A widow has claimed that public liability insurance customers are still not aware of the dangers of asbestos, as the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) launches a campaign warning about the deadly material.
Margaret Dyson, from Glossop, lost her husband Harold last year from asbestos-related disease mesothelioma after being exposed to the material while working as a joiner.
"Unless people have actually seen someone with the illness, they do not know what effect it can have. My message to people in the building trade is simple; never touch asbestos and make sure that it is removed by the proper people because it is a huge health hazard," she added.
Latest figures from the HSE showed that just over 3,000 males died from mesothelioma across the north-west between 1981 and 2005, while up to 20 tradesmen across Britain die every week from the disease.
The HSE's £1.2 million Hidden Killer campaign, which launched earlier this week, is aiming to raise awareness among joiners liability insurance customers on the risks posed by asbestos through a number of radio and poster warnings.