BOHS has responded to the new provisional annual data on work-related fatal accidents and deaths from mesothelioma, warning against complacency on the asbestos-related cancer, and reiterating that the latest provisional figure of 142 deaths, each one a tragedy, represents only a very small percentage of Britain’s annual occupational mortality burden.
The Chartered Society forWorker Health Protection was responding to the provisional annual data for work-related fatal accidents in Great Britain’s workplaces, released by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) in early July 2015, along with the latest available figures on deaths from mesothelioma , the asbestos-related cancer.
The figures show that 142 workers were fatally injured at work between April 2014 and March 2015, compared with last year’s all-time low of 136. HSE also released the latest available figures on deaths from mesothelioma, contracted through past exposure to asbestos, indicating that 2,538 people died in Great Britain in 2013 compared to 2,548 in 2012.
Commenting on the new data, Dr Adrian Hirst, President of the BOHS, said, “In looking at the mesothelioma figures, we should guard against any complacency in thinking that exposure to asbestos is a historical problem. A recent survey by the HSE indicated that tradespeople could come into contact with asbestos on average more than 100 times a year. This is one of the issues we are working to address through our Breathe Freely campaign on occupational lung disease in the construction sector.”
The post Asbestos still a threat appeared first on FMJ.
Source: FMJ
