• White Asbestos
• Street Lighting

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Health and Safety Warning - White Asbestos

Southern Electric Contracting have recently come across Asbestos Rope Seals in some lanterns and old cast boxes. The rope contains white asbestos.

Plumbers and electricians are among thousands of workers who are at risk from white asbestos, according to the Health and Safety Executive.  The material is widely used, but potentially lethal to those who breathe in its dust.  Asbestosis, which is caused by breathing in asbestos fibres can lie dormant for up to 40 years and according to research could kill up to 10,000 people a year by 2020 causing lung cancer and cancer of the lining of the chest and lungs. Blue and brown asbestos - the most dangerous kinds - are banned in the UK, but can still be found in some old buildings. White asbestos, which was initially not considered as dangerous was used in many products including seals in luminaries and other electrical boxes.

Ray Stowell, the managing director of SEC said, “We are talking to the appropriate lighting authorities about a safe working method to deal with the problem and we have alerted the ASLEC, HEMSA and the ILE as we believe there is a need to gather information from lighting manufacturers to identify the various lanterns that may contain asbestos.  I am not aware of this having been raised or mentioned before but this is likely to affect us all”.

Whilst on a routine mission to remove an old redundant lamp column, one of the two man team was steadying the column as it was lifted by the crane when the column cap fell off.

This cap, being an old column, was made of cast iron; it had somehow split in half over the years, each half weighed approx 2lb/900gms.

One half of the cap hit the operative on the back of the head, after falling approx 9m, he was protected by his hard hat and only sustained a cut on the neck as the piece of metal flicked round under the helmet rim.

Yes - he did get cut and needed stitches
Yes - he did go to hospital for a check-up
Yes he did have a headache
Yes the HARD HAT saved him from a much more serious injury

LUCKY or NOT?

No! Just sensible and following correct PPE procedures