How did health and safety change over your life time?
Oh, it changed tremendously. Not only was the Kunkel-Wagner and the new plant cleaner but we were also issued with these rules and stipulations in that you wore helmets. You were issued with helmets, safety glasses, protective clothing, earmuffs and this was a great stride from the dirt that we used to encounter in the old continuous casting plant. But the main thing as a production co-ordinator, one of the stipulations was to have safety audits. This was to patrol the plant and find out where any accidents could occur. So the health and safety improved tremendously from my start of my working life, if you like to near the end before I finished.

(Cecil Robinson)

Well one of the main things was what we used to call a muffle or an electric furnace in the laboratories. The was an asbestos box which you used to make and cut the asbestos to make the box. And placed inside this was an electric, wound silicon box so it was a heating element and the wire was wrapped around the silicon case. This was placed inside this asbestos box and all around this element we used to have to put in asbestos dust. Thinking back we used to handle this asbestos dust, put it in and wedge it all around the element. Never thought about any dangers from it but I can see people still eating their sandwiches with the dirty asbestos on their hands.

(Roy Beeken)