Asbestos on London Underground
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Alan Jenkins, a Tube worker and RMT union activist told The International Business Times UK that asbestos was “all over the place” on the London Underground. Mr Jenkins said that; “the east end of the Central line is in a bad way. The asbestos is above and beyond anywhere else on the whole of the Underground system.” According to Mr Jenkins the asbestos runs all the way along the tunnel walls from Mile End station to the east end of the line.
Mr Jenkins claims that the asbestos has been painted with encapsulating paint, and that the concern is that the paint could easily chip off and expose asbestos.
Mr Jenkins said that “no matter what, they won’t remove it. It costs too much money and takes too long. They are going to leave it there.” Mr Jenkins stated that safety measures sought by unions have been partially successful, but that there are still workers working without adequate procedures and a fear that the asbestos could be exposed.
John Pickering and Partners LLP recently acted for a London Underground worker who recovered compensation after developing mesothelioma.
Exposure to asbestos fibres can cause asbestos related lung conditions. Asbestos exposure can lead to mesothelioma; a type of cancer that typically affects the lining of the lungs, lung cancer, scarring of the lungs and other respiratory problems. Asbestos is responsible for approximately 4,000 deaths every year, making it the biggest single cause of work related deaths in the UK.
According to Mr Jenkins, Transport for London (TfL) is “reluctant” to deal with asbestos, as it would entail disruption.
Transport for London said that it had strict controls in place in line with the Control of Asbestos Regulations 2006, and that passengers and staff, “are not at risk from exposure to asbestos fibres when travelling on the Underground.”
A spokesperson for TfL that that there were “robust rules in place, which meant that work teams know in advance if there is asbestos-containing material in their work location.” TfL also stated that there were strict training requirement for staff and that they had taken “every opportunity” to remove asbestos from the underground system.
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John Pickering and Partners LLP
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About John Pickering and Partners LLP
John Pickering and Partners LLP- Specialist mesothelioma compensation solicitors
We are a dedicated personal injury law firm who do not do other types of work. We specialise in claiming damages for asbestos sufferers. We have been handling compensation claims for industrial disease for over 30 years. Most of our work involves acting for asbestos disease victims who suffer from mesothelioma, lung cancer, asbestosis and pleural thickening. We only act for the sufferers of asbestos diseases and never act for the organisations that caused the asbestos exposure or their insurers. We have an ethical approach and donate 10% of our net profits every year to good causes that help asbestos sufferers. We have set up a charitable trust to help to fund medical research into mesothelioma and various organisations that help and support asbestos sufferers and their families.
Find out more about our donations to good causes. We have also been involved in most of the landmark judgments that shape this area of law. Find out more about us or our reported cases. We are on the panels of several asbestos support groups and are ranked highly by legal guides. Find out more about what others have said about us.
John Pickering and Partners LLP is a niche legal practice that has represented Claimants in the leading asbestos "test cases" in the last ten years. The firm represented Sylvia Barker in Barker v Corus (UK) Plc, a case that highlighted the legal tactics of employers and insurers trying to cut back their compensation liabilities to mesothelioma sufferers, and which prompted the amendment of the Compensation Act 2006 to ensure full compensation for mesothelioma claims. The firm represented two of the three Claimants in the landmark Fairchild appeal, in which the insurance industry tried unsuccessfully to block compensation altogether for mesothelioma sufferers unable to identify which of two or more sources of asbestos exposure had caused their illness.
The firm represented Alice Jefferson, a mesothelioma sufferer, whose illness and compensation claim against Cape Asbestos were featured in the important documentary "Alice: A Fight For Life." Shown by Yorkshire Television in July 1982, the programme was an important catalyst for legal change and public awareness of the plight of mesothelioma and other asbestos disease sufferers and a prompt for important legal reform.
Mesothelioma is a type of cancer that affects the lining of certain bodily organs. It most commonly affects the lining of the lungs (the pleura) but it can affect other areas including organs in the abdominal cavity (the peritoneum).
More than 2,000 people are diagnosed with mesothelioma every year in the UK and there is one mesothelioma death every five hours. The number of deaths from mesothelioma increased from 153 in 1968 to 1,969 in 2004 and is expected to peak at 2,450 between 2011 and 2015.
The first Action Mesothelioma Day was launched on 27th February 2006. Its objectives were to raise awareness about mesothelioma, to improve the treatment and care of mesothelioma patients, and to lobby for better funding for research into mesothelioma and for the protection and education of people who may be exposed to asbestos.
If you need advice about an asbestos related illness, contact us now for information about making a claim for compensation.
Contact us to find out more about your entitlement to claim compensation if you have been diagnosed with mesothelioma, asbestosis, lung cancer or pleural thickening.
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