Sir, A high proportion of schools were either built or refurbished using large amounts of asbestos and most of it remains to this day because of the government policy of management rather than removal. The Government has refused MPs and teaching unions’ requests to assess the risk and has refused to carry out a national audit of asbestos in schools.

The underfunding of school maintenance has allowed the condition of buildings and the asbestos within to deteriorate. Therefore, rather than the situation improving over time, it has worsened. In many schools it is just a strip of silicone sealant that prevents the release of dangerous levels of asbestos fibres into the classrooms.

At a recent meeting of the Asbestos Sub-Committee of the All Party Parliamentary Group on Occupational Safety and Health, it was announced that the Schools Minister had refused the committee’s request to reinstate a campaign to improve asbestos management in schools. It was, therefore, somewhat ironic that the chairman then stated that it is planned to close the Palace of Westminster, decant the MPs and remove the deteriorating asbestos. When it comes to preventing exposure to asbestos, there seems to be one rule for our legislators and another for our children.

The end result is that teachers and children have been exposed regularly to low levels of asbestos fibres, that cumulatively can cause the aggressive cancer mesothelioma. Owing to the long latency period, statistics do not reveal the contribution of asbestos exposure in schools, for only the occupation at death is recorded.

If one considers the deaths due to other asbestos-related cancers, such as lung cancer, and asbestosis, asbestos kills per annum more people than road traffic accidents. Mesothelioma is difficult to treat and always fatal. However, despite its rapidly increasing incidence, it is the least researched of the UK’s top 20 cancers, with little funding from government.

We call, therefore, on the Government to carry out a national audit of the asbestos content and condition in schools and the associated risks; dedicate funding for mesothelioma research and treatment through a national centre for asbestos-related disease, which we propose; and facilitate research to assess the risks of chronic, low-level asbestos exposure, particularly to children.

John G. Edwards

Consultant Thoracic Surgeon and Chair, British Mesothelioma

Interest Group, Northern General Hospital, Sheffield

Michael Clapham, MP

Chair, All Parliamentary Group on Occupational Safety and Health

Twenty tradesmen die every week after being exposed to deadly ASBESTOS, which lurks in insulation boards, ceilings, cement roofs and floors. It only takes one fiber to cause mesothelioma, years and sometimes decades later.

Now Ian Wright is fronting a Government-backed awareness campaign.

“It could have been me”

The father-of-five says: “It could have been me. I started working at 14 and thought I was going to be doing this kind of work for the rest of my life.

“I worried about bricks falling on me, pieces of metal sticking out from a wall, or holes in the floor, but never about asbestos.

“If I knew then what I know now I would definitely have worn the proper breathing equipment.”

Ian Wright wants to get this message out now. Wearing the correct mask, one that forms an airtight seal around the mouth and nose - could save your life.

He says: “There’s a lot of macho behavior in the building trade - people think they’re indestructible, or that it’s not cool to ask about health and safety.

“But there’s no other way to protect yourself - you can’t see or smell this stuff, it’s a silent killer, so just because you feel alright it doesn’t mean you’re safe.

“For all I know I have been exposed to asbestos.

“If I get symptoms in 20 years time I have to consider it could be down to that.”

And if 20 top athletes like Ian died each week, professional sports would be wiped out in just three months.

Ian adds: “People don’t think they’re at risk because they think asbestos was banned years ago, but it wasn’t banned until 2000.”

According to figures from the UK Health and Safety Executive, a quarter of all people who die from asbestos-related diseases are tradesmen - electricians, plumbers, carpenters - and it’s a number that’s set to rise as 500,000 buildings in the UK could have asbestos.

British Lung Foundation chairman Dr Keith Prowse says: “It can take 40 years for mesothelioma to develop after exposure to asbestos. And that could be any level of exposure - it’s not just those working closely with the stuff for years on end.”

The heat-proof material is perfectly safe if it is not crumbling or disturbed.

But once airborne, asbestos dust gets into the smallest airways in the lungs, where they can’t be breathed or coughed out.

For anyone starting out in the building trade Ian says: “Make it your job to protect yourself today - asbestos might be the last thing on your mind, but it should be the first thing.”

Remember, 20 people die a week - that’s 20 dads, or brothers, or husbands.

How many more people have to die in order for us to sit up and take notice?

