Windrush Millennium Centre

70 Alexandra Road

Manchester

M16 7WD

Phone: 0161 636 7555

Email:

asbestos.gmavsg@gmail.com

Greater Manchester

Asbestos Victims Support

Group

Future events: 2 November 2015

Mesothelioma Patient and Carer Support Group, Cross Street Chapel Manchester

11 November 2015

Bereaved Families Support Group, Cross Street Chapel, Manchester

7 December 2015

Mesothelioma Patient and Carer Support Group, Cross Street Chapel Manchester

18 December 2015

Bereaved Families Support Group Xmas lunch, Midland Hotel, Manchester

1-4 May 2016

International Mesothelioma Interest Group Conference, Birmingham UK

,

Visit our website at www.asbestos-victims-support.org

The All-Party Parliamentary Group on Occupational Safety and Health has called for a new law to get asbestos removed from workplaces, public buildings and homes. A report, ‘The asbestos crisis—why Britain needs an eradication law’ was published on 16 October 2015. It calls for: .

Commercial and public premises and rented homes to have asbestos surveys and to have plans in place for its removal by 2035 at the latest (2028 in the case of public buildings and schools). .

The Health & Safety Executive (HSE) and other enforcing bodies to develop a programme of inspections to oversee this eradication process, and be given adequate resources to do so. .

Asbestos surveys to be conducted before houses are sold and the information to be made available to potential vendors and contractors working on the house. .

Although the use of asbestos was finally, and belatedly, banned in 1999, most of it is still embedded in many of our workplaces, homes and public buildings, including schools. Its location and state of repair is not always known, putting people living and working in such premises, as well as maintenance workers and demolition workers, at risk of exposure. .

While the report acknowledges that eradication cannot be achieved overnight, it is absolutely correct to argue that unless Government starts to plan and set targets for removal, asbestos, and the diseases it causes, will remain an enduring risk for future generations.

GMAVSG fully supports these demands. We need to start to take action now to prevent asbestos tragedies in the future. The full report can be viewed at:: www.ianlavery.org.uk/parliamentary_group_calls_for_eradication_of_all_asbestos_in_britain

And unfortunately, the ‘evidence’ only comes to light decades later when asbestos diseases develop. .

The hospital’s response to the independent report detailing their shortcomings also back-handedly concedes that their maintenance workers were put in danger by these safety breaches.

Further evidence, if any were needed, that we can’t just rely on employers to protect workers from asbestos exposure and that we need laws to get asbestos out of our workplaces. As

Asbestos in crayons?

Tests in Australia and the USA have discovered asbestos in crayons and children’s science kits manufactured in China. .

Further investigations indicate that some of these products may be on sale in this country via online retailers. We have raised concerns with the HSE and Trading Standards and have been able to get some products removed from Ebay’s site. .

Christies Hospital asbestos

failures

Maintenance workers were exposed to asbestos over a 10 year period at Christies Hospital according to the Manchester Evening News.

.

Management admitted safety breaches but claimed there was ‘no evidence’ that patients or non-maintenance staff were put at risk! .

If you are not monitoring the presence and risk of asbestos on your premises properly then by definition, evidence will be hard to come by.

NEWS BITES

MPs call for new asbestos removal law

Visit our website at www.asbestos-victims-support.org

October 2015

Greater

Manchester

Asbestos Victims

Support Group

News from GMAVSG

We believe in:

Properly resourced

funding for mesothelioma

research.

Decent treatment for

victims of asbestos

diseases.

Welfare justice- an end

to unfair treatment of

benefits for asbestos

victims and their families.

A fairer compensation

system and improved

access to justice.

Preventing future

tragedies caused by

asbestos exposure -

information, enforcement

of safety regulations and

removal of asbestos from

our workplaces and

environment.

An international ban on

the mining, export and

use of all asbestos.

Inside this issue:

Patient and Carer Support Group

1

iMig conference 1

Action Mesothelioma Day 2015

2

Asbestos and lung cancer

2

GMAVSG summer outing

3

Asbestos toll in Europe 3

MPs call for asbestos eradication law

4

News round-up 4

NEWSLETTER

Mesothelioma UK and GMAVSG have set up a new support group for people with mesothelioma and their carers. The group meets on the first Monday of every month, 1.30-3.30 p.m. at the Cross Street Chapel, Cross Street, Manchester M2 1NL. .

At the first meeting in October, Dr Paul Taylor, Consultant and mesothelioma specialist from Wythenshawe Hospital, gave an overview of current treatments and clinical trials for mesothelioma patients. . .

Future meetings will feature speakers and activities relevant to mesothelioma sufferers and their carers—please check our Facebook page and website for details of upcoming meetings. The meetings will also offer the opportunity for people to meet over tea, coffee and biscuits and discuss issues of common concern.

The meetings are open to anyone with a mesothelioma diagnosis and/or their carers. We hope the talks and activities we organise are of interest. But we also believe that those directly affected by mesothelioma are best placed to provide support to each other because of their shared experience.

If you would like to know more about, or attend, future meetings, please contact Lorraine Creech (Mesothelioma UK) on 0161 291 5320 or contact GMAVSG on 0161 636 7555.

