Asbestos Management News Round up July 2005 from Thames Laboratories
UK asbestos consultancy Thames Laboratories has published its latest round up of news, developments and prosecutions relating to asbestos management.
(PRWEB) July 28, 2005
UK asbestos consultancy Thames Laboratories has published its latest round up of news, developments and prosecutions relating to asbestos management. Key asbestos-related stories are as follows:
Huntsman and Patrick B Doyle Ltd have been fined a combined total of £48,000 after workers were exposed to asbestos fibres during refurbishment work. HSE investigating inspector Stephen Manley commented: "This case highlights the duty of both contractors and clients to manage asbestos in the workplace. Around 25% of the 3,500 deaths from asbestos-related diseases each year involve those who once worked in the building and maintenance trades.”
Asbestos has hit the headlines in a big way in recent weeks in Japan, after revelations that hundreds of workers have died from asbestos-related diseases. More than twenty companies have now announced their asbestos death toll from recent decades, after the Japan Asbestos Association asked all 24 member companies to investigate past health problems.
The co-author of the proposed US asbestos fund, Senator Arlen Specter, now expects the controversial legislation to come before the Senate after the August recess. Specter did re-assure the public that the Bill would "definitely" appear.
A former glassblower is suing EMI Group plc for up to £250,000, claiming that he contracted mesothelioma from exposure to asbestos during his employment at the music giant.
Construction contractor Craftpride Ltd has been fined £5,000 under the Control of Asbestos at Work Regulations 2002 for failing to prevent the spread of asbestos during the conversion of a shop to a restaurant. In a separate case, building contractor Christopher Glyn Jones has been fined £1,500 after breaking up a domestic cold water tank, resulting in the release of asbestos fibres.
Full details of all these stories can be found on the Thames Laboratories website at http://www. thameslabs. co. uk/news. php (http://www. thameslabs. co. uk/news. php)
Thames Laboratories publishes a free PDF report – Managing Asbestos: report for property owner and managers – which covers the historical usage and processing of asbestos, asbestos production (including sprayed asbestos, thermal insulation, asbestos insulating board, and asbestos cement), asbestos hazards (including asbestosis, lung cancer, mesothelioma and pleural plaques), and the implications of asbestos legislation. The report can be downloaded from http://www. thameslabs. co. uk/asbestosinfo. php (http://www. thameslabs. co. uk/asbestosinfo. php)
Notes to Editors:
1. Thames Laboratories is a leading consultancy providing asbestos solutions for industrial, commercial and residential properties throughout the UK. TL offers a complete asbestos solution, from risk assessment and surveys through to management plans, testing and analysis, monitoring, remediation and abatement, and staff training. TL specialises in helping property owners/managers to comply with the Control of Asbestos at Work Regulations 2002, and is accredited by UKAS to carry out asbestos surveys, testing and monitoring under ISO 17020 and ISO 17025.
2. TL technical director John Richards has more than 20 yearsÂ’ professional experience in asbestos management, and is an internationally recognised figure in the asbestos abatement sector: John sits on the RICS asbestos working group, and is currently the chair of ATAC (a division of the Asbestos Removal Contractors Association). John is available for interview or comment about any aspect of asbestos management. Please contact Ciaron Dunne, tel. 07984 424421.
3. Contact details:
Thames Laboratories
The Granary
Brook Farm
Thrapston Road
Ellington
Cambridgeshire PE28 0AE
Tel. 0800 085 2348
Email info@thameslabs. co. uk
Web http://www. thameslabs. co. uk (http://www. thameslabs. co. uk)
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