News

Read the latest news from IATP, plus Asbestos news from the UK & around the world.

The IATP dedicates memorials to the remembrance of those affected by asbestos.

Did you know that more people die each year of Mesothelioma than die due to Road Traffic Accidents*.

The HSE have just released new figures showing that past exposure to asbestos killed 2,538 in Great Britain in 2013. It is very possible that this figure is actually much higher but the recorded cause of death is down to a secondary cause, such as a heart attack.

Action Mesothelioma Day is a national event, with mesothelioma groups and organisations from around the country marking the day with a range of events and activities.

This year the IATP has dedicated two memorials to the remembrance of those, whose lives have been affected by asbestos.

A bench along the South Carriage Drive of Battersea Park will be installed within the next couple of weeks.  A brass plaque will be mounted on the bench with the inscription:

“The IATP – Raising Asbestos Awareness Together
Remembering those whose lives have been affected by asbestos
The living owe it to those who can no longer speak
to tell their story for them”

The dedication will be on an ornate steel bench, which will be there for many years to come.

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The IATP have also dedicated one of Kew Garden’s renowned bulb displays in honour those affected by asbestos. The Snow Drop display has been selected and can be found in the Conservation Area at Kew Gardens, part of Kew’s 16-hectare Natural Areas, which are around Queen Charlotte’s Cottage.

The Snow Drop is a symbol of Hope and one of the first flowers of spring, it is also the flower long associated with the mesothelioma community.

The dedication will be recorded on the Commemorative Touchscreen Register in the Secluded Garden glasshouse at Kew Gardens.

We wish everyone organising and taking part in an event for Action Mesothelioma Day, Good Luck and hope they have a great day.
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The IATP will be carrying out a sponsored event, where we will be sending two teams to complete the Ben Nevis Charity Challenge. This is an exciting team challenge set in the stunning Scottish Highlands. Teams of four are challenged to climb Ben Nevis, cycle 25 miles (on road) and canoe Loch Lochy. All funds raised will go to the IATP’s chosen charity. We do still have a couple of places available on this challenge should anyone be interested in taking part please contact ben-nevischallenge@iatp.org.uk

*Figures taken from Department for Transport Statistical Release – 26.06.2014 and Health and Safety Executive Press Release – 01.07.2015

BBC programme highlights the heart-breaking and all too common issue of Asbestos in Schools

A recent programme on BBC Victoria Derbyshire highlighted the all too real issue of asbestos in schools. The item featured three individuals who believe that their mesothelioma was caused by asbestos in schools.

Schools are seen as a place of education and development, not somewhere you expect to develop a disease that will take your life from you.

The programme highlights that between 2003 and 2012 nearly 22,000 people died of mesothelioma, for 224 of these individuals their last recorded profession was teaching.

How many of those that have died of mesothelioma have worked in schools previously, attended a school where asbestos was present or changed profession prior to their death? The true scale of the problem is unknown.

One of the three individuals interviewed who have been diagnosed with mesothelioma; Jenny Davis, who believe she came in to contact with asbestos through her job as a science teacher said she has no hopes but fear not knowing what it will be like when she dies.

The programme goes on to state the ¾ of schools in the UK contain asbestos and that legislation requires; as a minimum an asbestos register, monitoring, training and to notify others of the presence of asbestos.

The National Union of Teachers has called for the new government to deal with Asbestos in Schools and for a long term strategy to be put in place.

The programme is a very informative piece and highlights the concerns about asbestos in schools. We hope that this programme will help to raise asbestos awareness and to start people asking the correct questions if they are unsure.

For more information on Asbestos please visit: www.iatp.org.uk

IATP Communication

ENDS:

Original Source

BBC link: http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p02txdl6

IATP 2015 Annual Dinner & Awards “Winter Wonderland”

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We are delighted to invite you to join us at our 2015 Annual Dinner. The Annual Dinner is a formal event aimed at raising awareness and funds for the IATP’s chosen charity, Asbestos Awareness & Support Cymru. The Annual Dinner also hosts “The IATP Recognition Awards”, honouring individuals for their work and contributions across all areas of the Asbestos Industry.

