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Tom White

@tom--white.bsky.social
109 followers 115 following 75 posts

Further education worker; writer; UCU member & caseworker He/Him BAD DUST: A HISTORY OF THE ASBESTOS DISASTER -- 9/9/25 bit.ly/4drpSPO

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Tom White @tom--white.bsky.social · 07/08/2026
Recording of my UKATA webinar now available online. Want to watch me sit awkwardly and talk about #asbestos, #occupationalhealth and #unions? You're in luck! www.youtube.com/watch?v=y6Pj...
youtube.com
Bad Dust: Writing the history of the asbestos disaster & thinking about what happens next
YouTube video by UKATA Official
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Tom White @tom--white.bsky.social · 01/08/2026
It's #YorkshireDay. To mark the occasion, here's something on the origins of the event & its relationship to the foundation of the ill-fated county of Humberside. This material is from my current book project, a social history of the Humber Bridge medium.com/@tomjwhite9/...
medium.com
“Well, how does it feel to no longer be a Tyke?”:
Note: this is an extract from my current book project, From Nowhere to Nowhere: A Social History of the Humber Bridge. To read more from…
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Tom White @tom--white.bsky.social · 01/08/2026
And for more research from the book, see my article from last year in the @lrb.co.uk! www.lrb.co.uk/the-paper/v4...
lrb.co.uk
Tom White · Short Cuts: A Bridge across the Humber
In 1966, as election day approached, Labour dispatched MPs and ministers to Hull, including Tony Benn, Tony Crosland,...
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Tom White @tom--white.bsky.social · 01/08/2026
It's #YorkshireDay. To mark the occasion, here's something on the origins of the event & its relationship to the foundation of the ill-fated county of Humberside. This material is from my current book project, a social history of the Humber Bridge medium.com/@tomjwhite9/...
medium.com
“Well, how does it feel to no longer be a Tyke?”:
Note: this is an extract from my current book project, From Nowhere to Nowhere: A Social History of the Humber Bridge. To read more from…
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Tom White @tom--white.bsky.social · 29/07/2026
Tomorrow! More info and registration link here: ukata.org.uk/news/webinar... #asbestos
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Tom White @tom--white.bsky.social · 23/07/2026
I'll be talking about Bad Dust next week for the UK Asbestos Training Association webinar series! More info and registration link here: www.ukata.org.uk/news/webinar...
ukata.org.uk
Bad Dust: Writing the History of the Asbestos Disaster & Thinking About What Happens Next
UKATA is hosting an insightful webinar on 30 July at 10.30am with writer and educator Tom White, author of Bad Dust: A History of the Asbestos Disaster. Drawing on the research behind his book, Tom wi...
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Tom White @tom--white.bsky.social · 12/07/2026
Sheffield ppl: I'll be talking about Bad Dust: A History of the Asbestos Disaster at Walkley Library on Thurs 16 July, 7PM. Entry is free but donations to the community-run Library appreciated! More info here: www.walkleylibrary.org.uk/whats-on/mee... #asbestos
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Tom White @tom--white.bsky.social · 12/07/2026
Sheffield ppl: I'll be talking about Bad Dust: A History of the Asbestos Disaster at Walkley Library on Thurs 16 July, 7PM. Entry is free but donations to the community-run Library appreciated! More info here: www.walkleylibrary.org.uk/whats-on/mee... #asbestos
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flyingrodent @flyingrodent.bsky.social · 12/04/2026
Do you notice how the entire press had to lock together and *scream* at the public for years, to make the left as despised as the Sensible Moderates have made themselves organically, just by being themselves.
I don't think senior people in Labour have any idea what's about to hit them in London.
Just anecdotally, I know so many people who held their noses and voted Lab in 2024.
Since then, they've gone out of their ways to toxity themselves.
They're going to be obliterated and it'll be their own fault.
& Kevin Schofield @kevinschofie... • 2h
Exclusive: Labour MPs Urged To Campaign In London Amid Fears Of Green Surge
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Tom White @tom--white.bsky.social · 10/03/2026
In the 50s, experts aligned with the tobacco industry insisted there was no proven link with cancer, same for asbestos in the 60s & 70s, some for fossil fuels and global heating in the 80s. This is a well-established playbook
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Tom White @tom--white.bsky.social · 10/03/2026
This Ben Youngs doc is just another chapter in a grim story, unfortunately. Boosting dubious "tech" and making claims about "tightened" protocols are just ways of diverting from the obvious crisis that is looming.
