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The asbestos-cancer, mesothelioma, is set to become the biggest occupational killer but with little investigative research into the disease no cure is in sight. Nathalie Towner reports on UNISON's campaigning work and how you can help
The secret killer
When Davy Craig suddenly collapsed it took everyone by surprise. Prior
to this he had not shown any signs of ill-health but when the doctor was
called out he knew immediately what was wrong.
He diagnosed him as suffering from mesothelioma – a form of cancer
almost always associated with exposure to asbestos.
Craig contracted the disease 30 years before when working on the shipyards
when he would have been regularly exposed to the substance. As is always
the case with mesothelioma, sufferers only start becoming ill some 20
to 50 years after exposure.
Dave Anderson, UNISON president, knew of Davy Craig from his coal mining
days.
“Davy Craig and a close friend of mine both started work together
as shipyard apprentices on the river Tyne,” says Anderson.
“He would have been a teenager at the time. No-one had any idea
he was ill till he passed out almost 30 years later.”
The prognosis for Craig was bad as there is no treatment and sufferers
die on average within 12 to 18 months of the condition arising. Mesothelioma
is a particularly brutal disease and with no treatment available victims
suffer chronically for months before they die.
“People with mesothelioma are written off. There is no research
into the condition and no drugs to help,” says UNISON head of health
and safety, Hugh Robertson.
“You can easily prevent exposure but in terms of people who’ve
got it there is nothing for them.”
By 2010, more than 10,000 people a year are expected to die from asbestos-related
diseases, mainly from mesothelioma, a doubling of last year's figure.
This will make asbestos the biggest occupational killer by far –
it will be an even bigger killer than the motor car.
The supply and use of asbestos is now prohibited but a rise in cases of
mesothelioma is expected as ageing workers become diagnosed with the condition.
The dangers of asbestos have been known since the early part of the twentieth
century but it was not until the 1970s that employers started to take
real steps to protect workers.
Prior to this asbestos was used extensively in the 1950s and 60s because
it combined flexibility and strength with fire-retardant properties.
Many workers in factories, construction sites, power plants and shipyards
would have been exposed to it. Mesothelioma tends to be contracted when
asbestos is disturbed or damaged and its tiny fibres are breathed into
the lungs causing inflammation.
Compensation claims are often worth pursuing as up to 95% of all mesothelioma
cases are caused because the employer has failed to protect the workers.
Even if the employer no longer exists or it is not possible to single
out one employer as responsible, a compensation claim can still be pursued.
Legal advice should always be sought as soon as the disease is diagnosed
although there is an official three year time limit from when the illness
first manifests itself.
Many UNISON members, who have been helped with compensation claims for
mesothelioma, contracted the disease when working in another industry.
However asbestos can still pose a risk for UNISON members in their current
employment because it is present in many public service buildings such
as schools, municipal buildings and hospitals built or refurbished in
the 1950s and 1960s.
For example it can be found in insulation products covering pipes and
boilers and in the packing found in fire doors as well as in cement products
such as sheeting for ceiling tiles.
Although the dangers of asbestos are now well-documented not all employers
are taking adequate steps to protect employees. As a result UNISON has
had to deal with hundreds of compensation claims over the years and continues
to campaign for stronger legislation to prevent asbestos exposure.
Unfortunately for those who have already contracted mesothelioma all hope
rests on a cure.
“At the moment there is no hope if you are diagnosed with mesothelioma,”
says Anderson.
“We need to increase people’s awareness and make them realise
how many people this disease kills.”
Contact the article's author
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FUNDS NEEDED Sadly, Davy Craig died of mesothelioma and his wife is now campaigning
to ensure that others do not have to suffer like her husband. |
LOTS MORE FEATURESIncluding stress in the workplace, getting out of debt and the pensions crisis more... |
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