Asbestos the hidden killer

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Asbestos the hidden killer
Sarah Brown
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What is asbestos?

• Asbestos is a naturally occurring mineral
• Three most common found forms
• crocidolite (blue asbestos)
• amosite (brown asbestos)
• chrysotile (white asbestos).
• Has been used in many ways
• fire proofing
• insulation
• But can be deadly if fibres are inhaled

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Asbestos is still a problem

• Why is reduction of ill-health arising from
  exposure to asbestos important?
• Asbestos is the most serious work-related health
  problem in UK
• Over 4,000 deaths last year from asbestos related
  diseases (mesothelioma, lung cancer, asbestosis)
• Numbers of deaths each year still rising -
  expected to peak to around 5,000 between 2010-15

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Need for Asbestos Campaign

• The number of deaths from workers in
  traditional industries such as shipbuilding,
  asbestos product manufacturing, metal plate
  workers etc. has reached a plateau
• The numbers of deaths in trades such as plumbers,
  heating ventilation engineers, joiners
  electricians continue to rise

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Need for Asbestos Campaign

• Why the need for an asbestos campaign?
• Around 500,000 non-domestic buildings still
  contain asbestos
• Any building built or refurbished before 2000
  could contain asbestos
• This means that building repair and maintenance
  tradesmen (e.g. plumbers, electricians,
  carpenters) are still at risk of exposure as they
  still undertake the same sort of work (drilling,
  cutting etc)
• 1000 (25) of the 4000 now dying each year were
  such tradesmen

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Where would I find it?
Asbestos fire blanket
AIB Ceiling tiles
Asbestos insulating board (AIB)
Asbestos rope insulating a pipe
Asbestos cement roof
Asbestos containing vinyl floor tiles
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Who are the people at risk?

• Plasterers
• Gas fitters
• Cable layers
• Demolition workers
• Painters and decorators
• Fire and burglar alarm installers

• Carpenters and joiners
• Heating and ventilation engineers
• Electricians
• Plumbers
• Roofing contractors
• Maintenance staff

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Asbestos Campaign Research

• HSE carried out research into attitudes of
  tradesmen of the risks they ran when working with
  asbestos
• This found that they
• Did not consider asbestos to be relevant or
  immediate to them as individuals
• Were not aware that asbestos might be present in
  buildings where they worked

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October Asbestos Campaign

• Campaign Launch 13 October 2008 6 weeks
• Key campaign messages
• Protect yourself against the hidden killer, work
  safely if asbestos is present
• 3 plumbers, 6 electricians, 6 joiners, 20
  tradesmen die every week from this hidden killer!
• Any building built or refurbished before 2000
  could contain asbestos!
• Dont you owe it to your workmates and your
  family to protect yourself?

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Partner Organisations

• TUC Trade Unions (eg. Unite, GMB, UCATT)
• Trade Associations (eg. ECA, IPHEE)
• Stores and Hire shops (eg. Wolseley group,
  Jewsons, Screwfix, BQ)
• Charities (British Lung Foundation)
• Asbestos Victim Support Groups
• Local Authorities

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Media activity

• Press adverts 4 press adverts depicting
  tradesmen at work
• Sun, Mirror, Express, Star and Daily Record
• Radio adverts 3 adverts depicting tradesmen at
  work, one advert with a woman talking about her
  partners work
• Weekday radio slots nationally

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Website

• This is the homepage for the campaign microsite

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Website What does it hide?
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Website Asbestovision!
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Website myth buster!

• There are five questions testing basic knowledge

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Regional PR

• 54 radio pieces
• 102 print pieces

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Case-studies

• Case studies publicised (via press/radio
  interviews) the experiences of victims of
  asbestos related disease to
• Illustrate terrible consequences on peoples
  lives resulting from exposure to asbestos and
• Give weight to messages about the risks of
  working with asbestos and the need for tradesmen
  to protect themselves.

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Case-study Steve Buckley

• Story told by Angie Buckley
• Maintenance worker for a chemical company
• Stripping lagged pipes
• Fit and healthy man
• If he had known how dangerous asbestos was he
  wouldnt ever have agreed to work without any
  proper protection.

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Case-studies Steve Buckley
Steven John Buckley died on 7 October 2006, aged
52
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• Future Work.
• Manage buildings?
• You must manage asbestos

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Managing Asbestos

• Non-domestic buildings
• The risk from asbestos has to be managed
• Identify if asbestos is present (or presume it is
  there)
• Assess the risks of exposure
• Keep a written record or register
• Act on the findings
• Tell people where the asbestos is

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Further information

• HSEs asbestos web pages at www.hse.gov.uk/hiddenk
  iller
• Asbestos essentials gives guidance on
  non-licensed work download it from the asbestos
  web pages at www.hse.gov.uk/asbestos
• Full details of the Control of Asbestos
  Regulations 2006 are available on
  www.hse.gov.uk/asbestos/regulations.htm
• HSEs Infoline Tel [phone] Textphone 0845
  408 9577 e-mail hse.infoline_at_natbrit.com