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Tom White @tom--white.bsky.social · 10/03/2026
At this point, the most effective safety measure would be for rugby players to play much much less -- are any governing bodies suggesting this? Or are they, in fact, demanding more and more games from players?
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Tom White @tom--white.bsky.social · 10/03/2026
They were enabled to do so by McCrory & the deeply conflicted Concussion in Sport Group, which downplayed long-term risks of concussions. The sports didn't follow the science, they found a scientist who told them what they wanted to hear. That bell can't be unrung.
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Tom White @tom--white.bsky.social · 10/03/2026
Since the 90s, under the pressure of competing for tv & gambling revenues, both codes have steadily got faster & more intense, but have spent 20 years postponing a reckoning with the impact that might be having on players’ brains
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Tom White @tom--white.bsky.social · 10/03/2026
Said it before & will say it again: the primary purpose of the #HIA process is not *and has never been* to protect players. Its primary purpose is to protect the spectacle by enabling them to return to the field after suspected brain injuries
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Tom White @tom--white.bsky.social · 10/03/2026
You'd think a serious documentary abt brain injuries might mention this very well-publicised fact, but apparently not! From the early 2000s, McCrory was telling sports governing bodies what they wanted to hear regarding concussion, as I discuss here: t.co/fC7Tlsk2Io
t.co
https://medium.com/@tomjwhite9/the-ghost-at-the-feast-rugby-leagues-brain-injury-crisis-pt-1-bea3a5bd0154
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Tom White @tom--white.bsky.social · 10/03/2026
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Tom White @tom--white.bsky.social · 10/03/2026
Neither codes' governing bodies have ever acknowledged -- nevermind addressed -- that the #HIA procedure is built on the foundations of work by Paul McCrory, a #concussion "specialist" who turned out to be a serial plaigariser who hadn't done any research on concussion 🧵
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Tom White @tom--white.bsky.social · 06/03/2026
Thanks Laura!
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Tom White @tom--white.bsky.social · 19/02/2026
I'll be talking about researching & writing Bad Dust at Strathclyde on March 3rd! The Andersonian's asbestos archives are an incredible resource -- I couldn't have written about the #asbestos disaster without them (and there is still plenty more work to be done).
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Tom White @tom--white.bsky.social · 19/02/2026
I'll be talking about researching & writing Bad Dust at Strathclyde on March 3rd! The Andersonian's asbestos archives are an incredible resource -- I couldn't have written about the #asbestos disaster without them (and there is still plenty more work to be done).
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Tom White @tom--white.bsky.social · 18/02/2026
The @neunion.bsky.social & @nasuwt-official.bsky.social have criticised Labour, but without a coordinated campaign by workers, parents, and students, #asbestos will stay where it is tribunemag.co.uk/2025/10/asbe...
tribunemag.co.uk
Asbestos: The Neoliberal Poison
Asbestos exposure remains the leading cause of occupational deaths in Britain today. Why did successive neoliberal governments fail to address the problem — and how can we challenge their toxic legacy...
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Tom White @tom--white.bsky.social · 18/02/2026
By contrast, our government's new "Education Estates Strategy: a decade of national renewal" does not contain a single mention of a material that causes thousands of preventable deaths every year #asbestos
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Tom White @tom--white.bsky.social · 18/02/2026
The South Korean city of Daegu has spent the last ten years removing #abestos from virtually every school in the metropolitan area. It cost 185.6 billion won (roughly £96m) -- money v well spent! yeongnam.com/web/view.php...
yeongnam.com
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Tom White @tom--white.bsky.social · 13/02/2026
And in more detail in Bad Dust: A History of the Asbestos Disaster www.hive.co.uk/Product/Tom-...
hive.co.uk
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Tom White @tom--white.bsky.social · 13/02/2026
The prevelance of #asbestos in schools should be a national scandal & the goverment's "Rebuilding Programme" is nothing of the sort. I wrote abt this issue last year for @tribunemagazine.bsky.social t.co/sUTua6J5fC
t.co
https://tribunemag.co.uk/2025/10/asbestos-the-neoliberal-poison
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Tom White @tom--white.bsky.social · 13/02/2026
"the Government’s Schools Rebuilding Programme & Education Estates Strategy make no substantive reference to asbestos, relying instead on the Condition Data Collection...which explicitly states that it “does not report on hazardous materials (principally asbestos)”." pressat.co.uk/releases/asb...
pressat.co.uk
Asbestos still present in 83% of state schools in England, experts warn
Occupational...
