UK Health and Safety Executives investigated another asbestos exposure incident, this one at Aston University in Birmingham. The school recently hired Access Fire and Security Ltd. to install cameras in their recreational center’s reception area. Two workers and a teenage trainee were assigned the job. Once work began, two members of the crew were exposed to asbestos when they began drilling to mount new security cameras.
Asbestos is present in countless building materials worldwide and in the UK, though in the latter concern is specific to materials manufactured and installed before 2000. Floor and ceiling tiles are common residential and commercial building materials containing asbestos. Roofing tiles, plumbing gaskets and insulation are among the many other items containing the toxic chemical.
Asbestos is the cause of many lung and respiratory illness including the rare and fatal cancer mesothelioma. Once asbestos fibers are inhaled, they can begin a mutation process in the cells on lung lining which develops into an irregularly patterned cancer. Mesothelioma takes decades to demonstrate recognizable symptoms and is often misdiagnosed as pneumonia.
There are no known curative mesothelioma treatments and prognosis is grim. Average life expectancy following diagnosis is eighteen months. Many mesothelioma patients are moving to palliative treatment regimens to manage pain and quality of life.
Health and Safety Executive inspector, Karl Raw, responded to the Aston University investigation. “While the amount of asbestos involved in this incident was small, two people now have to live with the knowledge that they may become ill from lung disease in the future,
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