There appear to be divided camps on the subject of nanotubes;

• For
• Against
• Not sure but let’s continue with scientific inquiry

Want to see?  Well you can’t.  Nanomaterials are microscopic particles used in medicine, electronics, sporting goods, and even clothing.  Law makers in the UK are saying nanomaterials need more safety testing and tighter regulation.

We have written about this before, when, earlier in 2008 Nature Nanotechnology journal published an article suggested that we have reason to be concerned with the long-term health effects of nanotubes (little rolled-up sheets of carbon) and that those effects would be similar to asbestos in that the longer tubes could lodge in the lungs and stay there.

In the UK, the Royal Commission on Environmental Pollution investigated nanomaterials and although it found no evidence of harm to either health or the environment from nanotechnology, it warned:

“The pace at which new nanomaterials are being developed and marketed is beyond the capacity of existing testing regulatory arrangements to control the potential environmental impacts adequately.”

The commission did not recommend a ban or moratorium on nanomaterials because each material had to be assessed on its merits. Sir John Lawton, the commission chairman, said there were particular concerns about three widely-used types of nanomaterial: nanosilver, carbon-60 and carbon nanofibers.

Nanoparticles of silver are incorporated into some clothing and laundry products because they suppress odor and kill germs. They also risk shutting down sewage systems by killing the bacteria needed to break down waste products, Sir John told a news conference in London.

Carbon nanotubes may harm the lungs in the same way as asbestos. “If I had to give advice to my family, I would say, ‘don’t wear spun nanofibres’,” he said.

Nanotechnology did not need a new regulatory regime, the commission decided. Instead, Europe’s existing regulatory system for chemicals, known as Reach, should be extended to encompass nanoparticles.

Andrew Maynard, chief scientist on the Project on Emerging Nanotechnologies at the Woodrow Wilson Center in Washington DC, said: “Despite repeated warnings, the establishment continues to lag behind emerging technologies.”

“It was a good job,” he says, it provided him with enough money to buy a house and raise a family in the 1970s.

Mr. Mehra never knew asbestos was dangerous. Before he retired, he was diagnosed with asbestosis.

Usually the body’s filters keep particles from settling in the lungs, but asbestos fibers are little slivers of rock. A recent X-ray reveals that Mr. Mehra’s wife has the same scars on her lungs, even though she never worked at the plant; instead, she washed her husband’s clothes.

Despite the estimated thousands of Canadians who have died and the World Health Organization’s call for a global ban, Canada continues to send asbestos to countries in the developing world. Chrysotile asbestos is recognized as the least dangerous type of asbestos, but is still classified as a carcinogen by the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC). The Canadian position is that risks can be controlled.

An editorial in the Canadian Medical Association Journal describes Canada’s position as “self-serving,” if not preposterous. “Most developed countries, including Canada, have concluded that their occupational health and safety systems were no match for handling asbestos safely … for Canada to pretend that India, Thailand and Indonesia can succeed in managing asbestos safely, when developed countries have failed, is fanciful.”

The Canadian chrysotile asbestos industry is located in the Eastern Townships of Quebec. In the heyday of global asbestos consumption, Canada was the main player. Now, Russia, Kazakhstan, and Zimbabwe mine at lower costs, the Canadian industry has shrunk significantly, and now employs about 1,000 people.

Last year, Canada exported $77 million worth of asbestos; 43% of it went to India, where is is mixed with cement and used to create infrastructure like pipes, brakes, and rooftops.

When asbestos rock is processed, it separates into strong fibers that can be used as insulation, or in such products as fire blankets, ceiling tiles and pipes. It is used frequently because the fibers are strong and resistant to heat.

The Canadian government maintains that while chrysotile asbestos is carcinogenic, it can be used safely if proper controls are in place. Critics have questioned this for years. Many other countries have implemented bans.

When the Quebec government implemented a policy to increase its usage of chrysotile asbestos in 2002, the Institut National de Santé Publique du Québec published a report that stated the government shouldn’t be endorsing the mineral because it was a proven human carcinogen that was difficult to use safely, especially in construction, renovation and asbestos-processing industries.

According to Clément Godbout, director of the Chrysotile Institute in Montreal, far more countries use the mineral than do not. He says emotion clouds the debate and people who have lost family members have a hard time keeping an open mind. They don’t understand, or perhaps don’t want to understand, that working conditions are different now and that different types of asbestos are used, he says.