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Tom White @tom--white.bsky.social · 26/01/2026
I spoke to Tom Quinn from @confrontpower.bsky.social about my book Bad Dust: A History of the Asbestos Disaster. Tom has been doing some brilliant investigative work, so I was very happy to contribute! confrontpower.org/uk-asbestos-...
confrontpower.org
Understanding the UK’s asbestos disaster | Confront Power
Profit-hungry industry, complicit governments, and overly bureaucratic unions. Tom White, author of Bad Dust, provides his insights into the UK’s asbestos disaster and why the issues with asbestos ref...
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Tom White @tom--white.bsky.social · 26/01/2026
Order Bad Dust here: www.hive.co.uk/Product/Tom-...
hive.co.uk
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Tom White @tom--white.bsky.social · 26/01/2026
I spoke to Tom Quinn from @confrontpower.bsky.social about my book Bad Dust: A History of the Asbestos Disaster. Tom has been doing some brilliant investigative work, so I was very happy to contribute! confrontpower.org/uk-asbestos-...
confrontpower.org
Understanding the UK’s asbestos disaster | Confront Power
Profit-hungry industry, complicit governments, and overly bureaucratic unions. Tom White, author of Bad Dust, provides his insights into the UK’s asbestos disaster and why the issues with asbestos ref...
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Confront @confrontpower.bsky.social · 26/01/2026
How did it take more than 100 years of workers dying for an #asbestos ban to be considered in the UK? And why do exposures continue? We speak to Tom White his new book Bad Dust: A History of the Asbestos Disaster. Read the interview: confrontpower.org/uk-asbestos-...

 @tom--white.bsky.social
confrontpower.org
Understanding the UK’s asbestos disaster | Confront Power
Profit-hungry industry, complicit governments, and overly bureaucratic unions. Tom White, author of Bad Dust, provides his insights into the UK’s asbestos disaster and why the issues with asbestos ref...
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Tom White @tom--white.bsky.social · 26/01/2026
The prevalence of #asbestos building materials in Gaza shows the disregard for the lives of Palestinians under apartheid rule. Now that many of those bldgs have been destroyed, the deadly fibres will keep killing for decades more www.youtube.com/watch?v=2EnF...
youtube.com
Palestinians in Gaza face deadly asbestos risk from toxic war rubble
YouTube video by Al Jazeera English
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Tom White @tom--white.bsky.social · 12/01/2026
The Town That Asbestos Built. The Cancer It Left Behind via @thetyee.ca thetyee.ca/News/2026/01...
thetyee.ca
The Town That Asbestos Built. The Cancer It Left Behind | The Tyee
Former residents of Cassiar say they weren’t warned about the risks. Now, they struggle to find support.
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Tom White @tom--white.bsky.social · 31/12/2025
5. And for the @lrb.co.uk, a little preview of the new book project I've been working on: "A Bridge across the Humber" www.lrb.co.uk/the-paper/v4...
lrb.co.uk
Tom White · Short Cuts: A Bridge across the Humber
In 1966, as election day approached, Labour dispatched MPs and ministers to Hull, including Tony Benn, Tony Crosland,...
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Tom White @tom--white.bsky.social · 31/12/2025
4. An interview with the @newbooksnetwork.bsky.social about Bad Dust newbooksnetwork.com/bad-dust
newbooksnetwork.com
Tom White, "Bad Dust: A History of the Asbestos Disaster" (Repeater, 2025) - New Books Network
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Tom White @tom--white.bsky.social · 31/12/2025
3. For @theguardian.com, "It’s still killing people, and the government has yet to act: Britain’s hidden asbestos epidemic" www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...
theguardian.com
It’s still killing people, and the government has yet to act: Britain’s hidden asbestos epidemic | Tom White
Asbestos was banned in 1999, but as materials left in our buildings deteriorate, thousands of lives are being lost every year, says writer and education worker Tom White
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Tom White @tom--white.bsky.social · 31/12/2025
2. For @tribunemagazine.bsky.social, "Asbestos: the neoliberal poison" tribunemag.co.uk/2025/10/asbe...
tribunemag.co.uk
Asbestos: The Neoliberal Poison
Asbestos exposure remains the leading cause of occupational deaths in Britain today. Why did successive neoliberal governments fail to address the problem — and how can we challenge their toxic legacy...
