BROMLEY: Asbestos deaths spark Health and Safety Executive campaign

8:30am Thursday 12th November 2009

By Scott Mullins

THE Bromley borough is home to some of the capital’s highest numbers of asbestos-related deaths, according to a health and safety watchdog.

Between 1981 and 2005, the Bromley borough saw 128 men die from mesothelioma - a cancer caused by breathing in asbestos.

The figures from the Health and Safety Executive show it is the sixth highest total compared to the 32 other London boroughs.

The statistics have prompted the government department to launch a new campaign warning tradesman of the dangers of asbestos.

Plumber Heath Atkins, from Crystal Palace, says he is supporting the campaign, adding: "Workers need to be aware that it comes in so many different forms and it can be easily missed.

"If come across it, I stop work immediately, I don't touch it and I call in the professionals to remove it."

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