HSE announces asbestos campaign

The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) is planning a new campaign to raise awareness of the danger asbestos fibres present workers.

Asbestos – The Hidden Killer is to be launched on October 13th and will be targeted at both radio and print.

The campaign material will place a strong emphasis on case studies, building on existing HSE work that provides safety guidance for those dealing with the material.

A pilot scheme was successfully run in the north-west earlier this year.

The campaign hopes to make tradesmen aware they are likely to underestimate the probability they will have contact with the substance.

A secondary goal is to encourage its target audience to seek out information on asbestos and the appropriate precautions they should be taking to manage it.

Figures the HSE provides for February and March set the substance's toll at 4,000 deaths a year, which it says is more than are killed on the roads.

In other news, the Coventry Telegraph reports a 61-year-old man who had contact with asbestos working as a teenager and contracted mesothelioma as a result is seeking details of the former liability insurer for the company, which no longer exists.