A HEALTH and safety expert has urged construction workers to take asbestos more seriously as North-East hospitals see more cases of younger people with work-related lung cancer.

Bill McKay, principal inspector for construction and asbestos licensing at the regional Health and Safety Executive, in Newcastle, says he is shocked by the way materials containing dangerous asbestos fibres are still being handled.

Inhaling just a single asbestos fibre could trigger the potentially fatal lung cancer known as mesothelioma.

"Asbestos continues to cause suffering and death. Things are better now, but people still abuse asbestos. I find it hard to believe, but they do," he said yesterday.

Precautions must be taken to avoid inhaling fibres when working on materials containing asbestos.

And he stressed that the removal of asbestos from buildings must be handled by properly equipped and licensed specialists.

Mr McKay, who was speaking at a seminar organised by a local mesothelioma charity, gave examples of poorly equipped building workers tackling old buildings filled with asbestos.

"There is still insufficient assessment and management of risks from asbestos in premises," said Mr McKay.

"Contractors are often unaware that they are working with materials containing asbestos. It is this lack of knowledge and an attitude that 'it will be all right' which is worrying," he said.

Mr McKay said it was vital to raise awareness of the potential hazards of working with materials containing asbestos.

Contractors should establish whether asbestos was present in a building and manage it appropriately, he said.

The greatest risk was if the asbestos fibres became airborne, he added.

Dr Tim Peel, a chest specialist at North Tyneside General Hospital, said: "I am seeing more non-shipyard people, which is surprising. It is mostly people who work in the building trade and more younger people who do not appear to have had any obvious links to shipyards."

Apart from shipyard workers, Mr McKay said those most at risk from asbestos were heating and ventilation engineers, construction workers, telecoms workers, roofers, alarm installers, electricians, joiners, plumbers, gas fitters, plasterers, shipfitters and surveyors.

HSE statistics show that 1,600 men and 200 men from the North-East died from asbestos-related illness between 1981 and 2000 with a peak of deaths expected in the region between 2011 and 2015.