Rising from the dust

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The London Hazards Centre report Rising from the Dust was released at a public meeting held at Barking Town Hall in June 2004. The intention was to highlight some reasons why Barking and Dagenham, 'the sickest borough in London,' has the UK's highest incidence of female mesothelioma, the asbestos cancer, and the 10th highest, after shipbuilding regions, for males:

'The exceptionally high asbestos mortality rate in this part of London is a marker of how hard the area has been hit by the legacy of Cape Asbestos, the industrial killing machine that used to be in Harts Lane,' says the report. 'The death rate for women from this cancer is usually six times less than men, with women suffering around 15% of the total number of deaths from mesothelioma every year. Women's asbestos exposure is often categorised as environmental exposure, including washing dusty overalls of men working with asbestos. But in the Harts Lane Cape factory women actually worked alongside men.'

Environmental exposure has been rife in the borough for decades. Fred Lodge died of mesothelioma aged 39; he had never worked with asbestos, but had the misfortune to live near the Cape factory. Despite the fact that the asbestos works are long gone, contamination of Cape's former site, on which a housing development was built, persists. In 1997, asbestos was dug up during construction work on the Harts Lane Estate.

At the launch the Barking and Dagenham UNISON branch announced they would fund the setting up of an asbestos support network organising drop in advice sessions in local community Centres, with London Hazards Centre providing assistance. UNISON branch chair Louise Couling explained that they would try to provide 'practical and emotional support for asbestos victims and their families, help raise public awareness of asbestos problems within the community and join the campaign for a global asbestos ban.' Sally Moore from Leigh Day solicitors, who will also be involved in the project, gave an update on recent compensation cases and the need to take up the issue of compensation for lung cancer as well as mesothelioma.

For information contact: Tony Browne, Barking and Dagenham UNISON (020 8227 2102 or email: unison@barking-dagenham.gov.uk) or Margaret Sharkey, London Hazards Centre (020 7794 5999 or email: mail@lhc.org.uk).

Rising from the dust is available free on-line at www.lhc.org.uk/members/pubs/asbsupport/rising.pdf

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