Last Updated on 12th December 2017 by Admin

International Asbestos Study Day 2017 held in Manchester

How to identify asbestos

On 5 August 2017, Graham Dring and his colleagues from the Greater Manchester Asbestos Victims Support Group held an international asbestos study day.

It was held in Manchester city centre at the Slater and Gordon offices.

In attendance were experts and campaigners from all over the world including France, Japan, Spain, Belgium, Italy, Australia and the UK.

Vivienne Swain, an ex resident of Rochdale, started the day off talking about her personal experience of asbestos exposure and her treatment.

Others speakers took part in the morning session including Laurie Kazan-Allen from The International Ban Asbestos Secretariat and Jason Addy, Rochdale asbestos campaigner.

Laurie spoke about Mesothelioma: The British Tragedy, Global Disaster, and Jason reported on the infamous Turner and Newall asbestos factory story.

Graham Dring told the attendees all about the Asbestos Support Groups in the UK, their history and campaigns.

How to identify asbestos

John McClean advised on the UK ‘Asbestos in Schools’ campaign.

For the afternoon session, Lorraine Creech from the charity Mesothelioma UK spoke about Mesothelioma: Diagnosis, Treatment, and Clinical Trials for Patients.

Greg DeLeuil shared information on Australia’s Asbestos Legacy.

Sugio Andeva from Spain and his other colleagues talked about asbestos campaigns and issues in France, Japan, France, Spain and Belgium.

Patrick Walsh explained to the group about compensation for asbestos sufferers in the UK.

Group visits Turner and Newall site

A visit to the infamous Turner and Newall site in Rochdale concluded the study day, which was very informative and interesting.

Local residents and campaigners of the Spodden Valley area were in attendance.

They, along with Jason Addy, gave a very good overview of the history of the site and the problems that arose teaching companies how to identify asbestos.

Jason commented, “The history and legacy of past products, corporate decisions made and waste dumping on the Turner Brothers Asbestos site should never be forgotten, lest history repeats itself.”

Speaking after the site visit, Graham Dring said, “Our international guests wanted to see the former Turner Brothers Asbestos Site for themselves. To them this is ‘asbestos ground zero’, where the asbestos industry,deaths and questionable tactics to promote the deadly mineral first began.”

Throughout the course of the day, many stories were heard highlighting the asbestos problem from across the world, and the debilitating illnesses it causes such as mesothelioma. A keen focus was on the importance of how to identify asbestos laying dormant.

The attendees from Japan went onto take part in other Action Mesothelioma Day events in Birmingham, Manchester, Sheffield, Derby and Manchester.

Source of article:-  https://www.mesothelioma.uk.com

Duty holders and employers have a legal responsibility to know how to identify asbestos in their building so as not to put employees at risk. Contact our Armco office for asbestos management and refurbishment/ demolition surveys on 0161 763 3727 or by visiting https://www.armco.org.uk/

Alternatively, for all your asbestos training needs call 0161 761 4424 or visit https://www.armcoasbestostraining.co.uk/ for more information or to book a training course.

Published Sep 25, 2017