§ Mrs. Bainasked the Secretary of State for Employment if any register is kept by his Department of the number of employees suffering from asbestosis in the United Kingdom; and, if so, how many deaths directly attributable to asbestosis have occurred in each year since the war.
§ Mr. Harold WalkerI am informed by the Chairman of the Health and Safety Commission that the Department of Health and Social Security regularly forwards to the Health and Safety Executive information about boards at which asbestosis is first diagnosed.
The Registrars General have provided—since 1967 for England and Wales and since 1968 for Scotland—figures of the number of deaths directly attributable to asbestos. These are as follows:
Deaths (numbers) England and Wales Scotland Year Male Female Male Female 1967 … 18 4 — — 1968 … 9 4 3 0 1969 … 15 6 1 0 1970 … 16 7 7 0 1971 … 16 4 7 0 1972 … 19 6 7 0 1973 … 17 2 9 0
§ Mrs. Bainasked the Secretary of State for Employment what expenditure has been incurred by his Department in each of the last five years in publicising the dangers attached to the manufacture or handling of asbestos; and if he is satisfied that all safety regulations pertaining to this situation are being implemented.
§ Mr. Harold WalkerI regret that the information sought in the first part of the Question is not available in the form requested. Since the 1969 Asbestos Regulations came into force in May 1970, considerable efforts have been made to publicise to both management and workers the health risks arising from exposure to harmful concentrations of asbestos dust and the safeguards to be adopted.
Over 150,000 copies of a leaflet entitled "Asbestos and You" have been distributed by the Employment Medical Advisory Service to workers in the industry and further copies are being 188W issued to all workers participating in the survey of asbestos workers begun by EMAS in 1971 and still continuing.
A total of 193,000 copies of four technical data notes on the subject of asbestos have been produced and distributed free of charge to management and workpeople by Her Majesty's factory inspectors. In addition, 27,500 copies of a booklet in the Health and Safety at Work Series entitled "Asbestos: Health Precautions in Industry" on sale from HMSO have also been produced and publicised. Control of asbestos dust will be dealt with in a film which the Health and Safety Executive is currently preparing. A considerable amount of publicity has also been directed at the medical profession, including an on-sale memorandum on the problems arising from the use of asbestos. I have arranged for a copy of each of these publications to be sent to the hon. Member.
Other activities undertaken to publicise the problem of asbestos dust include collaboration in the publication of articles, especially in the trade and technical Press, the production of programmes on TV and radio, giving assistance to trade associations in producing specific guidance on the subject, lectures to the medical profession by employment medical advisers, and talks to industry at all levels by Her Majesty's factory inspectors.
As regards the future, it is expected that the Health and Safety Commission will continue to regard exposure to asbestos dust as a major health hazard and will ensure that publicity is planned accordingly. Section 18 of the Health and Safety at Work Etc. Act, 1974, places a duty on the Health and Safety Executive to make adequate arrangements for the enforcement of the relevant statutory provisions, which include the Asbestos Regulations 1969. The Chairman of the Health and Safety Commission informs me that factory inspectors are currently instructed that factories subject to the 1969 regulations should be visited at least once each year and more often if necessary. Fifty-one successful prosecutions have been taken in respect of contraventions of the Asbestos Regulations 1969. Prohibition and improvement notices have also been issued by factory inspectors in respect of premises where asbestos was used.
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§ Mrs. Bainasked the Secretary of State for Employment what research is currently taking place in the United Kingdom to find appropriate substitutes for asbestos; and what recommendations his department has made into the use of such substitutes.
§ Mr. Harold WalkerThe major manufacturing companies, encouraged by the Health and Safety Executive, are undertaking research to produce less hazardous substitutes for asbestos. The introduction of the Asbestos Regulations 1969 lent impetus to the development and use of equally effective substitute materials in place of asbestos, particularly in shipbuilding and the construction industries. Non-asbestos heat insulating materials are already well established for lagging boilers and steam pipes. Similar alternative materials are being produced and are widely used to provide acoustic and heat insulation, increased fire resistance and for the control of condensation in buildings. It is the policy of the Health and Safety Executive to recommend the use of less hazardous materials in substitution for asbestos.