Asbestos, the hidden killer

Asbestos is the primary cause of work-related cancer.

Asbestos news from Wales

Mick Antoniw AM has tabled a motion for leave to bring the following Bill: Asbestos (Recovery of Medical Costs) Bill 2012. Click here for more. 

 

Did you know that every week...

It is now illegal to use asbestos in the construction or refurbishment of buildings, but the Health and Safety Executive estimates that 500,000 non-domestic buildings in the UK still contain asbestos. 

You may be at risk of exposure to asbestos and/or you may be a manager with responsibilities competently to manage asbestos. If so, you should read Prospect Members' Factcard 6 [for hard copies, please make your request to SafetyReps@prospect.org.uk].

Help in an asbestos emergency

Inadvertent exposure:

• for health risks, click here 
• what should I do? click here for info 

If your employer is failing to find out why an inadvertent exposure occurred, or what action it needs to take to prevent a recurrence, your H&S Rep may need to contact your Branch Chair or your Prospect Negotiator for support. Don't hesitate. If the negotiator requires specialist support, it is available from HQ and we can respond very quickly.

Asbestos info

HSE provides an enormous suite of information, advice and interactive tools at its excellent webpages. Reps will find the interactive asbestos management tools particularly valuable as they help assess danger.

• HSE's asbestos home page: www.hse.gov.uk/asbestos/index.htm
• Hidden killer - HSE's asbestos campaign: www.hse.gov.uk/asbestos/campaign/index.htm
• Guidance for H&S reps: www.hse.gov.uk/asbestos/repsguide.pdf

Pleural plaques

It is not possible to claim compensation for pleural plaques in England and Wales. However, in Scotland, The Damages (Asbestos-Related Conditions) (Scotland) Bill enables victims to continue to claim compensation through the courts for pleural plaques, pleural thickening and asbestos-related conditions.

Situation in England & Wales: On 25 February 2010 the government said it would not overturn the October 2007 House of Lords ruling regarding pleural plaques compensation claims, although if new medical or other significant evidence were to emerge, it would reassess this situation.

The government has however agreed to offer an extra-statutory payment of £5,000 for people with pleural plaques who had begun compensation claim cases before the Law Lords' ruling in October 2007 which effectively said that, even though caused by exposure to asbestos, pleural plaques is not a condition that sufferers are entitled to claim compensation for.

Asbestos campaigning

The All Party Parliamentary Group (APPG) Asbestos sub-committee met on 14 March 2012 and discussed the following:

• Asbestos in schools. The Asbestos in Schools (AiS) Campaign thanked the APPG for its booklet on asbestos in schools and also Ian Lavery MP for leading the Parliamentary debate. The APPG strongly supports the aims of the AiS and intend to continue raising the issue in Parliament, including tabling parliamentary questions. The APPG is committed to the inquiry into asbestos in schools and will be discussing the practical issues about setting it up with the AiS.
• HSE Asbestos campaign. The Minister has agreed in principle that the campaign will continue, however the scale will depend on what funds are available. If approval is given for HSE charging for enforcement action then it is estimated that £30-40m per annum could be raised, in which case there will be a detailed campaign. Conversely if the funding is not available then the campaign will not be detailed.
• Legal Aid Sentencing and Prosecution of Offenders (LASPO) Bill. Members of the House of Lords have put up strong opposition to a number of clauses in the Bill and have argued that respiratory cases, including asbestos cases, should be excluded. If the Bill passes into law without change then it will be more difficult for asbestos victims to seek justice; for trade unions to support individual victims; for the Asbestos Victims Forum to carry out their work; and for more complex cases to be brought. Any award of compensation will be reduced.   
• 'Trigger' case - Victory announced 31March 2012: "The Supreme Court upheld Unite’s appeal and rejected arguments by insurance companies that in some cases employers’ liability insurance is ‘triggered’ not by the exposure to asbestos but by the development of the disease which is always decades later when there is no insurance in place to respond to the claim. This would have denied compensation to victims of the terminal disease mesothelioma". See Risks 549  

Asbestos register: tell Prospect if you've worked with asbestos

Prospect pursues compensation claims for asbestos-related illness every year. We sometimes need help from members' former colleagues to help prove that asbestos is involved. But many sufferers have lost touch with former colleagues by the time their condition comes to light.

So we have set up a register to record details of members' workplace exposure to asbestos. So far, more than 1250 people have volunteered this information. The register is held by our solicitors Russell Jones & Walker (RJW).

If you have worked with asbestos, please add your details to the register. The register will be used if you ever need to make a claim on your own behalf, or to help pursue claims on behalf of your colleagues or former colleagues.

RJW will search the register for witnesses who worked for the same employer or in the same workplace amnd so provide evidence in support of members' claims. This will help them succeed in claims for Prospect members or their bereaved families and can bring financial peace of mind and justice to those affected by asbestos diseases.

Download our asbestos register leaflet for more information. To register, contact asbestos@prospect.org.uk, or download the PDF version of our asbestos registration form.

If you are suffering from an asbestos-related disease and want to submit a claim for compensation, you can find more information in the 'legal services' area of our site.

Members - you will need to log in before you can download the asbestos register form.