Mr. Godbout explains that it was amphibole asbestos — amosite, crocidolite, and tremolite — that made people sick because the fibers are needle-like, and have a longer “biopersistence” in the lungs. He says chrysotile asbestos is of the serpentine family, and the fibres are eliminated from the lung easily.

Scientists have debated the danger of chrysotile fibres to such an extent that terms have been coined for the bitterly divided camps: “Chrysophiles” say amphibole fibres caused so many illnesses in the past. “Chrysophobes” say chrysotile asbestos is just as bad — and point to the high cancer rates among Canadians exposed to that type of asbestos.

But those who support a chrysotile ban say controls are not enforced in the developing world.

In 1984, the Canadian asbestos industry created the Chrysotile Institute. Since then the Canadian government has contributed more than $19 million to the institute since its inception.

The institute bills itself as an industry leader for promoting the safe use of chrysotile asbestos around the world. Leading researcher Barry Castleman, author of Asbestos: Medical and Legal Aspects, says the institute makes the global situation worse by legitimizing bad science.

In India, Narayan and Sureetha Mehra have no position on the matter. Mr. Mehra’s compensation case has languished before the Gujarati High Court for 14 years, and the couple don’t have enough money to finance a claim on Mrs. Mehra’s behalf. Their children support them, and Mr. Mehra uses his pocket change to buy the inhalers he needs to breathe.

Mr. Mehra was exposed to asbestos from all over the world in his job: India, Russia, Canada.

Asbestos Types

Chrysotile (white asbestos) — Mined from serpentine rock. Chrysotile is the most flexible form of asbestos, and the most prevalent commercially. Some scientists say because chrysotile fibres are somewhat curly, they do not stick around in the lungs like the straight, needle-like fibres from the amphibole family. There has been a continued debate about the danger of chrysotile asbestos.

The International Agency for Research on Cancer classifies it as a known human carcinogen.

Amosite (brown asbestos) — Used to be mined from amphibole rock in South Africa, but is no longer mined. Generally accepted to be the second-most-dangerous type of asbestos. The International Agency for Research on Cancer classifies it as a known human carcinogen.

Crocidolite (blue asbestos) — Mined from amphibole rock in South Africa and Australia. Considered the most dangerous type of asbestos. Crocidolite fibres are straight and needle-like and known for staying in the lungs. It is no longer mined. The International Agency for Research on Cancer classifies it as a known human carcinogen.

Diseases

Asbestosis — Asbestosis is scarring of the lungs. After prolonged exposure to asbestos, scars form where asbestos fibers have lodged. There is usually a latency period of several decades. The scars make it difficult to breathe by decreasing the elasticity in the lungs. There is no cure, and symptoms get worse over time.

Mesothelioma — A rare cancer linked to asbestos exposure. The cancer forms in the mesothelium, which is the pleura, or thin lining around the lungs. It takes decades to form after asbestos fibers settle in the lining of the chest cavitity or the abdomen. Tumors form and compress lungs, making it very difficult to breathe and swallow. There is also extreme weight loss. The latency period can vary from 10 to 40 years. Death is common within six months to two years of diagnosis.

Lung cancer — Lung cancer can be caused by asbestos.

Pleural plaques — Pleural plaques are an indicator of asbestos exposure, and are patches of tough, callus-like tissue inside the chest wall.

A strongly worded editorial said the government “knows what it is doing is shameful and wrong” and compared Ottawa’s moral stature in continuing to promote the use of the cancer-causing material to that of arms traders.

The negotiations, known as the Rotterdam Convention, started October 27, 2008 in Rome.  One item on the agenda was to decide whether to add the chrysotile variety of asbestos to the world’s list of most dangerous substances.  When a substance is listed, countries must give prior informed consent that they know they are buying a highly dangerous material before being allowed to accept any imports.

At the 2006 convention, Canada successfully led a group of countries including Iran, Zimbabwe and Kyrgyzstan in stopping the action. Canada was the only advanced Western country to take such a position.  Unfortunately, the events of 2006 repeated themselves in 2008.

