Scientist Who Predicted Scale of Asbestos-Disease Epidemic Honored

Professor Julian Peto, who has done influential research defining the environmental factors that affect development of asbestos-related cancer in the workplace, received the Medal of Honor this week from the International Agency for Research on Cancer, part of the World Health Organization.
Peto was the first researcher to predict the scale of the continuing mesothelioma epidemic. He holds a joint appointment at the Institute of Cancer Research in Great Britain and the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine.
The dose response models that Peto developed for asbestos-related lung cancer and mesothelioma have been adopted internationally for assessment of occupational and environmental asbestos risk. Mesothelioma is a cancer of the lining of the lung related to asbestos exposure.
Peto began his research on asbestos in 1974 at Oxford University, under Richard Doll who was the first researcher to publish definitive evidence of the carcinogenicity of asbestos 55 years ago.
In the 1990s, Peto and colleagues predicted that asbestos-related cancer would claim a quarter of a million lives in Western Europe in the next 35 years. He predicted that one of every 150 men born from 1945 to 1950 in Western Europe would eventually die of mesothelioma, because of the prevalence of asbestos as insulation and building materials in the workplace in earlier decades.
According to the World Health Organization, about 125 million people are exposed to asbestos at work, and at least 90,000 die of asbsetos-related disease each year.

Green Passports bring economic surety to ship recycling.

Safmarine, a member of the A P Moler-Maersk Group, has benefitted from the fixed ship recycling fees that result from having a Green Passport for Ships survey carried out prior to recycling their vessel, Cotonou.

The company's Health, Safety and Environment Manager commented that, as well as being kinder to the environment than beaching a ship to be broken, the costs of recycling, including the disposal of toxic items in the correct manner, was fixed. This was because the company commisioned a Green Passport, or Inventory of Hazardous Materials, prior to work on recycling the Cotonou commencing.

Traditional beaching methods for ship breaking, where there is no prior knowledge of the amount of contaminants on board, allow the ship breaker to re-open negotiations with the company wishing to have it's vessel broken up at the end of its life. As the vessels is already beached, the ships owners are put at a considerable disadvantage in these negotiations.

He also noted that the process was completely transparent and all of the hazardous materials that were removed from the vessel could be traced in line with legislation that will be brought in to force by the International Maritime Organisation in about 2015.

The way forward with ship recycling for the enlightened owner, then, is to spend a small amount of money to have a Green Passport for your vessels, to ensure that you're not ripped off when you need to recycle them.

Lucion Marine provide definitive, not indicative, Green Passport surveys around the world. For more information go to their website or call +44 (0)191 4618999.

Exposed to asbestos at a Darlington hotel.

Workers employed by the contractor, Nationwide Building Contractors, were exposed to damaged asbestos while working on a refurbishment for a prominent hotel in Darlington, County Durham. Read more here.

Asbestos – doesn’t discriminate between classes.

Inhaling asbestos fibres is well known to be linked to the, inevitably fatal, cancer, mesothelioma. The usual image of unfortunate victim is of an ex shipyard worker or a joiner who worked closely with asbestos containing material before the full extent of the toxicity of the product was uncovered.

However, more recently, the number of cases of mesothelioma that are being recorded in the United Kingdom in which the victim of the disease had no direct contact with an industry that used asbestos, is rising alarmingly. Cases where school teachers are succumbing to the disease are seen in the press more regularly. Schools built using the CLASP method of construction from the mid 1940s to 1980 used asbestos insulation board extensively and as the latency of the cancer is known to be as long as 40 years, there could be a connection between the two.

The disease and it’s connection with asbestos has even claimed the life of a Courtier who served the Queen Mother at Clarence House. Sir Alistair Sturgis Aird died in September 2009 after being diagnosed with peritoneal mesothelioma. An inquest into his death held at the County Hall in Dorchester was told that Sir Alistair “always believed” that he had come into contact with asbestos whilst working at Clarence House.

Although the asbestos containing materials were removed in 1996 and done so in accordance with the, then current, regulations, Sir Alistair recalled earlier refurbishment at the Royal Household where he believes he could have been exposed to the toxic fibres.

Sir Alistair was diagnosed with peritoneal mesothelioma in September 2007 and he died two years later at home, leaving his wife, Lady Fiona, who is a godmother to David Cameron.

Lucion Environmental provides asbestos management consultancy services throughout the UK. For more information on asbestos visit their website or call +44(0)191 4618999.

Lucion Environmental – part of the Lucion brand.

Lucion Marine website launch

The Lucion Marine website that is packed with information about Green Passports for ships is going to be launched next week.

Green Passports for ships, or given their more formal title, Inventory of Hazardous Materials are designed to help prevent ships from being broken up for recycling without first having all of the contaminants (asbestos, PCBs, heavy metals etc) removed and disposed of correctly.

Greenpeace have been campaigning to stop ships being beached on beaches in China and India and then taken apart with little or no regard for the impact on the environment or their workers health.

For more information on ship recycling from Greenpeace visit their website at http://www.greenpeaceweb.org/Shipbreak/bangladesh.asp and for more information about Green Passports for ships, visit www.greenpassport.net next week.

Green Passports for Ships

The IMO (International Maritime Organisation) has agreed that there should be controls over the dismantling of ships and how the contaminants should be dealt with in a safe manner to protect the environment and workers.

The new "Green Passport" for ships will facilitate this by logging all of the hazardous materials utilised on ships. Examples are asbestos (lagging ad gaskets), CFCs (used in refridgeration etc), TBCs (dioxins) and ODC (ozone depleting compounds). A "single list" of these hazardous materials will accompany the vessel until it is recycled by a licenced ship recycling yard.

Lucion is one of the only companies that has already carried out complete Inventory of Hazardous Material surveys and delivered a complete reports to their client on vessels due to be recycled.

For more information visit our website.

Free Breakfast Seminar

The HSE has launched a new guidance document for asbestos dutyholders and surveyors. The changes will have a significant impact on people who have to manage buildings with asbestos containing materials in them. Come along to our FREE question and answer sessions where you can get an update from Patrick Morton and his team as to how the new guidance will affect you and how to remain compliant and have breakfast on us!!Light breakfast refreshments provided.email russellexley@lucion.co.uk to book a place at our breakfast table - available every Wednesday from 7th April until 26th May 2010 - 9am to 10am.