer mesothelioma.
Irwin Mitchell Solicitors news release • Loughborough Echo • Risks 469 • 14 August 2010
Britain: Pleural plaques payouts scheme kicks off
A controversial government compensation scheme to provide lump sum payouts to some people with asbestos-related pleural plaques is now accepting applications. Thousands will be able to apply for a £5,000 payment, the Ministry of Justice has said.
MoJ news release and pleural plaques compensation eligibility guidelines • Northern TUC news release
Find an asbestos group: Asbestos Victims Support Groups Forum UK • Risks 468 • 7 August 2010
Britain: Joinery job led to asbestos cancer
A former joiner has received a payout for an asbestos cancer, despite one of his employers having ceased trading. Unite member Bernard Dean, 61, received a “substantial” payout after developing mesothelioma.
Thompsons Solicitors news release and ELIB campaign • Risks 468 • 7 August 2010
Britain: Old schools equal more asbestos problems
Unions and asbestos groups have warned there will be “hidden consequences” of the government’s decision to scrap the Building Schools for the Future programme, saying there is “a real and increased risk” of children, teachers and support staff being exposed to asbestos fibres.
Northern TUC news release • Asbestos Exposure in Schools website • Risks 367 • 31 July 2010
Global: True cost of asbestos is exposed
A global network of lobbying groups is ensuring asbestos, banned or restricted in more than 50 countries, continues to be using in developing nations. A four-continent investigation by the US-based Center for Public Integrity (CPI) reports that many scientists fear the continued use of asbestos could significantly prolong a global epidemic of asbestos-related illnesses.
Dangers in the dust – a Center for Public Integrity investigation • BBC News Online • Toronto Star • Montreal Gazette • Vancouver Sun • Risks 466 • 24 July 2010
Britain: Prefab demolition led to asbestos death
A man who developed cancer after being exposed to asbestos while demolishing prefabricated houses received a compensation payout just weeks before his death. John Manniex, from Leigh in Greater Manchester, died of mesothelioma on 1 July.
Thompsons Solicitors news release • Risks 465 • 17 July 2010
Britain: Asbestos epidemic reminder from campaigners
More than 60,000 people in the UK will die in the future having previously been exposed to asbestos leading to a total death toll of 90,000 by the year 2050, campaigners have warned. But they say that despite the magnitude of the epidemic, prevention, research and treatment are all seriously neglected.
Asbestos Forum Action Mesothelioma Day events listing • Irwin Mitchell Solicitors news release • HSE news release • BLF news release • Morning Star • Manchester Evening News • North West Evening Mail • Leicester Mercury • Risks 464 • 10 July 2010
Global: Campaigners denounce Canada on asbestos
A protest outside London’s Canada House was intended to “shame” Canada for promoting asbestos exports, the organisers said. The protest on 1 July, timed to coincide with official celebrations to mark Canada Day, took place as plans were being finalised to pump Canadian federal and state funds into an expansion of asbestos production and exports - demonstrators carried banners bearing messages including: “Canadian asbestos – buy now, die later.”
UCATT news release • GMB news release • Asbestos Forum news release [pdf] • A worn-out welcome: Renewed call for a global ban on asbestos, Environmental Health Perspectives, 1 July 2010 • Risks 464 • 10 July 2010
Global: Condemnation of Canada’s asbestos ruse
Moves to use public money to underwrite the cost of a massive expansion of asbestos mining in Canada are attracting condemnation in Canada and worldwide. This week, in a letter sent to Quebec leader Jean Charest, the Canadian Cancer Society urged the premier not to approve a Can$58 million (£36.6m) loan guarantee to Jeffrey Asbestos Mines, based in Quebec.
Canadian Cancer Society news release and position statement • Public Citizen news release • Montreal Gazette • CBC News • RightOnCanada • Risks 463 • 19 June 2010
Britain: Asbestos protest, Canada House, London, 1 July
Asbestos and safety campaigners are to protest outside Canada House on 1 July. The event, on Canada’s National Day, is to protest at Canada’s continuing support for Quebec’s exports of asbestos to the developing world.
Asbestos protest at Canada House, Trafalgar Square, London 10am to 12 noon, 1 July 2010. Event details • Risks 461 • 19 June 2010
Canada: Deathbed reprieve for killer industry?
The battle to end Canada's export of deadly asbestos may be about to be lost, a top human rights group has warned. Kathleen Ruff of the Rideau Institute says: “Economically, the industry is on its deathbed,” but adds that it has reason to believe it will soon receive a multi-million dollar bail-out from Canada’s federal and Quebec governments.
Toronto Star • Risks 460 • 12 June 2010
Britain: Widow calls for insurance fix
An asbestos widow has called on the government to help asbestos victims and their families overcome barriers to obtaining compensation. Caroline Squires from Wacton in Norfolk has voiced her support for an Employers’ Liability Insurance Bureau (ELIB) after her husband, Almer, died from asbestos related cancer mesothelioma. Mr Squires, died in October 2008, aged 66.
