New asbestos eradication law proposed

Poster raising awareness of the hidden danger of asbestos in the workplace

A new law to remove asbestos from workplaces, public buildings and homes in Britain has been proposed. The proposals, contained in a new report, 'The asbestos crisis – Why Britain needs an eradication law', have been published by the All-Party Group on Occupational Safety and Health.

This country has an appalling legacy of asbestos-related diseases because of the widespread use of asbestos in construction and heavy industry in the post-war years. Britain has the highest mortality rates for mesothelioma, a fatal asbestos-related cancer, in the world. More than 2,500 people died in Britain in each of the last two years, with a similar number estimated to have died from asbestos-related lung cancer and asbestosis. Asbestos is responsible for three times as many deaths as road traffic accidents each year.

Although the import and use of asbestos in Britain was finally, and belatedly, banned in 1999, most of it is still embedded in the fabric of many of our homes, workplaces and public buildings, including schools and hospitals.

Jason Addy, of the Save Spoden Valley campign group, commented: "The ongoing epidemic of asbestos cancer deaths is testament to the need to ensure that future generations do not come into direct contact with this deadly mineral.

"Now that all forms of asbestos is banned from being imported or processed in the uk then the main danger comes from the toxic legacy of previous asbestos use.

"The HSE estimate that hundreds of thousands of public buildings still contain asbestos in the UK. Add to this the complex risks associated with asbestos contamination in soil and we have the ingredients for an environmental hazard that could be underestimated by policy makers or avoided by property speculators.

"We have worked with the All Party subcommittee for over 10 years on these issues to highlight the Spodden Valley [site of the world's largest asbestos factory] as a site of international significance. We welcome this report."

Hilda Palmer, acting chairwoman of the Hazards Campaign, said: “Asbestos is not a problem of the past, but a very real and present risk to many workers. There are still millions of tonnes in about half a million workplaces and public buildings – schools, hospitals- across the UK. Some of it in a poor state, poorly managed and shedding microscopic asbestos fibres into the air that people then breathe. All types of asbestos are carcinogenic and exposure to asbestos at work continues to cause over 5,000 deaths every year from mesothelioma and lung cancer. Over 15 years after the use of asbestos was banned, hundreds of thousands of workers, and children in schools and other public buildings, are still at risk of exposure every day.

“The Hazards Campaign wholeheartedly supports and endorses the proposal from the all-party group for the safe removal and disposal of asbestos from all workplaces and public buildings. Beginning the removal of the carcinogenic hazard of asbestos from our buildings now, is the only way of ensuring the protection of future generations from the risk of a known and preventable cause of death.

“Failure of government to act now will be knowingly condemning future generations to death.”

Graham Dring, Chairman of the Asbestos Victims Support Groups’ Forum UK said: “Such a law is essential if we are to put an end to the ongoing tragedy of needless asbestos-related deaths, and the heartbreak this causes for those left behind.

"Support Groups around the country are dealing with the legacy of disease caused by exposure to asbestos decades ago, but we are also seeing increasing numbers of people who did not work directly with asbestos but have contracted diseases because asbestos was in the building where they worked.

"Unfortunately, you cannot guarantee asbestos will remain undisturbed and that buildings will remain in good repair. The only sure way to prevent exposure in the future is to get it removed. We don’t expect this to happen overnight. The Government needs to start now to plan and set targets for phased, safe removal.

"Asbestos victims were badly let down in the past by the failure to ban asbestos until decades after the dangers were first known. We owe it to future generations to stop the epidemic of asbestos diseases by removing the root cause from our workplaces, public buildings and homes.”