As we pass the 20th anniversary of the 9/11 terrorist attack, a new report from the Fire Department of New York World Trade Center Health Program has highlighted the health effects that the firefighters who appeared on the scene following the tragedy are now facing.
It is estimated that approximately 410,000 first responders were at the site of the attack in the following days and weeks inhaling toxic materials as they assisted in saving lives. Nearly 3,000 people died on what many termed ‘America’s Darkest Day’ but in the succeeding 20 years a......
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Campaigners in Wales are engaged in a fight to remove asbestos containing waste from a beach in Carmarthenshire.
These calls have come after the council confirmed that their own tests had found that the substance found on the east beach at Burry Port contained what they described as “low risk” asbestos which according to Philip Hughes, executive board member for public protection at Carmarthenshire council they believe “Is of low risk to the public we are taking all necessary steps as a precaution including the safe removal of any visible material.......
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An Enfield resident has been left frustrated with the town council after they failed to clean up the asbestos problem in her children’s bedrooms.
Marsha Francis, an NHS worker living in Edmonton has said how she was left ‘fed up’ with the repeated delays in the asbestos removal which she believed should have been dealt with as a priority due to the dangerous nature of the material. Ms Francis told how the problem was first found after she had a contractor out fixing what was thought to be a leak in......
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In what has been a developing story throughout the last two years, there has been a new push against Johnson & Johnson and its talc-based powder products that have been alleged to contain asbestos materials by a mix of plaintiff attorneys and congressional leaders.
At the end of July, at the U.S District court in Delaware, group of attorneys filed a restraining order which they hope to put a stop to the J&J group’s plan to off load these liabilities from talc-related products onto a new subsidiary group who would then......
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The widow of a former member of the BBC symphony orchestra is suing the broadcaster after her husband died from mesothelioma, which was caused by playing a studio that was riddled with asbestos.
Christopher Larkin was a horn player with the orchestra for 36 years and the group both rehearsed and performed in the infamous Maida Vale studios in London which unbeknownst to Mr Larkin was covered in the deadly substance leading to his death aged 73.
On 8th April of this year, the day Mr Larkin died, the BBC took responsibility......
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Nearly two years after they were formed, the Australian National Dust Disease Taskforce has published their report which sets out their recommendations to tackling dust exposure in the country.
We covered the lead up to the publication of this report in a recent blog which you can read here.
The final report, released in July, outlines the taskforce’s seven recommendations that they believe are integral to combating exposure to this potentially deadly substance, these recommendations were:
- To strengthen the health and safety measures in all workplaces which can ensure that all workers will......
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Across East Sussex they are facing an asbestos fly tipping problem, where the deadly material has been found being dumped on country lanes. In June alone it had been found discarded in multiple areas in the region and the council for Wealden released images that showed piles of potentially dangerous asbestos insulation board (AIB) as well as rubbish bags left in woodland by the side of the road. A spokesman for the council said, “Someone is endangering their own health and that of others.”
Over to Penkridge, Staffordshire where two local......
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This week Prime Minister Boris Johnson announced a change to coronavirus restrictions in England that will come into effect on 19th July and the CEO of the BiKBBI Damian Walters urged those within the industry to approach these relaxations "with extreme caution".
In an interview with the BBC Mr Walters affirmed his support to the Prime Ministers statement and called on tradespeople in particular to stay aware of the dangers of COVID saying “We’re all keen to banish COVID to the history books, but we’ll only be able to achieve this if we’re......
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There have been a couple of recent discoveries of asbestos found in Britain, these demonstrate two of the common ways that asbestos ways is disrupting public areas. These are fly tipping and waste not being disposed of correctly and then appearing later down the line in a public area.
In Carmarthenshire, Wales a material was uncovered following coastal erosion that tests arranged by the council have now confirmed is asbestos. Concerns had been raised by local residents after children were seen decorating sandcastles on the stretch of beach near Burry Port......
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The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) agreed in June to tighten its process for asbestos data collection after continued pressure from a coalition formed of multiple states, this now brings the country closer to a total ban on the deadly substance.
One of the main contributors to this decision was a ruling from United States District Judge Edward Chen back in December of last year who ruled that the EPA would need to improve this data collection around the amount of asbestos and asbestos related products are being brought into the......
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