Hidden killer that lurks in our dust

I T hides under our floorboards, in our walls, in our pipes and, if disturbed, it prowls the air we breath. It is currently hiding in over half a million properties, and in the lungs of countless people, nationwide.

Now the hidden killer has been exposed. A high-profile training scheme by the Health and Safety Executive took place in Edinburgh last week to educate the next generation of construction workers on the dangers of exposure to asbestos.

Its message was buoyed by a major award handed to Clydeside Action on Asbestos, a group that grew from a small movement to help asbestos-stricken Clyde shipworkers into a national campaign, at the Scottish Politician of the Year Awards on Thursday.

And yet the killer continues to try to slink back into the shadows – avoiding both detection and retribution – through a combination of legislation, misdirection, negligence and continuing ignorance amongst trade professionals.

Its most effective hiding place for many years was contained in the Damages (Scotland) Act 1979.

This left individuals suffering from cancerous mesothelioma, or other fatal asbestos related illnesses, with the grim choice of claiming a lower rate of compensation to help them through their final years, or waiting until after death so their family could claim a higher amount.

Phyllis Craig, senior project worker with Clydeside Action on Asbestos, named Public Campaign of the Year at Thursday's ceremony in the Prestonfield House Hotel, called this legislation "cruel and unfair".

This iniquity was overturned by the Rights of Relatives to Damages (Mesothelioma) (Scotland) Act, which set into law the principle that a family's right to damages is not extinguished by a person with mesothelioma settling their own claim while still alive.

However, the hidden killer soon found another hiding place under the cloak of the Lords where, with its power to damage the lives of sufferers and their families diminished, it was ruled that those with apparently non-fatal asbestos scarring were no longer eligible for compensation.

This scarring, known as 'pleural plaques', is a clear indicator of asbestos exposure but, some experts argue, does not necessarily indicate an increased risk of developing a more serious asbestos related disease. For this reason, the right to compensation was removed.

However, the Scottish Government has again stepped up to the plate with a second Bill, the Damages Bill, which threatens to overturn the Lords ruling in Scotland.

The hidden killer had already threatened to tear apart the Westminster Government by taking the life of Glenrothes MP John MacDougall, a former Rosyth dockworker who died from asbestos-related cancer in August, forcing a by-election.

Tory MSP Bill Aitken, chair of the Holyrood justice committee, has warned that the Damages Bill could land Scotland with a £6.5 million compensation claim under a Treasury mechanism which allows Westminster to wash its hands of the financial implications of devolved legislation.

However, Clydeside Action on Asbestos said this misdirection only serves to take the focus off the diseases.

Phyllis Craig added: " Asbestos-related illnesses are generally caused by ignorance or negligence on behalf of employers."

This theory has driven Armadale-based campaigner Alex Horne to fight for over 20 years to keep the plight in the public eye.

Mr Horne, who was exposed to asbestos while working as a boilermaker at the Golden Wonder crisp factory in the 1980s, said: "I'm still surprised by the number of people who seek to cover up their liability for asbestos exposure, and the number of people who don't know how dangerous this stuff is."

For this reason, the Health and Safety Executive has launched a campaign entitled Asbestos: The Hidden Killer, and has been taking its message to educational institutions throughout the country.

Mark Lawton, of the HSE asbestos policy group, was at Telford College on Friday speaking to construction apprentices, many of whom had never even heard of asbestos.

He said: "Most of the apprentices I spoke to at Telford told me that they'd probably already been exposed to asbestos and didn't have the necessary protection. It's a shocking state of ignorance when you consider that 25 per cent of people with asbestos related illnesses come from the construction industry.

"Somewhere in the region of 5000 people are killed by asbestos-related illnesses every year. That's more people than are killed in car accidents. However, we hope to confine these kinds of illnesses to a previous generation. Because these illnesses don't develop for many years after exposure, it's often difficult to pin down when and where the exposure occurred.

"But with an increased level of awareness, we hope to arm the next generation with the information they need."