Celebrities and Peoples opinion and comment on Asbestos Lung Cancer

Former England footballer Ian Wright is
supporting a campaign to reduce the rising
number of deaths from asbestos-related
disease.
The Health and Safety Executive's (HSE's)
campaign, Asbestos: The Hidden Killer, has
revealed that 20 tradesmen a week in the UK
die from asbestos damage to their lungs.
Workers are still being exposed to the
substance even though it's been banned.
Exposure to asbestos is the biggest single
cause of work-related deaths in the UK.
Around 4,000 people a year die from
asbestos-related disease. These diseases
include mesothelioma, a type of cancer that
affects the membrane around the lung, and
the same type of lung cancer associated with
smoking.
Many of these deaths are among tradesmen,
such as electricians, builders, plasterers and
plumbers. The death rate among this group is
increasing.
"When I was told that 20 workmen are dying
each week in the UK from asbestos-related
diseases, I was staggered," says Ian.
"It really hit home, as I used to work in the
building trade as a plasterer before my
football career took off. If there were 20
premiership players dying each week, we
would have no league in just three months."
The asbestos risk
According to the HSE, many workers,
particularly tradesmen, assume they're not at
risk because asbestos was banned many
years ago. However, as asbestos remains in
many buildings it is still a risk to workers,
even today.
Asbestos is likely to be present in any
building constructed or refurbished before the
year 2000. An estimated half a million
buildings contain it.
If a building containing asbestos is repaired
or maintained and the asbestos fibres are
disturbed, for instance, by drilling or cutting,
they can easily be inhaled as a deadly dust.
"We need to educate tradesmen about how
asbestos and its dangers are relevant to
them. We want them to change the way they
work so that they don't put their lives at risk,"
says Steve Coldrick, director of the HSE's
Disease Reduction Programme.
Mesothelioma: Tom's story
Tom King, 64, developed mesothelioma after
exposure to asbestos in his job as a
carpenter.
He renovated domestic houses, which
involved knocking ceilings and walls down to
convert houses into flats. He removed any
asbestos found during the work and threw it
into skips for removal. He had no training on
how to handle it.
"I wasn't aware of the danger of asbestos,"
says Tom. "If I'd known about it, I would have
put a mask on or I would have refused to
handle it."
After experiencing chest pains and
breathlessness in 2006, he went to visit his
doctor, who referred him for a chest X-ray
and other lung tests. Tom was diagnosed with
mesothelioma.
There is no cure for the asbestos-related
cancer, mesothelioma. However, treatments
including chemotherapy, radiotherapy and
surgery can prolong life and improve
symptoms.
How to protect yourself from asbestos
If you think you might be exposed to asbestos
in your work, or you want to find out more,
phone the HSE's asbestos helpline on 0845
345 0055, or visit www.hse.gov.uk/
hiddenkiller for a free information pack. The
pack has facts about the dangers of asbestos.
It explains where asbestos-containing
materials are likely to be present in buildings,
what they look like and how to deal with
them.
HSE has the following advice to workers who
may be exposed to asbestos:
Avoid working with asbestos wherever
possible. If you're not sure whether
asbestos is present, don't start work. Your
boss or the customer should tell you
whether or not asbestos is present.
Don't work if the asbestos material present
is a sprayed coating, board, or lagging on
pipes and boilers. Only a licensed
contractor should work on these. You can't
work with some kinds of asbestos as
they're too dangerous.
Where asbestos is present, you can only
continue to work if you've had asbestos
training and you're using the right
equipment.
To minimise asbestos dust, use hand tools
instead of power tools, and keep materials
damp but not wet. Clean up as you go,
using a special (class H) vacuum cleaner
(not a brush). Double-bag asbestos waste
and label the bags properly.
When working with asbestos, always wear
a proper mask. Ordinary dust masks are
not effective.