The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) today expressed its deep disappointment at a decision by the Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) to uphold a complaint about its 'Asbestos: The hidden killer' awareness campaign.

The ASA has upheld one complaint from a single source challenging HSE on the numbers of workers it quoted as dying as a result of exposure to asbestos fibres.

The ASA agreed that the use of numbers of asbestos-related deaths was an effective and appropriate tactic to bring home to tradesmen the serious risks they face in disturbing asbestos, but decided that HSE should have made clear in its radio advertisements that the figures were based partly on estimates.


The ASA also said that the numbers of deaths per week quoted in relation to certain trades should be revised as it considered that they had been overestimated according to the raw data.

Steve Coldrick, HSE's Asbestos Programme Director, said: "We are obviously very disappointed with the decision by the ASA to uphold this sole complaint made against our award-winning campaign, but we do consider it to be only on a technicality.

"This campaign is clearly in the public interest and we are now looking to seek an independent review of the adjudication.

"HSE has made no deliberate attempt to mislead the public. Our advertising is based on the same robust statistical evidence and scientific understanding that underpins government policy on asbestos. Whatever the slight differences on interpretation of the figures, there are facts about risk from asbestos that workers should not be denied.

"We do recognise, however, that there been no criticism of our general approach to the 'Asbestos: The hidden killer' campaign and the changes suggested in the adjudication do nothing to affect the key message we want to get out there, namely that asbestos can kill tradesmen if precautions aren’t taken."

(CD/KMcA)