News
Company issues statement after chemical spill caused major incident in Trafford
Residents had been told to keep their windows shut.
A statement has been issued addressing a chemical spill in Trafford Park that triggered a major incident to be declared.
A massive emergency services response was scrambled to the area on Monday morning, and residents and businesses in Trafford Park and the surrounding areas were told to keep keep all doors and windows shut.
Lanxess, a specialty chemical company with a plant on Tenax Road, confirmed that the spillage occurred during the unloading of a tanker truck.
The company has also confirmed that a full investigation will take place.
The chemical spill triggered a 300m cordon around the scene in Trafford Park until the Major Incident was de-escalated yesterday afternoon.
One person, believed to be a worker at the plant, was taken to hospital as a precaution.
A spokesperson for North West Ambulance Service confirmed that the risk to the public was low, but issued some symptoms to watch out for.
They said: “If anyone in the local area suffers symptoms including breathlessness, wheezing or bluing of the lips and fingers, you are advised to seek medical help via NHS 111 online – 111.nhs.uk.”
Lanxess has now issued a statement addressing yesterday’s chemical spill incident in Trafford.
A spokesperson said: “Specialty chemicals company LANXESS has begun the investigation of today’s incident at the site in Trafford Park, Manchester, thoroughly. At around 9 o’clock this morning, a chemical spilled during the unloading of a tanker truck.
“Emergency services arrived at the site shortly after to work with the site and contain the spillage. The leak was contained and stopped by late morning.
“To ensure safety of all employees, the site was evacuated. One person was taken to hospital for observation as a precaution. The cooperation with emergency services and authorities went smoothly.”
A spokesperson for NWAS said: “We can confirm that we have deescalated from a Major Incident after a chemical leak at an industrial site on Tenax Road, Trafford Park, Manchester.
“Resources were scaled back to support the ongoing operation by Greater Manchester Police and Greater Manchester Fire and Rescue Service however, the incident has now closed down with all NWAS resources leaving site.
“Our protocols require us to deploy enough vehicles to support a large-scale incident; fortunately, they weren’t required on this occasion. One patient has been taken to hospital for further assessment.
“The risk to the public from the leak has been determined to be low; however, if anyone in the local area suffers symptoms including breathlessness, wheezing or bluing of the lips and fingers, you are advised to seek medical help via NHS 111 online – 111.nhs.uk.
“We want to thank the local community for their patience while emergency services continue to deal with the situation.”
News
NHS to begin offering new one-minute jab to women with ‘aggressive’ form of cancer
Emily Sergeant
The NHS is set to begin offering new immunotherapy for hundreds of women with aggressive cervical cancer across the country.
Pembrolizumab – which experts have described as being able to ‘take the handbrake off’ the body’s immune system to target cancer – will now be presented as a new treatment option for women in England with locally-advanced cervical cancer, which means the cancer has grown beyond the cervix to regions such as the pelvic wall, but not yet spread further around the body.
Trials found that adding pembrolizumab to standard chemoradiotherapy helped keep cancer ‘at bay’ for longer, and improved survival rates overall.
Two years after starting the treatment, nearly seven in 10 patients (68%) were still living without their cancer progressing, compared with 57% for those receiving chemoradiotherapy alone, according to NHS figures.
The trial also found that 82.6% of patients were still alive three years after treatment with pembrolizumab and chemoradiotherapy, compared with 74.8% with chemoradiotherapy alone.
The drug is either given every three or siz weeks via an infusion, or as a ‘one-minute’ injection, alongside chemoradiotherapy.
The NHS estimates around 550 patients in England will be eligible for the treatment – which has been approved this week by the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) – over the next two years.
Patients will now receive fast-tracked access, funded by NHS England’s Cancer Drugs Fund.
“This is great news for women facing a diagnosis of aggressive cervical cancer, and represents one of the biggest improvements in treatment for this disease in recent years,” commented Professor Peter Johnson, who is the NHS National Clinical Director for Cancer.
“Combining this immunotherapy with existing treatment has had very positive effect for patients in trials, helping the body’s immune system to target cancer more effectively.
Read more:
“We’re delighted it will be available for patients on the NHS as it could help hundreds more women survive and stay cancer-free in the long-term.”
Featured Image – NappyStudio (via Unsplash)
News
Andy Burnham wants to bring the ‘Greater Manchester way’ to Westminster
Emily Sergeant
Andy Burnham has set out his vision for the country if he is to become Prime Minister.
In case you need brining up to speed first, after it was announced earlier this month that Andy Burnham had clinched the victory in the crucial Makerfield by-election, winning 24,927 votes (54.8% vote share) and a majority of 9,231, he then went onto announce his intention to run for Labour Party leader, and therefore Prime Minister, after Keir Starmer confirmed he would be stepping down.
And this week, Mr Burnham has now delivered his first speech as part of his ongoing campaign, addressing how he plans to give the country a ‘new direction’.
Burnham says that he wants to bring the ‘Greater Manchester way’ to Westminster.
A lot has been discussed and reported on when it comes to Burnham’s intentions to create a so-called Number 10 North here in Manchester, but what exactly does it mean to take the ‘Greater Manchester way’ to the capital?
“The Greater Manchester way is based on strong partnership between all sectors: public, private,
community, voluntary, academic, faith, and our trade unions,” Burnham said in his speech.
He continued: “When I started as Mayor in 2017, we set about building a new approach, a new politics based on the exact opposite of the Westminster approach.
“Place-first, not party-first. Problem-solving, not point-scoring. Long-term, not short-term.
“A decade on, it’s incredible how much we’ve been able to achieve by working together instead
of fighting against one another.”
Burnham said he feels the truth is that the country spends ‘too much time arguing and not enough time doing’ and that for Britain to get back where it ‘should be’, his Government would ask everyone to ‘face the same way’ and then ‘pull in that same direction together’.
He declared that No 10 North will be the ‘nerve centre’ for a rewired Britain.
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“It will be the conduit through which we redistribute power and resources across the UK,” he concluded. “It will coordinate all parts of Government, at national and local level, to agree a long-term
economic strategy and help all places set new growth ambitions.”
Featured Image – GMCA
Daisy Jackson -
5th March 2024 
