‘Travel like you know them’: Road safety made personal
Earlier this summer, the UK government relaunched its THINK! road safety campaign, reminding people to ‘Travel like you know them’ to highlight the human cost of road traffic accidents. The...
Helen Grady and Rhiannon Griffin of Novum Law attended at The Senedd (Cardiff Bay) on 1st July 2015 for a pre Action Mesothelioma Day event in order to raise awareness for the need for long term investment into mesothelioma research and also to generate support for a Mesothelioma Charter for Wales. The event was organised by AASC (Asbestos Awareness Support Cymru) and sponsored by Mick Antoniw (AM) and a selection of law firms who deal with mesothelioma casework in the region.
There was an excellent line up of speakers and the Deputy Health Minister Vaughan Gething spoke about the Asbestos Bill and how he would support this again if resurrected.
Dr Jason Lester of Llandough Hospital spoke about the Skopos trials he is involved with and said there were very positive signs so far for this trial involving the vaccine TroVax which are regular injections alongside chemotherapy, in the lining of the lungs. Dr Lester said researchers wanted to see if they can improve the treatment of pleural mesothelioma by adding this vaccine.
Mike Payne (Political Officer of the GMB) spoke about the levels of asbestos still in situ in many public buildings and how people are exposed whilst simply doing a days work. He spoke about how negligent exposures need to stop and the importance of asbestos awareness.
A statement was read out for Vernon Jenkins who at 56 has been diagnosed with mesothelioma. He has been trying hard to cope with his diagnosis. He spoke about his exposures whilst part of a specialist removal team and how the bags were often split, releasing dust and fibres into the van. He spoke about the air fed respirators not always working and how asbestos was not always buried at the correct depths. This shows how even the experts can get it wrong and very rigorous testing of equipment and monitoring is essential to avoid more asbestos removal contractors becoming exposed to this deadly carcinogen. This is particularly important now we know that mesothelioma can be contracted through very low levels of exposure.