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Tom White @tom--white.bsky.social · 31/12/2025
A 2025 round-up -- thanks to everyone who has read/listened this year! 1. Bad Dust: A History of the Asbestos Disaster. Described by @municipaldreams.bsky.social as a "must read"! hive.co.uk/Product/Tom-Wh
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Tom White @tom--white.bsky.social · 13/12/2025
I can't claim it will be a particularly cheerful read, but pls consider buying a copy of Bad Dust: A History of the Asbestos Disaster this Xmas. The book is a history of a once indomitable industry, and of the movement that rose up to oppose it. www.hive.co.uk/Product/Tom-...
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Tom White @tom--white.bsky.social · 13/12/2025
And if you'd like to hear me talking about it: newbooksnetwork.com/bad-dust
newbooksnetwork.com
Tom White, "Bad Dust: A History of the Asbestos Disaster" (Repeater, 2025) - New Books Network
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Tom White @tom--white.bsky.social · 13/12/2025
www.the-tls.com/regular-feat...
the-tls.com
A crocidolite vein
Once marketed as the “magic mineral”, asbestos has become synonymous with disease. Bad Dust moves from mines in South Africa to factories in northern
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Tom White @tom--white.bsky.social · 13/12/2025
morningstaronline.co.uk/article/capi...
morningstaronline.co.uk
Capitalism’s secret killer
Bad Dust: A History of the Asbestos Disaster Tom White, Repeater, £12.99THIS book is more than just a narration of the horrific asbestos-related lung diseases which have afflicted and continue to...
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Tom White @tom--white.bsky.social · 13/12/2025
Don't just take my word for it!
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Tom White @tom--white.bsky.social · 13/12/2025
I can't claim it will be a particularly cheerful read, but pls consider buying a copy of Bad Dust: A History of the Asbestos Disaster this Xmas. The book is a history of a once indomitable industry, and of the movement that rose up to oppose it. www.hive.co.uk/Product/Tom-...
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London Review of Books @lrb.co.uk · 10/12/2025
‘For much of the 1980s, it was seen by critics as a white elephant. It connected the declining city of Hull with the empty expanses of North Lincolnshire: nowhere with nowhere.’ @tom--white.bsky.social on how the Humber Bridge was built. www.lrb.co.uk/the-paper/v4...
lrb.co.uk
Tom White · Short Cuts: A Bridge across the Humber
In 1966, as election day approached, Labour dispatched MPs and ministers to Hull, including Tony Benn, Tony Crosland,...
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London Review of Books @lrb.co.uk · 07/12/2025
‘Rather than an important component in a long-term regional plan, it was now clear that the bridge was the only component in that plan. For much of the 1980s, it was seen by critics as a white elephant.’ @tom--white.bsky.social on how the Humber Bridge was built: www.lrb.co.uk/the-paper/v4...
lrb.co.uk
Tom White · Short Cuts: A Bridge across the Humber
In 1966, as election day approached, Labour dispatched MPs and ministers to Hull, including Tony Benn, Tony Crosland,...
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London Review of Books @lrb.co.uk · 05/12/2025
‘If the bridge was an electoral bribe, it was one that the people of Humberside would end up paying themselves, in the form of toll charges that increased every year for decades.’ @tom--white.bsky.social on how the Humber Bridge was built. www.lrb.co.uk/the-paper/v4...
lrb.co.uk
Tom White · Short Cuts: A Bridge across the Humber
In 1966, as election day approached, Labour dispatched MPs and ministers to Hull, including Tony Benn, Tony Crosland,...
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London Review of Books @lrb.co.uk · 03/12/2025
‘Rather than an important component in a long-term regional plan, it was now clear that the Humber Bridge was the only component in that plan. For much of the 1980s, it was seen by critics as a white elephant.’ @tom--white.bsky.social on how the Humber Bridge was built www.lrb.co.uk/the-paper/v4...
lrb.co.uk
Tom White · Short Cuts: A Bridge across the Humber
In 1966, as election day approached, Labour dispatched MPs and ministers to Hull, including Tony Benn, Tony Crosland,...
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London Review of Books @lrb.co.uk · 02/12/2025
‘For much of the 1980s, it was seen by critics as a white elephant. It connected the declining city of Hull with the empty expanses of North Lincolnshire: nowhere with nowhere.’ @tom--white.bsky.social on how the Humber Bridge was built. www.lrb.co.uk/the-paper/v4...
lrb.co.uk
Tom White · Short Cuts: A Bridge across the Humber
In 1966, as election day approached, Labour dispatched MPs and ministers to Hull, including Tony Benn, Tony Crosland,...
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Tom White @tom--white.bsky.social · 29/11/2025
Hi June, would love to talk you more about this! I’m working on a book about the Bridge so gathering as many memories as i can
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