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What is asbestos?
Asbestos, from the Greek work “unquenchable” is a group of
natural minerals which are fireproof and remarkably resistant to
acids and alkalies. It was also discovered that asbestos was a very
efficient insulator and could bind together other materials to
produce a product of greater strength.
The three most common forms of asbestos used in the UK were
Chrysotile (white asbestos), Amosite (brown asbestos) and
Crocidolite (blue asbestos). White asbestos was mined mainly in
Quebec, South Africa and Central Russia. This contains the softest
asbestos fibres which under a microscope will appear curly and
flexible. The individual fibres are less carcinogenic than blue or
brown asbestos fibres.
Blue asbestos and brown asbestos were mined mainly in South
Africa. The fibres appear very sharp, stiff and needle-like. Blue
asbestos is the most carcinogenic and was often used for insulating
naval vessels. Due to its excellent resistant properties to acids,
it was mixed with cement to produce asbestos cement sheets that
were designed to be exposed to chemicals.
A further form of asbestos is known as Tremolite, which can be
found in the earth’s crust, but has only been mined commercially on
a small scale. Traces can be found in some industrial talc.
Asbestos was used as an insulation material from the early part
of the 19th Century because of its heat resistant properties. It
could be fashioned into a paste, into sheets or rope. The real
increase in the use of asbestos in the UK occurred after the 1930s.
It was used for corrugated roofing, insulation around pipe work, in
sheet form to box in pipes, on ships, in houses, in factories, in
power stations, and in public buildings such as schools and
hospitals. It was mixed and cut. In addition, asbestos was often
stripped from pipes and boiler work to maintain valves and pipes
underneath. Workers likely to have been exposed to asbestos
include:
- Insulation Engineers or laggers - stripping old and applying
new asbestos lagging;
- Shipyard workers - often breathing in asbestos dust as a result
of working near laggers or insulation engineers who were stripping
asbestos. Sprayed asbestos was often used on board ships and
exposure was particularly intense because areas within ships were
generally confined spaces;
- Dockers carrying the raw material in Hessian sacks from ships
entering the ports from Canada and South Africa;
- Lorry drivers - transporting the raw material to
factories;
- Factory workers - there were a number of factories in Britain
that fashioned the raw material to make pipes, sheets and
insulation powder, including Cape Asbestos at Barking, J W Roberts
of Leeds, Universal Asbestos of Uxbridge and Turners Asbestos
Cement of Erith;
- Carpenters - sawing, drilling and fitting asbestos sheets;
- Electricians - installing electrical equipment on lagged pipes
or equipment;
- Plumbers - stripping lagging;
- Pipe Fitters - knocking off wet or sectional lagging which
contained asbestos to replace sections of pipes and joints;
- Mechanics - servicing and replacing brake linings and brake and
clutch shoes which often contained about 55% white asbestos;
blowing out the asbestos dust using a compressed airline;
- Boiler Scalers - cleaning the inside of boilers and stripping
asbestos from joints;
- Council workers – repairing asbestos guttering and bath panels
in Council houses.
There have also been cases of incidental exposure such as
teachers working in schools near deteriorating lagging,
doctors/nurses using tunnels underneath hospitals containing
exposed lagging in poor condition and fire-fighters taking down old
buildings. We have had cases of those living near asbestos
factories or those exposed to asbestos from their father’s,
husband’s or brother’s overalls. We have even had a case of a
barber who contracted asbestos cancer from cutting the hair of
employees who worked at an asbestos factory.
For further information on asbestos
organisations please click on the link.
If you would like to know more about our asbestos lawyers please click on the
link.
We have one of the country’s leading practices in asbestos
claims. We act on a "no win, no fee"
basis.
Our team of asbestos lawyers has successfully concluded over
1,900 asbestos compensation claims and
recovered over £116 million damages on behalf of sufferers and
their families, throughout the UK and abroad.