Alarming ignorance over asbestos danger

Construction workers are putting themselves at risk of an incurable cancer because they don't know enough about asbestos, says the British Lung Foundation.

A survey carried out by the charity reveals that:

• Less than a third are aware asbestos exposure can cause cancer.
• Only 12% of tradespeople know asbestos exposure can kill them.
• Nearly a third (30%) wrongly believe most asbestos has been removed from UK buildings.
• Three quarters (74%) have had no training in how to deal with asbestos.
• Chatting to a mate is most common source of information on asbestos - nearly a quarter (24%) get their information this way.

The British Lung Foundation are attempting to alert people to the dangers through a 'Be Asbestos Aware' campaign.

Twenty tradesmen die of asbestos-related diseases every week and asbestos exposure is Britain's biggest workplace killer.  Asbestos causes a chest cancer called mesothelioma, which kills one person every five hours in the UK.

Tradespeople such as builders, plumbers, carpenters, electricians and gas fitters are most at risk of getting the cancer.  Mesothelioma develops between 15 and 60 years after the exposure to asbestos and the UK will soon face an epidemic of the disease as cases are set to peak between 2011 and 2015.

"It is a great worry that those most at risk of this cruel cancer know so little about a killer that could be lurking in the building they're working on today", says Dame Helena Shovelton, Chief Executive of the British Lung Foundation.  "We want mesothelioma to become a disease of the past, but until people put their health first, become asbestos aware and protect themselves against asbestos that goal can't be reached."

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