Welcome to the Lucion blog.

The Lucion brand covers three disciplines, asbestos management, renewable energy heating systems and Green Passports for ships. We hope that you'll find it interesting and informative. Best wishes from Lucion.

Friday 23 April 2010

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.

Thursday 22 April 2010

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.

Friday 9 April 2010

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.