Asbestos campaign stepped up as Glasgow revealed to have highest death rate

Nov 5 2009 By Lauren Crooks

A FORMER joiner is backing a campaign to protect workers against the UK's biggest industrial killer after figures revealed Glasgow has the highest asbestos-related death rate in Scotland.

In the past 24 years, 516 men from Glasgow City have died as a result of working with the insulating material.

Pensioner John Greig - who was diagnosed with an asbestos-related cancer four years ago after working with the material while he was a joiner in the 1960s - is helping raise awareness of the mineral's dangers.

Through the national campaign - 'Asbestos: The Hidden Killer' - John is urging his fellow tradesmen to learn the dangers of working with asbestos and protect themselves against it properly.

He said: "Asbestos is something you don't see and it took me years before I displayed symptoms and discovered I had mesothelioma.

"Don't be fooled by asbestos, don't be macho. Nothing can make up for your health but you don't realise that when you are young. Be careful, use the correct equipment and remember the dangers."

The national campaign to raise awareness is being run by the Health and Safety Executive.

Glasgow City has the highest death rate and adding the 854 deaths across Greater Glasgow brings the west-coast total to 1370.

This compares to just 194 in Edinburgh, 88 in Aberdeen and 29 across Perth and Kinross.

Workers most at risk of con-tracting an asbestos-related disease are plumbers, joiners and electricians.

Greg Haywood, Head of HSE's Asbestos Licensing Unit, based in Edinburgh, said: "Contrary to what many people believe, the risks are not a thing of the past.

"The most simple, but important, advice is if you are not 100 per cent certain that there is no asbestos where you are working, then don't start work. It is not worth the risk."

To find out more about the campaign call: 0845 345 055 or log on to the website: www.use.gov.uk