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Asbestos 'remains a significant workplace hazard'
Practice area: Injury
Companies and workers have been reminded of the continuing health risk posed by
asbestos in modern workplaces.
The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) has called on tradesmen and businesses to ensure they remain vigilant about the toxic substance to avoid exposing labourers to the risk of
industrial disease.
HSE advised that many older premises which incorporate
asbestos lagging are still in use across the UK, meaning the risk of mesothelioma and related illnesses remains for those performing work on such buildings.
Steve Coldrick, HSE's
asbestos programme director, added that such diseases claim the lives of around 4,000 workers annually.
He said: "It isn't just a risk of a bygone age and tradesmen cannot afford to be complacent."
This comes as the government is currently debating the implementation of new laws which would see sufferers of
asbestos-related pleural plaques given the right to make
compensation claims from their employers.
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