Quebec is a major asbestos miner, and the industry provides about 700 jobs in the province. Because of litigation risk and health concerns, Canada no longer uses much asbestos so most of the asbestos mined is exported, mainly to developing countries, where it is added to cement building materials. Ottawa has spent about $20-million since the mid-1980s to promote asbestos use. It has contended that the chrysotile type mined in Quebec is less harmful than other varieties and that with proper safeguards, cancer risk can be minimized.

Asbestos dust causes lung cancer; mesothelioma, a painful and deadly malignancy in the lining of the chest wall; and asbestosis, a serious, chronic respiratory disease. The World Health Organization says all types of asbestos cause cancer and estimates the mineral leads to 100,000 preventable deaths annually around the world.

Chrysotile is the only type of asbestos remaining on the world market. The other forms have already been listed under the United Nations convention. The editorial marks the first time the medical association journal has spoken out against the federal government’s asbestos position.

Health Canada has convened a panel to study health effects of asbestos and a study was completed in March 2008.

The editorial says Canada’s view that its asbestos is a less potent carcinogen is scientifically dubious and is “redolent of the tobacco industry’s playbook on light cigarettes.”

David Boyd, an adjunct professor at Simon Fraser University in Burnaby, B.C., and one of the editorial’s authors, said a consensus has emerged among public-health officials that asbestos needs to be eliminated and that the government’s actions are damaging Canada’s international reputation. “Canada really sticks out like a sore thumb when it comes to not only exporting it, but promoting it as well.”

The Health Department recently completed a study to measure the health risks. We needed a study to know an abandoned mine with loose asbestos blowing around was a risk to passers by? Scientists looked at health records and death certificates from towns within 10 miles of the mine. Surprise! There was a statistically significant increase in lung cancer and asbestosis. Wait a few more years and it will probably include mesothelioma as well.

State health commissioner, Dr. Wendy Davis, said the risk of having those diagnoses or health outcomes was significantly higher if you lived within that 10 mile radius.

According to data from death certificates, the odds of dying from asbestosis are more than 12 times as high among people living close to the mine compared to people living further away from the mine.

A huge pile of waste rock containing asbestos remains at the site. The area is used by people riding all terrain vehicles. Dr. Davis urges people to stay away from the old mine. She further said:

It becomes a problem for humans when we breathe in the fibers and we’re more likely to breathe in the fibers when asbestos from any source is disturbed. So our best recommendation at this point would be number one stay away from the mine and don’t undertake any activity if your in that area that would disturb those piles.

Dr. Davis said the state health study does not prove a cause and effect link between the asbestos mine and the lung disease. Are you kidding me? She says more study is needed, but the findings were significant enough to issue the warning. How about a fence around the mine and some warning signs?

Although the old company was named in asbestos-related cases starting in the 1980s, the frequency increased about eight years ago.

Christy manager Frank O’Brien said that settlements average about $1 million per month and are accelerating. He estimated that more than 1,000 separate lawsuits are pending.

Claims of asbestos-related illnesses typically are dismissed without liability or settled, according to the company’s filing. The lawsuits include people who were exposed to the asbestos products in schools, steel mills and other commercial and industrial spaces.

A trust fund for the lawsuits will be established, and then the bankruptcy court will decide how much money should be put in the fund, Frank O’Brien said. He added that the trust fund will have at least $18 million.

As of Oct. 28, the company had about $18 million in remaining insurance coverage out of an original amount of $45 million, the filing said.

Frank O’Brien said he intends to keep the company in business while it undergoes reorganization, which could take up to a year. As of last week, the company had 23 employees.

Christy Refractories is owned by O’Brien Industrial Holdings LLC. O’Brien Industrial, which is run by Frank O’Brien, and its other subsidiaries are not in bankruptcy.

Only $18 million remaining to fund the trust with 1,000 asbestos lawsuits pending, at an average of $1 million each. All that liability acquired by a company who is guilty of nothing, from one that was guilty of much, including insufficient insurance coverage.

The bill will allow sufferers to have their damages case fast-tracked if their condition deteriorates.

Currently, a worker has to make a decision as to whether to claim damages at the point at which they are diagnosed with asbestosis or to wait and see whether they are one of the small number of workers who go on to develop mesothelioma and then make a claim.

Not a really fair choice.

The new bill would allow a person to claim more than once if their condition deteriorates, claiming initial damages for asbestosis and then again if it develops into mesothelioma.

So you get to sue twice. Is that fair?