Thompsons Solicitors news release • Risks 457 • 22 May 2010
Britain: Double tragedy for asbestos cancer victim
An asbestos cancer sufferer whose first wife died from the same disease has received compensation from his former employer. Unite member Roland Lakin, 70, from Chorley in Lancashire was diagnosed with the incurable cancer mesothelioma in July 2009 after he nursed his first wife, Thelma, through the disease until she died in 2006.
Thompsons Solicitors news release • Chorley Citizen • Risks 456 • 15 May 2010
Britain: Union asbestos register pinpoints exposure
A former engineer has spoken of his relief in obtaining compensation after being diagnosed with the incurable asbestos cancer mesothelioma in February 2009. Unite member David Marren, 63, became aware of the diseases caused by asbestos when his union launched a National Asbestos Exposure Register.
Thompsons Solicitors news release • Risks 456 • 15 May 2010
Global: Asbestos exports are ‘a crime’
An Indian health group is accusing Jean Charest of backing human rights abuses because of the Quebec premier's views on asbestos exports to the country. Mohit Gupta of the Occupational and Environmental Health Network of India says Charest is dismissing Indians as second-class citizens.
Ban Asbestos India news release • BWI news release • Winnipeg Free Press • Risks 454 • 1 May 2010
Britain: UNISON anger at shortcuts before safety
Public sector union UNISON has revealed that in the last year it has secured nearly £2 million for members with asbestos-related diseases. The union says the figure, released on Workers’ Memorial Day, highlights the risk that many workers face just doing their day-to-day jobs.
UNISON news release • Risks 454 • 1 May 2010
Britain: Punk shop asbestos ‘killed McLaren’
The former Sex Pistols manager Malcolm McLaren may have been exposed to the asbestos that killed him while smashing up Sex, his King's Road punk design shop, his partner Young Kim has said. She said the 64-year-old, who died on 8 April of the asbestos-related cancer mesothelioma, was exposed to the deadly material when he shattered the ceiling of Sex, the shop he shared with his then partner, designer Vivienne Westwood.
The Independent • The Telegraph • BBC News Online • Risks 452 • 17 April 2010
Britain: Dying rail worker gets asbestos payout
A dying man has received £120,000 compensation for the asbestos cancer mesothelioma, caused by his exposure to the fibre while working as a welder at the British Rail workshops in Derby. The 76-year-old Unite member, whose name has not been released, was diagnosed with mesothelioma in February 2009.
Thompsons Solicitors news release • Risks 452 • 17 April 2010
Britain: ‘Gross dereliction’ on school asbestos menace
A failure to tackle effectively the problem of asbestos in schools amounts to a ‘gross dereliction’ of the duty of care to staff and pupils, teaching union NUT has said.
NUT news release • Risks 451 • 10 April 2010
Canada: More public cash for the asbestos lobby
A Canadian government committee has voted to continue funding a body that has spearheaded the global campaign to push deadly asbestos on the developing world. The natural resources committee of the House of Commons rejected a motion that sought to eliminate the Can$250,000 (£164,000) in yearly funding Canada gives to the Chrysotile Institute, a Quebec-based asbestos industry group and energetic advocate of Canadian asbestos exports.
NDP news release • Winnipeg Free Press • RightOnCanada.ca campaign to end Canadian government funding for the asbestos lobby and asbestos webpages • Risks 449 • 27 March 2010
Global: Body repeats call for an asbestos ban
Over 10 years after a global society of occupational medicine experts called for a worldwide asbestos ban, it has reiterated its call and said any further delay will carry a high cost in human lives. The Collegium Ramazzini notes: “All countries of the world have an obligation to their citizens to join in the international endeavour to ban all forms of asbestos,” adding: “An international ban on asbestos is urgently needed.”
International Ban Asbestos Secretariat • Risks 447 • 13 March 2010
Britain: Government acts on asbestos illness
The Ministry of Justice has announced a range of measures to support people who have been exposed to asbestos. TUC general secretary Brendan Barber said the decision not to compensate new cases of pleural plaques was “disappointing” but added “the other measures announced will be of real benefit to those who develop a disease as a result of exposure to asbestos”.
Ministry of Justice news release and statement from Jack Straw • DWP news release • TUC news release • Risks 445 • 27 February 2010
Britain: Mixed verdict from asbestos victims
Asbestos victims’ organisations and personnel injury lawyers have given a mixed verdict on the government’s moves on pleural plaques and asbestos compensation and research.
Asbestos Forum news release and [pdf] • Thompsons Solicitors news release • Risks 445 • 27 February 2010
Britain: UCATT says victims have been ‘abandoned’
Construction union UCATT has expressed disappointment after the government ‘abandoned’ the majority of pleural plaques victims in England and Wales. The union was speaking out after justice secretary Jack Straw confirmed on 25 February the government would only compensate pleural plaques victims who had lodged a legal case prior to a 2007 Law Lords decision to bar compensation.
