Campaigner's letter describes T&N working conditions

Nancy Tait MBE: born 12 February 1920; died 13 February 2009.

A letter from an asbestos campaigner has been released to Rochdale Online describing some of the working conditions at the Turner & Newall factory in Spodden Valley during the 1970s.

The letter has been unveiled following the death of campaigner Nancy Tait last week. In the document Mrs Tait describes a visit to T&N in March 1976, during which she was shocked at the lack of safety measures employed by the company.

The letter describes how, "workers wore only a loose coat. Hair covering was optional and I saw very few wearing any. Fibres will have been carried into canteens, public transport and buildings and the home, on feet and in clothing.

"Waste was lying round some of the machinery - I saw machinery being brushed; vacuum cleaners should be used.

"Plastic mouth coverings, which were freely available, are useless and were described to me as 'of cosmetic value only but they make some workers feel better'. The man who carried out respirator maintenance told me that he had not replaced a filter in the two years he had been doing the work.

"There is certainly no provision for showers and a complete change of clothing on leaving the work area.

"Dust measuring equipment in a side room in which equipment was stored, off the production area, registered a background dust level of 0.9 fibres c.c. - which is far in excess of the 0.2 fibres c.c. now recommended by the TUC. Measurements in work areas are higher."

Save Spodden Valley campaign spokesman Jason Addy said that this and other similar documents are vital to the current situation in the valley, which has seen a planning application submitted for several hundred homes to be built on the site that is yet to be decided by Rochdale Council.

"The account does not sound like the model factory that followed all Regulations to the letter as suggested by the T&N press office," said Mr Addy.

"Such documents remain invaluable today - especially regarding a planning application where contamination is a key issue. 

"Anyone wishing to downplay the potential problems of the site could suggest T&N was a model company and that problems with asbestos fibre release was not a problem by the 1970s. If those with responsibilities, influence and knowledge back then maintain the view today that T&N was a good company that did all it could to be at the forefront of health and safety, then this is a dangerous disservice to today's citizens.

"The T&N company documents that are now emerging is putting a lie to the suggestion that this was a clean, 'model' factory that, by inferrence, would make an appropriate site for 600 homes and a children's nursery."