Well, think of Macy’s. Or Saks. In the US, both have very prominent display windows and it would be noticed if they were closed indefinitely. Selfridges has closed the window display in its flagship London department store for a month after the discovery of asbestos.

Here’s the unique part. The company has taken steps to ensure that the asbestos found in the five main windows at the front of its Oxford Street store was dealt with safely and that there was no risk to public health. The store was not shut while the asbestos panels were removed.

If disturbed, asbestos can release fibers that can cause cancer. More than 4,000 people a year die from diseases related to asbestos – that is more than the annual death toll on the UK’s roads.

An article in the Independent reports that Selfridges’ communications director, Christine Watts, said the asbestos paneling was discovered about three weeks ago by experts who are currently carrying out a full survey of the building. “It was found at the top of the window frames of five out of the 26 windows. They were sealed immediately and the HSE [Health and Safety Executive] was informed. Everything was done according to HSE guidelines, with approved contractors and so on,” she said.

So calm. So orderly. If all companies acted so responsibly, we might not be facing the increasing numbers of people dying of asbestos diseases today.

The asbestos panels were removed while the store remained open. “The windows were sealed up straight away,” Ms Watts said. “The removal has been completed and now the next stage is obviously to rebuild the window frames. It’s an old building and we always check for asbestos whenever we do a refurbishment. On the occasions that it’s found, it is dealt with absolutely in line with HSE requirements.”

She declined to elaborate on the ongoing building survey: “I cannot tell you whether it may or may not be found in the future. What I can tell you is we are going beyond what’s required by doing this full and intrusive survey of the entire building. This is a business behaving with absolute propriety and with every care for people who shop and work at Selfridges.”

Corporate responsibility.

The survey should be finished by the end of November. Ms Watts said the paneling was made from brown asbestos, also known as amosite, and most commonly used in thermal insulation.

Gordon Selfridge, the founder of the store, which was built in 1909, is credited with turning the window display into an art form. Notable displays have1 featured 8,000 bath sponges, celebrations of the Queen’s Coronation in 1953 and the peace treaty which ended the First World War.

The news comes as the HSE is launching a campaign to alert tradesmen to the potential dangers of asbestos, which was widely used as insulation throughout much of the last century and any building built or refurbished before 2000 could contain it.

“It is in over 500,000 buildings in the UK; there is asbestos in Buckingham Palace, in the Houses of Parliament, everywhere. The thing to know about asbestos is if it is undisturbed, it is absolutely fine.

If it is removed and handled responsibly, it is also fine. Well done.

Central Coast Mayor Mike Downie said the council and Workplace Standards Tasmania would assess Mr. Penguin for asbestos.

This follows claims by the Australian Workers Union, a historian and Asbestos Disease Tasmania creator and asbestosis victim Laurie Appleby that the penguin was built with deadly asbestos materials in 1975.

Government records show that the Goliath Cement Company donated all the time and materials as a gesture to the Penguin centenary.

AWU national occupational health and safety co-ordinator Dr. Yossi Berger has questioned whether the penguin should be broken, bagged and buried.

“Any product that has asbestos in it presents a risk,” Dr. Berger said.

“If it was in my backyard, it wouldn’t last very long.

He predicted that the council would say since Mr. Penguin is painted, he won’t release any asbestos fibers and responded that “It’s a bit like saying ‘this product is loaded with TNT so let’s not let anyone with matches go near it.’”

A former Goliath Cement worker said the penguin had been built with asbestos products.

“Asbestos sheeting was molded on to allow it to dry,” said Mr. Appleby, who worked at the Railton factory, now owned by Cement Australia, for almost 11 years before diagnosed with mild asbestosis.

“It’s not going to hurt anyone because it’s painted, but if it starts to get broken up, it might be a different issue.”

Historian Berris Penrose, who is conducting an asbestos survey on the Railton factory, told The Advocate yesterday the penguin “definitely contains asbestos”.

The Goliath Cement asbestos works at Railton closed in 1986.  Since then, 40 ex-workers diagnosed with asbestos diseases have been paid settlements, with more expected to come forward, the AWU says.

Workplace Standards Tasmania general manager Roy Ormerod has shifted most of the Big Penguin responsibility to the council.

“The penguin is the responsibility of the Central Coast Council and, therefore, it is up to the council to conduct an on-site risk assessment if there are concerns,” he said.