Tradesmen are being warned about the dangers of asbestos after figures showed the North-East has among the highest death rates in the UK.
North and South Tyneside, followed closely by Sunderland, Newcastle, Stockton and Gateshead, saw massive increases in asbestos-related deaths between 1981 and 2005.
In the North-East as a whole, 2,087 men lost their lives to the deadly disease during that 25 years, compared to 300 women.
And while the figures were lower in North Yorkshire, the number of men who died as a result of mesothelioma in York in that period was a high 114.
The statistics were revealed by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) as part of it’s latest campaign – Asbestos: The Hidden Killer – which is running until mid-November and aims to reduce the rising death rate through education.
The region’s HSE principal inspector, Chris Gillies, said: “We need to educate tradesmen about how asbestos and its dangers are relevant to them.
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