In a bizarre twist, recent news reports tell the story of a plumber who was a ‘witness’ at his own inquest. Retired plumber, Sidney Roper of Darley Abbey, a village on the outskirts of Derbyshire was diagnosed with asbestosis, a fatal condition that affects the lungs. The 81 year old was pursuing a compensation claim when he developed bronchopneumonia and died two weeks later.
With asbestos in the news on a regular basis here in the UK, we’re starting a new, regular news roundup blog for asbestos. Once a month, one of our blog posts will focus on some of the news stories coming out that deal with asbestos. This is our second news roundup and, again, it would be interesting to know what you, the readers, think of the stories that feature here. Please join in by adding your comments below the regular news roundup postings.
Here in the UK we’re lucky enough to have fairly stringent asbestos laws nowadays. While in the past asbestos was used in proliferation, especially in the construction industry, the Control of Asbestos Regulations 2006 brought together several pieces of asbestos regulation in order to place a greater emphasis on training and increase the restrictions on the amount of exposure workers could be exposed to in the form of control limits.
Social housing is a umbrella term that refers to rental housing that is owned and managed by the state, by non profit organisations or a combination of the two in order to provide low cost housing for people in need of a home who either cannot, or choose not to, secure a mortgage and do not want to rent property on the private rental market.
Asbestos needs dealing with – it’s something we’ve learned (many of us to our cost) over the past 30 years or so. Back in the late 19th and early 20th Centuries asbestos was deemed the ideal material for use in construction projects because of its fire retardant properties. It is also inexpensive and easy to use and has a high level of electrical resistance.
There was welcome news last week for victims of asbestos related mesothelioma in the UK – the government has increased the packages available for those who are unable to trace a liable former employer or an employer’s liability insurer from the £115,000 debated in the House of Commons in January. This means that sufferers of the disease could be looking at compensation payouts averaging £123,000, ending years of injustice for around 3,500 victims and their families. This will enable them to apply for compensation from a pot of £380 million from next month.
With asbestos in the news on a regular basis here in the UK, we’re starting a new, regular news roundup blog for asbestos. Once a month, one of our blog posts will focus on some of the news stories coming out that deal with asbestos. This is our first news roundup and it would be interesting to know what you, the readers, think of the stories that feature here. Please join in by adding your comments below the regular news roundup postings.
Asbestos disposal is big business in the UK nowadays as we strive to get rid of the asbestos that exists in buildings constructed before the total ban on the substance in 1999. Asbestos waste is not accepted at most of the local authority recycling centres in the UK and removal of asbestos waste should really be left to the professionals who are fully equipped and trained to handle this dangerous substance. Some local authority waste disposal sites will accept private asbestos wa
Reports late last year revealed that researchers at the University of Hertfordshire have developed a new tool that can detect airborne asbestos on any worksite in real time without the need to send off samples to a laboratory for analysis. This is good news for the construction industry and contractors all over the UK as the dangers of asbestos are still very real, despite the all out ban on asbestos use in the UK in 1999.