"Hidden Killer" kills 4000 a Year
The
Health and Safety Executive (HSE) has now launched its new asbestos
communications campaign, using the slogan "Asbestos: The hidden killer,” with
the aim of informing tradesmen that asbestos is a danger that is real and
relevant to them.
According
to the HSE, every week 20 tradesmen die from asbestos-related diseases.
The
HSE wants to lets tradesmen know that if they carry out work on a building that
was built or refurbished before the year 2000, they could have been exposed to
asbestos, without even knowing it.
Along
with the campaign, the HSE has launched a new website area which sets out:
- what
asbestos actually is
- where
asbestos can be found
- what
it can do to people
- how
to handle asbestos
- asbestos
myth busters.
For
example, one of the statements suggests, “You're more likely to die in a road
accident than from an asbestos-related disease? True or False?”