East London tops the table for Asbestos deaths in London

East London has the worst mortality rate in London for asbestos related disease. Between 1981 and 2005 there were a total of 2663 asbestos-related deaths of men in London - 193 of these deaths occurred in Havering, the highest number for a London borough, closely followed by Barking and Dagenham, the borough with highest overall mortality from asbestos, with 187 deaths. In the same period, there were 120 deaths in Redbridge, ranking it seventh for overall deaths in London.

To tackle the rising death rate from asbestos-related diseases, the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) has launched a campaign, Asbestos: The Hidden Killer, which is running throughout October and November 2008 to educate today's tradesmen about the danger that asbestos presents to them.

Figures issued by the Health and Safety Executive have revealed that every week, 20 tradesmen die from asbestos-related diseases, and this number is set to increase.

Steve Coldrick, Disease Reduction Director at the HSE explained why a major campaign has been launched to raise awareness of the real risk that tradesmen face, "Exposure to asbestos is the biggest single cause of work-related deaths, with around 4,000 people a year dying from asbestos-related disease. The overall number of deaths is rising because a large number of workers who have already been exposed to asbestos dust around 40 years ago will go on to develop mesothelioma, a terminal cancer or other asbestos related diseases."

Dagenham & Redbridge FC are lending their support to the campaign by hosting a media opportunity at their ground in Dagenham with HSE Inspector Ron Wright and John Towersey, an active member of the Barking and Dagenham Asbestos Victims Support Group, who also suffers from mesothelioma, a fatal cancer which is caused by exposure to asbestos fibres.

John Towersey, a 60 year old carpenter and father of three, was diagnosed with mesothelioma five years ago., and now plays a huge role in the Barking and Dagenham Support Group for fellow mesothelioma sufferers, providing advice, information and support.

John has strong feelings about the subject and his message to joiners and tradespeople is clear; "The issue of asbestos did not disappear when the substance was banned. Don't you owe it to your workmates, your family and yourself to find out more?"

Even today asbestos presents a real and relevant risk to plumbers, joiners, electricians and many other maintenance workers. Asbestos may be present in any building constructed or refurbished before the year 2000, and it is estimated that around 500,000 non-domestic buildings could contain asbestos. These buildings all need repair and maintenance work from time to time and when the asbestos fibres are disturbed e.g. by drilling or cutting, they are likely to be inhaled as a deadly dust.

1,000 (25%) of the 4,000 now dying each year are tradesmen and while the number of deaths in traditional industries has plateaued, deaths in trades continue to rise.

Jill Morrell, Head of Public Affairs at the British Lung Foundation said, "Sadly, for many who have been exposed to asbestos dust it's too late - asbestos-related diseases have a long latency and therefore creating awareness for the future is very important."

For Mesothelioma Mortality figures in Great Britain from 1981-2005 and other details, please click here.

Tradesmen can get a free asbestos information pack by calling 0845 345 0055 or by visiting http://www.hse.gov.uk/hiddenkiller for further information. The free information pack provides information on the dangers of asbestos, highlighting where asbestos-containing materials may be present in buildings, what they look like, how they should be dealt with and where to find training.

For further information please contact: Nick Mann, COI News and PR, 020 7261 8395 Irfan Ahmed, COI News and PR, 0207261 8872

HSE's Infoline Tel: 0845 345 0055 Textphone: 0845 408 9577 e-mail: hse.infoline@natbrit.comThis e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it

Issued on behalf of the Health and Safety Executive by COI News and PR London

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Article by marin2008