UCATT news release • Risks 445 • 27 February 2010
Britain: Flawed evidence denied asbestos victims
People killed by asbestos diseases have been wrongly denied compensation because the courts have relied on flawed medical evidence, a landmark case has shown. The judge said that the asbestos level of 20 million fibres for confirmation of asbestos disease was “set too high, probably significantly too high” and found in favour of asbestosis widow Della Sabin and awarded her £100,000 in compensation.
Pannone LLP news release • Risks 445 • 27 February 2010
USA: Shock tactic in New York asbestos protest
A New York union branch has found a novel way of highlighting both the dangers of asbestos and also the importance of unionisation in protecting the safety of both workers and the public. The union has put a coffin outside the offices of a company that is using non-unionised workers to remove asbestos.
Risks 444 • 20 February 2010
Britain: Compensation after asbestos exposure
A former power station worker Clifford King, 85, from Newark in Nottinghamshire has received compensation thanks to his union, Unite, taking up his claim for damages after he was diagnosed with an asbestos-related disease.
Risks 443 • 13 February 2010
Philippines: Unions launch asbestos e-campaign
Unions in the Philippines have launched an email campaign to press for a ban on all asbestos use. The Trade Union Congress of the Philippines (TUCP), the Associated Labor Unions (ALU) and the Building and Woodworkers International (BWI) campaign is urging the country’s Senate to pass Senate Bill 741, banning asbestos.
Ban Asbestos Philippines news release • Risks 442 • 6 February 2010
Global: Scientists slam Canada’s asbestos trade
Over a hundred prominent scientists in 28 countries have challenged Quebec Premier Jean Charest, who embarked on a trade mission to India on 31 January, to stop Quebec's export of asbestos to the developing world. The assault on Canada’s deadly trade came ahead of the mission to India, a key export market for Canada’s asbestos.
RightOn Canada news release and letter to Premier Charest [pdf] • Montreal Gazette • CBC News • CTV News • ETUI-HESA news report • Risks 442 • 6 February 2010
Britain: Former BT worker gets asbestos cancer
A former BT engineer has received “substantial” compensation after his employers admitted exposing him to asbestos. Unite member Vaughan Toms, 62, was diagnosed with the asbestos cancer mesothelioma in November 2008 after complaining about being breathless to his doctor.
Thompsons Solicitors news release • Risks 441 • 30 January 2010
Britain: Union disgust at asbestos law appeal
Insurers have appealed against the decision to allow legislation giving victims of an asbestos-related illness in Scotland the right to claim damages. Last week, a judge rejected a bid to invalidate The Damages (Asbestos-related Conditions)(Scotland) Act which came into force last year and which allows sufferers of pleural plaques, a usually benign scarring of the lungs, to make compensation claims.
UCATT news release • ABI news release • BBC News Online • Risks 440 • 23 January 2010
Britain: Lunch breaks led to asbestos cancer
A gardener exposed to asbestos when he took his lunch break in a boiler room has been awarded £205,000 compensation after developing a deadly cancer. UNISON helped the 57-year-old, identified as Mr Gaffney, to claim the compensation after he was exposed to asbestos while working for the University of Liverpool during the 1980s.
UNISON news release • Risks 440 • 23 January 2010
Britain: 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. Unions and asbestos campaigners welcomed the Court of Session ruling supporting the pleural plaques law that came into force in Scotland last June.
Court of Session opinion on the Judicial Review • Unite news release • GMB news release • UCATT news release • Thompsons Solicitors news release •Irwin Mitchell Solicitors news release • ABI news release • The Herald • STV News • Daily Mirror • Risks 439 • 16 January 2010
Britain: Workers 'robbed of life and compensation'
Victims of industrial diseases are being denied their full payments, as benefits are clawed back, according to an article in the Independent. Campaigners have told the paper that victims of industrial diseases such as the asbestos cancer mesothelioma are being “robbed” of government compensation because of an “unjust and indefensible” loophole in the Industrial Injuries Disablement Benefit (IIDB) scheme.
The Independent • Risks 439 • 16 January 2010
Britain: Official sums wrong on pleural plaques
Construction union UCATT has demanded urgent answers after discovering the government's liability for pleural plaques victims is a fraction of what had previously been claimed. The union says the government’s fear of footing a high compensation bill is the “principal reason” behind the lengthy delays in announcing a decision on pleural plaques compensation.
UCATT news release • Morning Star • Risks 439 • 16 January 2010
Britain: Some asbestos diseases are compensated
While the insurance industry fights to stop pleural plaques being compensated and the government fights the urge to make a decision, other asbestos related conditions are attracting payouts – thanks to union legal services.
UNISON news release • Thompsons Solicitors news release • Risks 439 • 16 January 2010
Britain: Union casts doubt on official plaques dossier
Construction union UCATT has said the author of a key government report recommending that pleural plaques victims should not receive compensation is not an expert in the field and has not met any pleural plaques sufferers. Professor Robert Maynard, an expert in air pollution, wrote ‘Medical aspects of pleural plaques: a review for the Chief Medical Officer’.
UCATT news release • Risks 438 • 9 January 2009
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