2009-06-01T00:28:00.001-07:00

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Scotland to introduce new asbestos law in June

2009-05-22T02:21:00.000-07:00

May 5, 2009
People suffering from pleural plaques after being exposed to asbestos will be able to seek redress in Scotland from June 17th, it has been revealed.

In news which may interest those considering asbestos training, community safety minister Fergus Ewing noted that the Damages (Asbestos-related Conditions) (Scotland) Act was given Royal Assent and will come into force over the summer.

Commenting on the development, Mr Ewing said that asbestos has long been know to be a deadly substance, although some employers failed to put the appropriate protective measures in place.

He explained: "The implementation of this legislation will ensure recognition, compensation and justice are not denied to those of our fellow citizens who, through no fault of their own, have sustained an asymptomatic asbestos-related injury."

The minister also pointed out that there was "overwhelming support" for the Scottish parliament's decision to over-rule the House of Lords judgement to exempt people with pleural plaques from asbestos compensation.

Last week, the Health and Safety Executive revealed it will join forces with industry partners to hold asbestos training events for small construction businesses in South Yorkshire and the Humber.

ASBESTOS

2009-04-10T07:05:00.000-07:00

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Who found Asbestos?

We dont realy know who found Asbestos but we do know that it was named by the ancient greeks, although the naming of minerals was not very consistant yet at the time (it should be noted that the modern greek word stands for lime not the material known as Asbestos in English).The ancients already recognized certain hazards of the material. The Greek geographer Strabo and the Roman naturalist Pliny the Elder noted that the material damaged lungs of slaves who wove it into cloth. Charlemagne, the first Holy Roman Emperor, is said to have had a tablecloth made of asbestos.

What is Asbestos?

Asbestos is a naturally occurring silicate mineral with long, thin fibrous crystals. The word asbestos is derived from a Greek adjective meaning inextinguishable. The Greeks termed asbestos the miracle mineral because of its soft and pliant properties, as well as its ability to withstand heat.
Asbestos is known to have toxicity. The inhalation of toxic asbestos fibers can cause serious illnesses, including malignant mesothelioma, lung cancer, and asbestosis (also called pneumoconiosis). Since the mid 1980s, many uses of asbestos have been banned in several countries.
Asbestos became increasingly popular among manufacturers and builders in the late 19th century because of its resistance to heat, electricity and chemical damage, its sound absorption and tensile strength. When asbestos is used for its resistance to fire or heat, the fibers are often mixed with cement or woven into fabric or mats. Asbestos was used in some products for its heat resistance, and in the past was used on electric oven and hotplate wiring for its electrical insulation at elevated temperature, and in buildings for its flame-retardant and insulating properties, tensile strength, flexibility, and resistance to chemicals.

Where is Asbestos found?

Asbesto has been found everywhere starting with babys talcs an crayons up to office blocks in new York and even oil rigs out in the sea.Asbestos has been used in hundreds of products and applications in the last 4000/5000 years. Right up until the 1980s, it was used for insulating office blocks an buildings, public buildings like schools where it would be put into the walls, wrapped around hot water pipes an lagged onto the boiler. Asbestos has also been widely used in transportation and electrical appliances, frequently mixed with, and encased in, other materials. Asbestos has also been found in many products around the house. It has been used in clapboard; shingles and felt for roofing; exterior siding; pipe and boiler covering; compounds and cement, such as caulk, putty, roof patching, furnace cement and driveway coating; wallboard; textured and latex paints; acoustical ceiling tiles and plaster; vinyl floor tiles; appliance wiring; hair dryers; irons and ironing board pads; flame-resistant aprons and electric blankets; and clay pottery. Loose-fill vermiculite insulation may contain traces of “amphibole” asbestos.

When was Asbestos banned in the uk?

