Workmen ‘ignoring asbestos risk’.bbcnews. October 22, 2008.Some 4,000 people a year are dying from the effects of asbestos, the Health and Safety Executive has said. The HSE says a quarter of the victims are former tradesmen, but it fears today’s plumbers, electricians and joiners underestimate the ongoing risk. [ See ]. Watch also related video: Rapid decline of a healthy worker.