The TUC has called for a worldwide asbestos ban following its
claims that 18,000 workers have died in the past four years from exposure to the
substance.
In a report published at the weekend the TUC says that 4,500
people died from asbestos related diseases last year and by 2020 it has been
estimated that the substance will be responsible for 10,000 deaths a years.
In Mapping the Misery
of Asbestos the TUC calls for a worldwide asbestos ban, an asbestos public
register and help for sufferers, including compensation.
“These sad statistics are a legacy of our industrial past.
It has been known for more that century that asbestos is harmful, and fatal.
But thousands of workers have been exposed to asbestos, many already have
died,” said TUC general secretary John Monks.
He continued, “The dead and the living both deserve justice.
That is why the TUC wants to see a global ban on asbestos, tougher measures
regarding the control of asbestos in buildings, fairer, more efficient
compensation and better medical care.”
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