Case Studies

The Health risks from Asbestos were identified by Plingy the elder around 2000 years ago when he recorded that people working with asbestos died much younger than other workers.In the uk they have been well know since the 1930's and as more research is carried out the range of diseases increases.

Around 4000 people a year die of asbestos related diseases, thats 1 every 2.5 hours of every day.

In a recent paper by Professor Julian Peto of Oxford University, the predictions for 2025 are 16,000 per annum.

Asbestos related deaths

Case 1

A 35 year old man died of Mesothelioma, the youngest recorded death from this disease. When he was a baby his father would come in from work and pick up the boy and play with him. His father was wearing his work clothes and he worked in a power station.

Case 2

A headteacher in a Carlisle school, died on christmas day 2005 of mesothelioma. He had been a teacher all of his working life.

There are many thousands of cases of people with direct or  indirect contact with asbestos from all walks of life but the majority come from the building trades.

Companies in Court.

Cases of companies being prosecuted are on the increase and it is interesting to note that a number of these cannot use ignorance as an excuse as they have already acknowledge that Asbestos is a problem.

Case 1

Dean Entertainments Ltd of Kirkcaldy were fined £28,000 and a Director was fined £7,000 on the 9th December 2008. The allowed 15 tradesmen to be exposed to airborne asbestos fibres during a major refurbishment of a former Ballroom nightclub.

Case 2

Westpoint Schoolcare Ltd of Manchester were fined in February 2009, £1000 with costs of £515. Despite being given information about asbestos ceiling tiles in a school. They failed to properly assess whether asbestos was present and also failed to take steps to prevent employees being exposed to asbestos dust. they also undertook licensable work without holding a licence.

Case3

Two companies in Essex R Maskell Ltd & LCH Contracts Ltd were each fined in August 2008, £150,000 and £70,000 respectively with costs of £70,000 and £13821 respectively for allowing workers in their employment to become exposed to asbestos containing materials and not carrying out asbestos removal works in a safe mannerwhilst refurbishing St Francis Tower in Ipswich

Case 4

Scriven Electrical Contractors were fined in January 2009 £3000 +£2757 costs for failing to give asbestos awareness training to an employee prior to starting work in an are they knew contained Asbestos.