The trade union Unite, has called for the threshold on acceptable levels of workplace dust to be lowered. This comes after the TUC and the HSE’s own advisory committee had asked for change. As yet, however, the HSE has failed to act despite acknowledging that the current threshold is far from safe.  

Unite, which has over 1.5 million UK members employed in all types of workplace, views the current threshold as exposing its members to an avoidable risk. Due to the inaction of the HSE trade unions are now trying to negotiate lower dust thresholds with employers, however there is no legal requirement for employers to agree to such proposals and no doubt many employers will see non-regulatory change as unnecessary and onerous.

 

However, dust in the workplace presents a very real problem from the nurse, exposed to latex dust on a ward round, to the industrial worker exposed to polymer dust or, more seriously, asbestos dust. These types of exposures can cause chronic illnesses such as occupational asthma or even fatal diseases like the asbestos related cancer, mesothelioma or bladder cancer.

 

Bud Hudspith, Unite national health and safety adviser had this to say: 'Too many Unite members are being exposed to dangerous levels of dust at work. The current dust standards are not good enough and there is strong scientific evidence to prove it. Unite is calling on the Health and Safety Executive to launch a general campaign to reduce dust exposure in all workplaces and to improve the inadequate dust standards that currently exist.'

 

Comment.

 

This issue was first reported by John Pickering and Partners LLP several months ago but still the HSE has taken no action to impose tighter restrictions even though they would have the full backing of several unions and their own advisory committee.

 

Whilst it is correct that the right balance must be struck between affording industry flexibility while maintaining safe working environments, it seems that the risks of not imposing tighter regulations may be detrimental to Britain’s workforce.

 

Dust of one type or another is present in almost every workplace and much of it is invisible to the naked eye. Sadly some people can become sensitised to such dust causing lung disease, nasal problems and skin conditions such as dermatitis.

 

Thankfully, highly carcinogenic dust such as asbestos dust are no longer commonplace within the workplaces of Britain but there are still workers who are exposed to it and who face an agonising wait to see if they will develop an illness such as pleural thickening, asbestosis or lung cancer.

 

Like asbestos, other workplace dusts will never truly be eradicated from every workplace but tighter restriction would help reduce the number of people developing avoidable illnesses as there is often a link between the amount of dust inhaled and the risk of developing an illness.

 

Clearly, action by the HSE could well save thousands of workers from chronic or fatal disease.

 

Contact details:  

 

 

Website: www.johnpickering.co.uk

 

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.

 

For more information about asbestos diseases-

www.johnpickering.co.uk

 

For practical information and support concerning mesothelioma-

www.mesothelioma-advice.co.uk

 

For more information about claiming for different types of asbestos disease-

Mesothelioma compensation claims

Lung cancer compensation claims

Asbestosis compensation claims

Pleural thickening compensation claims

 

For more an explanation about different types of asbestos conditions-

Different asbestos conditions

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