Wolseley backs HSE asbestos campaign

Builders and plumbers merchant group Wolseley UK is supporting the HSE’s Asbestos ‘The Hidden Killer’ campaign which starts today. Build Center, Plumb Center and Parts Center are among the brands supporting the campaign.

‘Asbestos: The Hidden Killer’ targets tradesmen who may disturb or damage asbestos as they work. It aims to make sure that they are fully aware of the dangers and how they can protect themselves .

Figures from the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) show that around a quarter of the 4,000 or so people dying from asbestos-related diseases each year in Britain are tradesmen such as joiners, electricians and plumbers. About twenty die a week. The number of deaths linked to asbestos continues to rise and is expected to peak between 2010-2020.

Wolseley also supported the campaign last year. Sales director Grant Richardson said: “We had a fantastic result from the Hidden Killer campaign last year, we gave away all 100,000 information packs to customers and we also saw a huge spike in sales figures of personal protective equipment during and after the campaign showing that the tradespeople had really taken the message onboard.”

Matthieu Daney, branch manager at Build Center in West Wickham, was closely involved in the campaign last year.

He said:”At Wolseley we are a big point of contact for lots of different tradespeople from the one man businesses to bigger firms with several staff on the payroll. Awareness levels vary widely; some customers had heard about some of the dangers of asbestos but had forgotten the facts, whilst others were unaware of the latest thinking regarding precautions, so the information packs went down really well.”