Figures show continued legacy of asbestos in Swindon and Wiltshire
Dozens of deaths are still occurring each year in the Swindon and Wiltshire areas as the legacy of ‘Swindon Disease’ continues to make itself felt, even decades after asbestos was last used in local industry, reports the Swindon Advertiser website. The news simply serves as another reminder of the vital importance of adequate measures for asbestos analysis and removal from a reputable company such as Senergi (http://www.senergi.co.uk).
According to the report, 107 men and women have died from industrial-related illnesses in the area over the last three years. The cancer mesothelioma is just one of various asbestos-related illnesses to have been named as a ‘Swindon Disease’ after the town, on account of the building material’s prevalence at Swindon’s railway works and other factories prior to the closure of the works in March 1986. It indicates just why so many organisations are now taking advantage of reliable services in asbestos removal.
Former employees at the works have recalled that fibres of the chemical would blow around like “snow”, and the tendency of the disease to only develop between 15 and 60 years after initial exposure means that deaths are continuing to occur, with 26 men and four women dying from industrial diseases in 2011. This follows the deaths of 37 men and eight women in 2010 and those of 28 men and four women in 2009.
Although most cases can be attributed to the breathing in of the fibres by industrial workers, other sources of contact have contributed to the figures. Rachael Wilson, of Bristol and Beyond Asbestos, claimed in the Swindon Advertiser report that many more people were affected, including workers in other trades and those who might not have been directly exposed, such as residents near factories or wives washing their husbands’ overalls.
Head of industrial disease at Lyons Davidson, Virginia Chalmers, warned that the number of deaths had yet to peak, and said that many of those people that were now becoming ill had been exposed as long ago as the 1950s. She added that more than two million of the UK’s buildings still had asbestos in them, a firm reminder of the continued relevance of asbestos awareness training for a wide range of organisations.
A recent landmark Supreme Court decision gave asbestos victims and their families the go-ahead to claim compensation from the companies that exposed them to the fibres, after it was ruled that their insurance liability was triggered from the time the employee was exposed to the substance, rather than when symptoms appeared.
Nonetheless, it is feared that the national death toll from industrial-related illnesses could rise to 2,100 a year by 2016.
To read more about services in asbestos abatement from Senergi, go to http://www.senergi.co.uk.
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