The evening will include:

Welcome Drinks Reception

3 Course Dinner followed by Coffee & Mints

Charity Auction & Raffle

Disco & Dancing

Presentation of the IATP Recognition Awards

Dress code: Black Tie & Evening Dress

Tickets cost: £55.00 per person

The numbers of tickets available is limited and interest for them is high, so please book quickly to avoid disappointment. Tickets will be sold strictly on a first come first served basis.

For further information or to download a booking form please visit: www.iatp.org.uk, alternatively you can email events@iatp.org.uk. Click to Book

Closing date for ticket sales is: Friday 9th January 2015

We look forward to seeing you there.

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The Hotel

Having recently undergone a £26 million refurbishment, the Belfry is a stunning venue. Pull up a stool at the glittering Champagne bar, dine in style in our two enticing restaurants, or drift away in the world-class spa. Then sink into your deep, cosy bed. Nestled in over 500 acres of idyllic countryside, we’re a world away from the hustle and bustle of Birmingham, yet still just 20 minutes from the city centre and New Street Station and 10 minutes from Birmingham International Airport.

The hotel are offering a guaranteed room rate of £120.00 for a standard room per night. Guests are required to call the hotel on 0844 980 0600 and quote IATP Events, 31st January 2015 and pay a non-refundable £50.00 deposit by 31st November. Guests must call individually before (8 weeks prior to arrival date) to pay a £50.00 non-refundable deposit for their reservation, if payment is not received by this date the room will be released.

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http://www.thebelfry.co.uk/

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Alternative hotels within the local area include:

Lea Marston Hotel

Brook Marston Farm Hotel

Premier Inn Birmingham North (Sutton Coldfield)

Ramada Birmingham/Sutton Coldfield

Sponsorship opportunities for the annual dinner are available.

Please contact IATP Events for more information on events@iatp.org.uk                       or 07738 110718

Booking form: 

Meet the IATP Award Recipients.

kieran

Kieran Brewer: Meso Warrior Award.

Lord Saatchi

Lord Saatchi: Making a Difference.

JUAC

JUAC: Outstanding Contribution Award.

 

IATP Charity Sky Dive 14/11/2014

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After 2 failed attempts due to the weather IATP director, Wayne Williams finally took to the skies to complete his jump on Friday 14th November.  The IATP’s sponsored skydive was in honour of Action Mesothelioma Day, which was on Friday 4th July 2014. The jump raised a grand total of £1,295.00, which will be going to this year’s chosen charity, Asbestos Awareness & Support Cymru.

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A.A.S.C provides networking opportunities throughout Wales to help provide support to victims of asbestos related diseases and their families. This includes guiding victims of asbestos diseases and their families to the help they need with health & social care, linking them with legal professionals in the statutory, voluntary and private sectors to ensure that they are aware of the best assistance available to them within Wales.

Thank you to all of those who sponsored Wayne to complete his skydive, without their support we would not have been able to raise such a large amount for AASC. Also a huge thanks to Wayne for volunteering to complete the jump.

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IATP Events

 

 

 

 

IATP Weekly News Roundup Blog 19/02/2015

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Changing Flags to Use India’s Ship Graveyard

Vessels are switching their nation of registry to avoid EU restrictions

The container ship MV Justus, built in 1995 by Polish shipyard Gdynia Stocznia, spent most of its 19 years plying the seas with a European pedigree. It was first owned by a German ship fund run by Hamburg-based asset manager König & Cie. But like a growing number of aging vessels, the MV Justus changed its nationality only months before being taken out of service. In doing so, it avoided a late 2013 measure by the European Union that banned ships registered in its 28 member nations from using dangerous tidal beaches for ship demolition work.

On July 9, 2014, the ship changed its flag to that of the tiny Caribbean island nation of St. Kitts, according to data from NGO Shipbreaking Platform, a coalition of environmental, human rights, and labor rights organizations working toward safe and clean ship recycling. Then, after starting a journey from Las Palmas in the Canary Islands on July 15 and sailing through Port Said and Dubai, data compiled by Bloomberg show, it ended up on Aug. 17 near Bhavnagar, off the coast of the Indian state of Gujarat—defying a year-old restriction from the EU. On Aug. 28, now under an owner called Malwi Ship Breaking, according to Indian government data, the MV Justus docked at Alang, the ofttimes dangerous yard where the world’s ships go to die. True to form, about a month later a worker was killed when he fell from a high ladder while breaking up the vessel. Another was severely injured.

