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C O N T E N T S

1. Introduction
2. Asbestos: the worst industrial killer
   Asbestos panic starts now
   A time bomb
   The building workers' plague
   Construction trade union UCATT called for a ban
   If in doubt - stop the job
   Early warnings of the public health disaster
   Enfield council fined
   'Important and frightening'
   Other high risk groups
3. Asbestos and your health
   Why is asbestos dangerous?
   The main types of asbestos diseases
   Asbestosis
   Lung cancer
   Mesothelioma
   Pleural thickening
   Pleural plaques
   Other types of cancers
   Asbestos and children
   Women and asbestos
   The Liverpool women
   Cryptogenic asbestos
   Environmental exposures
   J.W.Roberts factory, Leeds
4. Uses and abuses of asbestos
   World production and consumption
   Types of asbestos
   Amphibole group
   Serpentine group
   Uses of asbestos: cheapness not fire resistance
   Main uses of asbestos in buildings
   Sprayed coatings and lagging
   Insulation boards
   Asbestos cement products
   Airborne fibre levels expected close to operator's breathing zone for different processes
   Asbestos in public buildings
   Local authorities
   The civil service
   The answer to asbestos in buildings
   Asbestos substitutes
   Action points
5. Asbestos and the law
   Current UK legislation on asbestos
   Banning asbestos
   If in doubt do not work with asbestos
   The Control Of Asbestos At Work Regulations (CAWR) 1987 amended by The Control Of Asbestos At Work (Amendment) Regulations 1992
   Control limits
   Employers' duties
   The Asbestos (Prohibition) Regulations 1992
   Banning asbestos products in construction
   The asbestos (licensing) regulations 1983
   Plan of work
   Regulation of subcontractors and the self-employed
   Other relevant legislation
   The Health And Safety At Work Act 1974
   The Management Of Health And Safety At Work Regulations 1992
   The Construction (Design And Management) Regulations 1994
   The asbestos police
   HSE publications
   Other agencies which help control asbestos
   ARCA, asbestos removal contractors' association
   RICE, Regulated Inter-Laboratory Counting Exchange
6. Getting away with murder
   Poor to the point of being pathetic
   Prosecutions for asbestos offences
   Licence to kill?
   Controlling the cowboys
   HSE resources cut
   Reasons HSE refused or revoked an asbestos licence
7. Asbestos removal
   The modern myth: asbestos removal is risky and a waste of money
   Sealing asbestos
   Safe removal of asbestos
   Wet removal by injection
   Air management
   Monitoring and sampling
   Monitoring methods
   Why air monitor?
   Problems of collecting samples
   How to read a results sheet
   Problems of monitoring accuracy
   Checklist for monitoring contractors
8. The fatal legacy: waste and contamination
   The legal framework
   Controlling asbestos waste on site
   Removal of asbestos waste from the site
   Danger areas
   Fly tipping
   Demolition of old factories, tower blocks, and power stations
   Waste disposal sites near homes and schools
   Landfill
   Redevelopment of former industrial or waste disposal sites
9. The asbestos producers
   The Manville Corporation
   T&N
   US claims
   Chase Manhattan Bank
   Avoiding costs
   1982: The Wellington Facility
   1988: The Centre For Claims Resolution
   1993: The Georgine Settlement
   US bankruptcies
   Lloyds and the insurance industry
10. The myths about asbestos
    Myth number one: asbestos cement - the fibres are "locked in"
    Victim of "locked in" asbestos
    Myth number two: blue is deadly, white is safe
    >Myth number three: the "safe" level of exposure
    New US standard
11. Compensation: righting the wrong
    Asbestos victim support groups
    Workers
    Other victims
    The Compensation Recovery Unit
    The DSS industrial injuries scheme for asbestos
    Benefit levels for industrial disability benefit
    Problems in obtaining benefit
    The Pneumoconiosis etc (Workers' Compensation) Act 1979
    Common law compensation or civil claims
    Legal aid
    Time limits
    Defunct companies
    Final settlements
    Provisional damages
    Compensation for smokers
    Inquests and coroners' courts
    Asbestos inquests
    The post mortem
    The death certificate
    Domestic exposures
12. Asbestos international
    Co-ordinated international activities
    International Labour Organisation
    International Federation Of Building And Wood Workers
    International Federation Of Chemical, Energy And General Workers' Unions
    Asbestos around the world
    Countries with Bans
    European union
    France
    Italy
    United States
    Canada
    Japan
    Brazil
    South Africa
    Australia
    The Third World
    Conclusion
13. Asbestos: the evil history