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INSIGHT ... former research manager Dick Badami has come to the defence of Turner and Newall.
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'Asbestos firm did all it could'
Alice McKeegan12/ 9/2008
A LEADING scientist has defended the conduct of a former asbestos giant.
Dick Badami, of War Office Road, Bamford, was a senior research manager at Turner and Newall between 1973 and 1982 and contacted the Observer to reveal his insight following recent stories condemning the company.
He was in charge of one of the world’s largest research programmes to find alternatives to asbestos and believes that the company did everything possible to minimise health risks.
The 81-year-old, who was made an MBE in 1987, said: "There’s a lot of misinformation.
"I am probably the only person living in Rochdale that was working on this programme and I want people to know the facts.
"Asbestos was part of everyday life and was used in hundreds of industries.
"When I first joined the company, people – including the public – were concerned and asked if it was safe.
"We knew that there were risks and that’s why we travelled around Europe telling other companies to take precautions.
"We were doing everything to develop alternatives."
The company launched a series of tests to work out air purity levels and ensure that measures were being taken to protect workers.
During the period, Mr Badami discussed his findings with company directors and briefed doctors on the latest medical advice.
He says that the business spent millions of pounds searching for alternative materials and helped to ensure that none of its customer industries went out of business when asbestos was banned.
He added: "Rochdale led the industry and it’s important to say that we had much better provisions in place to protect workers and other industries.
"The company was responsible and every decision that was made should be viewed in the context of the time.
"Unfortunately, ignorance of asbestos had terrible consequences."
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22/09/2008 at 23:31
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