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 06 July 2008 01:04 BST

Tradespeople ignorant of asbestos risk, charity warns

Friday, 22 Feb 2008 15:21
Some plumbers are amongst tradespeople unaware of asbestos risks

Health In Focus 

Tradespeople are unaware of the risks of asbestos exposure, a survey for the British Lung Foundation (BLF) has revealed.

The charity's poll discovered that less than a third of workers such as builders, plumbers and carpenters are aware that asbestos exposure can cause cancer and just over one in ten knows it could kill them.

Asbestos causes a chest cancer called mesothelioma, which kills one person every five hours in the UK.

It is a naturally-occurring material and becomes dangerous when products using its fibres are damaged or worn.

Twenty tradespeople die every week of asbestos-related diseases and exposure and it is Britain's biggest workplace killer.

Yet 74 per cent of the tradespeople surveyed said they had no training in how to deal with asbestos and 30 per cent wrongly believed that most asbestos has been removed from UK buildings.

The BLF warns that as mesothelioma develops between 15 and 60 years after exposure to asbestos the UK will soon face an epidemic of the disease, with cases peaking between 2011 and 2015.

The charity is calling for tradespeople to become 'asbestos aware' ahead of Action Mesothelioma Day on February 27th.

"It is a great worry that those most at risk of this cruel cancer know so little about a killer that could be lurking in the building they're working on today," said BLF chief executive Dame Helena Shovelton.

"We want mesothelioma to become a disease of the past, but until people put their health first, become asbestos aware and protect themselves against asbestos that goal can't be reached."
End of story


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