The Hazards Campaign
is a network of
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Greater Manchester Asbestos Victims Support Group
Tel: 0161 636 7555 Mobile: 0774 818 9837

Press Release….Press Release….Press Release
22 Feruary 2007, No embargo
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Mesothelioma a fatal Asbestos cancer
“60,000 to die from mesothelioma in the UK by 2050”

Football legend, Mike Summerbee, calls for action

England and Manchester City football star and legend, Mike Summerbee, will join hundreds of families in Manchester, Albert Square, at 12.30 pm, on Action Mesothelioma Day, 27th February to release sponsored balloons in support of research into mesothelioma, the fatal asbestos cancer which will kill 60,000 people in the UK from past exposure to Asbestos by 2050.

Action Mesothelioma Day 27th February has been launched by the British Lung Foundation and supporting organisations to demand action on mesothelioma and events will be held throughout the UK on that day.

Mike Summerbee, whose colleague, Ernie Phillips, City Football Club’s security manager, has been diagnosed with mesothelioma says: “Every day 5 people die from mesothelioma. This dreadful disease is the result of the worst occupational health disaster the world has seen, yet little has been done to provide treatment. Thousands of pounds have been donated by families for mesothelioma research on Action Mesothelioma Day in Manchester. It is time the Government also took action.”

British Lung Foundation briefing for Action Mesothelioma Day shows that there is hardly any research into mesothelioma. Ian Stewart MP, who will speak at the rally in Manchester, and whose close friend has just been diagnosed with mesothelioma, says: “We owe a debt to all those suffering from mesothelioma, who were needlessly exposed to asbestos at work, and in the community, to fund research into this dreadful disease, and to provide first class care and support equally in every part of the UK.”

Big BBC city centre screens, in Manchester and throughout England, will feature a specially produced video about mesothelioma throughout the day on Action Mesothelioma Day in which mesothelioma sufferers warn of the dangers construction workers face today in buildings contaminated with asbestos. David Tyson, a joiner who suffers from mesothelioma says: “For a hundred years workers were exposed to asbestos before it was finally banned. Today there are thousands of tonnes of asbestos still in buildings posing a deadly threat, especially to construction workers.”

Rory O’Neill, editor of the radical Hazards magazine, and speaking at the rally says:
“None of the cases of mesothelioma occurring today should have happened. The industry knew the risks at least two working generations ago. This is not just a human tragedy, it is a scandal. Worldwide every five minutes one person dies from an asbestos cancer – and the companies responsible should have been called to account. Instead we have no treatment, no cure and not even the semblance of justice.”

For information contact Greater Manchester Asbestos Victims Support Group: Tony Whitston: 0161 636 7555 or 07748189837

NOTES FOR EDITORS

1. Mesothelioma
Mesothelioma is a fatal tumour found principally in the lung pleura. There is no cure and life expectancy from diagnosis is approximately 18 months.

90,000 people will die from mesothelioma by 2050 from past asbestos exposure. These deaths cannot be prevented. 60,000 people are yet to die from mesothelioma due to past exposure.

It is not just workers from heavy industry who have mesothelioma: doctors, nurses, teachers have been exposed to asbestos and have suffered from mesothelioma.

There are 33% more deaths from mesothelioma than from cervical cancer.

2. Asbestos Risk
The only proven cause of mesothelioma is exposure to asbestos. The industry with the highest risk is the construction industry. There are regulations to control exposure to asbestos which is in millions of commercial and residential buildings. Despite such regulations workers are still exposed to asbestos inadvertently, especially construction maintenance workers.

3. Treatment
There is no cure for mesothelioma. The only licensed chemotherapy treatment for mesothelioma is the drug Alimta, which is only funded by some PCTs in parts of England and Wakes. Radical surgery is being trialed, but it is not a cure and few people are eligible for such radical surgery.

4. Research
There is hardly any research into mesothelioma. In April 2005, of 2,265 cancer research projects being carried out by partners of the National Cancer Research Institute, only two of those related to mesothelioma.

5. Action Mesothelioma Day and Action Mesothelioma Charter
The British Lung Foundation and supporting organisations established Action Mesothelioma Day February 27th 2006 and launched an Action mesothelioma Charter, which calls for: better treatment and care and government funded research; payment of benefits and compensation; and, action by employers to protect workers from exposure to asbestos.

Manchester Event Action Mesothelioma Day 27th February 2007
• 12.30 Balloon Release Albert Square: Mike Summerbee; Ian Stewart MP
• 1.pm Rally at Friends Meeting House: Ian Stewart MP and Rory O’Neill, editor Hazards

** Mesothelioma sufferers will be present to give interviews**

The Hazards Campaign, c/o Greater Manchester Hazards Centre, Windrush Millennium Centre, 70 Alexandra Road,
Manchester, M16 7WD . website www.hazardscampaign.org.uk