König & Cie. spokesman Detlef Seiler said via e-mail that the ship had declared insolvency. “The sale for scrap was entirely in the hand of the [insolvency] administrator and the financing bank,” he said, and König & Cie. wasn’t involved in the ship’s flag change. Calls to a number for Malwi went unanswered.

Alang’s 11-kilometer (6.8-mile) stretch of land has become the world’s largest yard for what’s known as shipbreaking, the dirty, deadly work of tearing apart massive vessels so that their steel and scrap can be sold or junked.

Despite the EU ban, European ships keep coming to Alang. Some change their registrations, or flags, to countries without such rules just before reaching Indian waters. “There are special kinds of flags” valid for a few months that don’t require an operator to set up shop in the issuing nation, says Patrizia Heidegger, executive director of Brussels-based Shipbreaking Platform, and “they are particularly cheap for a last voyage.”

Besides St. Kitts, the flags come from such places as Comoros, Nevis, and Tuvalu, Heidegger says. Although it could be used by shipowners to sidestep current EU regulations, the process of changing registration is not illegal. Vishwapati Trivedi, India’s shipping secretary, did not respond to interview requests. Nitin Kanakiya, the secretary of India’s Ship Recycling Industries Association, says many owners register their ships in such havens as the Bahamas, Liberia, and St. Vincent for their stricter privacy laws, not in attempts to escape safety rules. Jakub Adamowicz, a spokesman for transport at the EU, didn’t respond to an e-mail seeking comment.

In Alang, about 1,200 kilometers from New Delhi, barefoot workers manually break up ships, exposing themselves to toxins including asbestos and lead. As workers without protective gear toiled on one hulk recently, explosive gas cylinders scavenged from other dying vessels lay about nearby. “This is not shipbreaking, this is international hazardous waste trade,” says Gopal Krishna, founder of ToxicsWatch Alliance, a nonprofit activist group. “This is transfer of toxics from developed nations to a developing nation.”

In 2014 as many as 181 European ships were beached in Alang, says Shipbreaking Platform, which compiles the data from ship buyers, other nonprofits, and maritime databases. As many as 27 of them changed flags before entering Indian waters, it says. Ships entering India included oil and chemical tankers, according to Gujarat government data obtained by Bloomberg.

Fatal accidents are common in Alang. One morning last June, five workers were breaking up a chemical tanker when a blast near the ship’s engine room killed them. Two weeks later, Prime Minister Narendra Modi halved the tax on ships imported to be broken up, potentially boosting the $2 billion industry that left at least 21 workers dead in 2014.

More than 130 shipbreakers operate at Alang, monitored by 12 safety inspectors. The EU requires that shipbreakers use gear such as cranes and provide medical care for workers. But Indian companies say their safety standards are adequate. “We have our own safety mechanism in place, which is good enough,” says Kanakiya of India’s ship recycling association. “What the EU demands is completely unnecessary, and that will involve a lot of capital spending, which can make us economically unviable.”

The Federation of Ship Recycling Associations, a group of ship recyclers from Bangladesh, India, and Pakistan, will meet in Singapore in March to jointly oppose the EU ban, it said in a statement.

The bottom line: European Union ships are barred from using India’s Alang beach for ship demolition, but many sidestep the restrictions.

Source: BloomberyBusiness

Industry News and Links

What’s New at HSE READ

Asbestos and schools: the lessons learnt READ

How Dangerous Is Natural Asbestos When It’s Blowing In The Wind? READ

HSE asbestos app ‘gives wrong message’ READ

Waltham Forest council will be sentenced at Southwark Crown Court next month for failing to protect staff and visitors from harm over asbestos READ

HSE: No Compromise READ

UCATT: Bicester housing workers exposed to asbestos READ

Health and Safety Executive defends site inspection performance READ

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