Every two years, the world’s leading mesothelioma researchers and medical practitioners meet at the iMig conference to discuss the very latest in medical research and treatments for mesothelioma. ,

The next conference will be held from the 1- 4 May 2016 in Birmingham, recognition of the cutting edge research being conducted in this country. For more information visit the website at http://imig.org . .

Mesothelioma Patient and Carer Support Group

International Mesothelioma Interest Group

Visit our website at www.asbestos-victims-support.org

Industrial Injuries Disablement Benefit, Government lump sums and civil compensation can often be paid to lung cancer patients who have been exposed to asbestos. But an issue affecting people with a diagnosis of lung cancer is that a possible connection with asbestos exposure is not always made. . One reason for this is that lung cancer can be attributed to a number of different causes and if a health professional does not ask about a patient's employment history and/or possible asbestos exposure, the connection can be missed. As a consequence, that patient could miss out on his/her entitlement to state welfare benefits (and on possible claims for civil compensation). The connection with asbestos exposure is most obvious where the lung cancer is accompanied by an existing diagnosis of asbestosis. However, even if there is no existing diagnosis of asbestosis, a patient may still qualify

for Industrial Injuries Disablement Benefit if he or she has been exposed to asbestos doing certain types of work over a specified number of years (usually 5 years if the exposure took place before 1975, or 10 years if it took place after 1975). . If you have been diagnosed with lung cancer and have worked with, or been exposed to, asbestos at work, it is important that you tell your doctor/consultant/Macmillan Nurse this. It is important also for these health professionals to ask the ‘asbestos question’. Even if you cannot remember being exposed to asbestos (it would have been a long time ago after all) it is worth getting advice if you have worked in heavy industry or construction, where asbestos was widely used. . For anyone seeking further advice or support on the above matters, please contact the GMAVSG team. .

Asbestos and lung cancer

Over 200 people – mesothelioma sufferers, family members, trade unionists, campaigners, and MPs – gathered for a rally in Lincoln Square in Manchester on Friday 3rd July to commemorate all those who have lost their lives to mesothelioma. This year, the focus was on the campaign for more funding for research. There are currently 7 new cases of mesothelioma being diagnosed every day in the UK. .

Tom Wyatt, who lost his dad Trevor, and Damara, who lost her grandad Gordon, to mesothelioma, released doves to commemorate all those who have lost their lives to this disease. Margaret Poole chaired the rally outdoors, and spoke movingly of the loss of her partner Terry last year to mesothelioma. .

After the rally, a public meeting was held in the town hall to discuss current research into mesothelioma, and the prospects, not only for better treatments, but ultimately a cure. Professor Luciano Mutti, Dr Paul Taylor, and Mesothelioma UK nurse Lorraine Creech all spoke. .

A key issue is that for too long funding for research into mesothelioma has been dwarfed by the funding that goes into research for other cancers. Mesothelioma sufferers have been badly let down in the past, and we need to campaign to ensure they will not carry on being let down in the future. .

Action Mesothelioma Day 2015

Visit our website at www.asbestos-victims-support.org

Our bereaved families support group met for afternoon tea at the lovely St John's Hotel on Wednesday 29th July. The food was delicious, on what was (for once) a gorgeous, sunny day in Manchester. These summer outings are a chance to meet others, to chat, and generally have a great time. . For those who don’t know about the group, it meets throughout the year, and is an opportunity for those who have lost a loved one to mesothelioma to share experiences, support each other, and to campaign and raise awareness.

47,000 deaths a year in EU caused by asbestos

An explosive report released in September at the 13th Congress of the European Trade Union Confederation documented a shocking loss of life caused by asbestos exposures throughout the European Union (EU), with the number of deaths per year estimated to be in excess of 47,000.

.

The figures are more than treble previous estimates but, as bad as they are, they do not tell the whole story about Europe’s asbestos pandemic.

There are multiple reasons for this. The deaths counted exclude:

those from environmental or domestic asbestos exposures – which are killing even more people in asbestos hotspots than workplace exposures;

fatalities from other asbestos-related diseases such as cancers of the larynx and ovary, and possibly stomach, colorectal and pharynx cancers;

asbestos-related mortality from European countries not in the EU, many of which continue to import and use large amounts of asbestos and asbestos-containing products.

Commenting on the contents of this report, Laurie Kazan-Allen, Coordinator of the International Ban Asbestos Secretariat said:

“Time and time again, civil society groups have pressed the European Commission and European Union to take coordinated and decisive action on the asbestos hazard. The political will to engage with this crisis has been sorely lacking. In light of the new data, the authorities should make good on their promise to constitute a European Asbestos Taskforce as a matter of utmost urgency.”

ANDEVA, national organisation of French asbestos victims

groups, organise a 2,000 strong demonstration for justice in

Paris, 9 October 2015

Pictures taken by Patrice Raveneau

Bereaved Families Support Group summer outing

Our support group for family members who have lost loved ones to mesothelioma meets 5 times a year at Cross Street Chapel, Cross Street, Manchester M2 1NL. The group provides mutual support, organises social activities, and campaigns on behalf of asbestos victims and for banning asbestos to prevent future deaths from asbestos exposure. Our meetings are advertised on our Facebook page and website. New members are welcome. If you would like more information about our group please ring GMAVSG on 0161 636 7555 or Vera Rigby on 01457 873560.

Bereaved Families Support Group