SIR – Christmas is a time when we need to think of others, and the UK Asbestos Training Association (UKATA) would like to urge everyone from builders to school teachers to have a happy and healthy New Year by being aware of the danger of deadly asbestos still in our midst.
Diseases relating to asbestos can take 20 years to develop, and there is no cure. More than 4,500 people die every year as a result of breathing in asbestos fibres, and this hidden killer remains the biggest single cause of work-related deaths in the UK.
More than 75 per cent of schools may contain asbestos and more than 140 teachers have died from mesothelioma (a cancer caused by asbestos exposure) in the last ten years, plus an unknown number of cleaners, dinner ladies and in some cases workers who have unwittingly taken on the job of removal without adequate training.
The Health and Safety Executive launches a new initiative highlighting the danger of asbestos in the new year.
The UKATA website ukata.org.uk and the HSE website hse.gov.uk/asbestos are good sources of advice.
David Nichol, UKATA Vice-Chairman
Comments: Our rules
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
Read the rules hereComments are closed on this article