Lawford Kidd's Blog

East Ayrshire Council (EAC) has taken the unprecedented step of becoming the first Local Authority to pledge its support to the Institution of Occupational Safety and Health's (IOSH) No Time to Lose Campaign

The anti work-related cancer campaign, the purpose of which is to increase awareness of the exposure to cancer-causing substances in the workplace and also to encourage employers / organisations to take action to prevent such, has already attracted in excess of fifty pledges and considerably more endorsements.

The Recovery of Medical Costs for Asbestos Diseases (Scotland) Bill Consultation process has begun, and has been backed by Clydeside Action on Asbestos. The Bill will allow the NHS to claim back millions for costs associated with caring for those suffering from asbestos related diseases such as Mesothelioma from insurance companies who have already settled civil claims with victims and their families.

A newly-published survey which was conducted jointly by the Institution of Occupational Safety and Health (IOSH) and the Construction Dust Partnership (CDP), which aimed to discover how well issues with on-site dust risks are controlled and perceived, has shown that workers feel the issue of hazardous dust must be highlighted more in their workplace.

The results of the joint survey - which questioned more than 600 workers from throughout the construction industry - show that 44 per cent of workers currently feel that the industry considers the control of construction dust of "very little" priority. By contrast, just 12.5 per cent thought it was considered "a priority health issue".

Marks and Spencer plc and three of its contractors have been fined for putting members of the public, staff and construction workers at risk of exposure to asbestos-containing materials during the refurbishment of two stores in Reading and Bournemouth.