The UK's asbestos century ended on August 24, 1999, one month after the European Union (EU) banned chrysotile. The Asbestos (Prohibitions) (Amendment) Regulations 1999, signed by Deputy Prime Minister Prescott, came into force on November 24, 1999 five years ahead of the European deadline. Chrysotile had been the only type of asbestos permitted in the UK since amosite and crocidolite were banned in 1985. Statutory Instrument No. 2373 forbids the import of crude fiber, flake, powder or waste chrysotile and the new use of asbestos cement, boards, panels, tiles and other products. Chrysotile-containing products installed prior to November 24, 1999 can remain in place until they reach the end of their service life. The sale of second-hand asbestos cement products and building materials covered with asbestos-containing coatings is forbidden. Two pages of time-limited derogations apply to specialist items such as "diaphragms in electrolytic cells in existing electrolysis plants for chloralkali manufacture," and "split face seals of at least 150 millimetres in diameter used to prevent leakage of water from hydro-electric power generation turbines..." The residual problem of brake linings was dealt with in a complementary piece of national legislation that implemented European Commission Directive 98/12/EC. Laid under the Consumer Protection Act, the Road Vehicles (Brake Linings Safety) Regulations 1999 prohibited "the supply, exposure for supply or fitting to a motor vehicle or trailer of brake linings containing asbestos" as of October 1, 1999.
While the chrysotile prohibitions were expected, their arrival during the dog days of the Summer parliamentary recess was surprising. Perhaps Ministers believed vacationing representatives of the asbestos industry and producer governments would remain unaware of the new legislation. The low-key announcement was understandable in light of the industry's increasingly desperate attempts to counter growing anti-asbestos sentiment. Diplomatic threats and sabre-rattling had delayed UK legislation for two years. When Labour first came to power, Prime Minister Blair expressed his determination to "deal effectively with the problems of asbestos." Environment Minister Angela Eagle told the House of Commons that "a mechanism for introducing a domestic ban on the import, supply and use of asbestos" was being investigated. In the weeks and months that followed, it became clear that more cautionary counsels had prevailed. A year after her first statement, Eagle commented: "Any decision by the UK Government to proceed with further restrictions on the importation, supply and use of chrysotile will be based on robust scientific evidence, thereby fulfilling obligations under World Trade Agreements." The reason for the deceleration was simple: on May 28, 1998 the Government of Canada lodged a request with the World Trade Organization (WTO) for consultations with the European Commission "concerning certain measures taken by France for the prohibition of asbestos and products containing asbestos." Should the UK follow the French lead, it might well receive similar attention. A decision was taken to adopt a more circuitous strategy: a UK ban would be pursued under the protective cover of European mobilization. Health and Safety Executive (HSE) personnel worked closely with their counterparts at Directorate General (DG) III of the European Commission. In 1997, a senior HSE official had been seconded to DGIII to work on the draft legislation. In response to an EU appeal for information, the HSE commissioned a report entitled Chrysotile and Its Substitutes: A Critical Evaluation for submission to the Scientific Committee on Toxicity, Ecotoxicity and the Environment. Statements by government spokesmen emphasized the importance of the HSE's input into the consultation and decision-making process. Sir Frank Davies, Chairman of the Health and Safety Commission, said: "We have worked long and hard to secure a ban for the good of Europe as a whole, taking a leading role in helping to establish a solid scientific foundation for it." John Prescott believes that the UK "played a leading role in securing sound science around the safety of alternatives, without which there most probably would have been no ban."

BLF survey reveals alarming ignorance of asbestos risk amongst tradespeople
22/02/08

Tradespeople are putting themselves at risk of an incurable cancer because they don’t know enough about asbestos, says the British Lung Foundation. Asbestos causes a chest cancer called mesothelioma, which kills one person every five hours in the UK. Tradespeople such as builders, plumbers, carpenters, electricians and gas fitters are most at risk of getting this cruel disease.
A survey carried out by the British Lung Foundation ahead of Action Mesothelioma Day on February 27th reveals that:
Less than a third of tradespeople are aware asbestos exposure can cause cancer
Only 12% of tradespeople know asbestos exposure can kill them
Nearly a third (30%) wrongly believe most asbestos has been removed from UK buildings
Three quarters (74%) have had no training in how to deal with asbestos
DIY expert and TV presenter Craig Phillips, winner of Big Brother 1, is supporting the British Lung Foundation’s call for tradespeople to ‘Be Asbestos Aware’. His uncle Gordon has an asbestos-related lung disease, which has had a debilitating impact on his life.
Twenty tradespeople die of asbestos-related diseases every week and asbestos exposure is Britain’s biggest workplace killer. Mesothelioma develops between 15 and 60 years after exposure to asbestos and the UK will soon face an epidemic of the disease as cases are set to peak between 2011 and 2015.
“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,” says Dame Helena Shovelton, Chief Executive of the British Lung Foundation. “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.”

Craig Phillips says: “I am supporting the British Lung Foundation’s campaign because I have seen first hand what asbestos can do and I don’t want anyone else to suffer as my uncle has. I am urging tradespeople to make sure they are asbestos aware and to always stop working and get advice if they think asbestos could be present on their job.”
Craig is currently on our screens on ITV’s Sixty Minute Makeover programme. “Whether you’re sixteen or sixty you’re at risk of asbestos and I think it’s really important that asbestos training becomes a higher priority,” he says.

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Be Asbestos AWARE!!!!!!!!!!

Scotland to introduce new asbestos law in June

ASBESTOS