LINDA Whelan says she still does not know the full facts about her son’s death.

Craig Whelan, a 23-year-old steeplejack, died in a fireball explosion while he was working inside a chimney at the Carnauld Metal Box plant in Westhoughton on May 23, 2002.

His colleague, Paul Wakefield, was also killed in the accident.

After Mr Whelan’s death, two Metal Box employees were charged with manslaughter, but the charges were dropped.

Three employees later admitted breaches of the Health and Safety at work Act and fines totalling £17,000 were imposed.

Since the deaths, Mrs Whelan, who lives in County Durham, has campaigned for tougher laws on corporate manslaughter and helped found pressure group Families Against Corporate Killing.

She told The Bolton News this week: “There were lots of issues relating to the autopsy, with a missing lung and liver. We wanted a second autopsy done, but we got wrapped up in legal wrangles for years.

“Thousands of people have been killed by work. If they were killed by terrorism then the government and its agencies would be crying out.”

As the 10th anniversary of her son’s death approaches, Mrs Whelan is worried that proposed changes in the law could increase the chances of something similar happening again.

She said: “The Government wants to deregulate health and safety arrangements, get rid of inspectors and have firms monitoring themselves.

“Self-monitoring would be dangerous because it would not give true accounts of what’s going on, especially on construction sites. It will lead to further deaths.”

The number of people seriously injured in workplace accidents in Bolton has declined since 2006.

There were 461 serious workplace injuries during the 2010-11 financial year, compared to previous annual figures of 484, 578, 702 and 661 in 2006-07.

Official figures from the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) also show that five people, including two members of the public, have died after fatal accidents in workplaces in Bolton between 2006 and 2011.

Nationally it is estimated that more than 1,300 workers were killed in incidents and up to 50,000 died from workplace illnesses in 2010/11.

That included 18,000 from occupational cancer, 20,000 from workrelated heart disease and 12,000 from lung and other work-related illnesses.

HSE North West records show that 15 people were killed by vehicles, 10 by machinery, nine by falls and five from objects falling on them. Others were killed by cattle, crushing, drowning, fire and carbon monoxide poisoning.

The HSE reported 39 fatalities in the North West, with two in Bolton for 2010/11.

There have been 10 successful HSE prosecutions in the last five years in Bolton, and more than 330 enforcement notices have been issued in the same period.

Bolton TUC will be highlighting workplace safety today with a town centre leafleting campaign followed by a march and ceremony in Manchester tomorrow for Workers’ Memorial Day.

The campaign is also supported by victims’ families and Families Against Corporate Killing.

David Milne, a Bolton Unison health and safety officer, said: “The most recent enforcement notice served was against a car salvage firm who had staff working insecurely underneath cars that were only propped up by the grabs that lifts them up.

“Without HSE doing spot-checks, the work-related fatality rate would rocket.

“The recent prosecution of the private cleaning firm contracted by the hospital shows what an utter disgrace it is for themto even be considering outsourcing their laundry service.

“With the massive attacks to health and safety regulation and enforcement, how long will it be before we witness another devastating tragedy?”

Hilda Palmer, from Greater Manchester Hazards Centre, said: “Last year the North West had the highest number of workplace deaths in the UK.

“In recent years towns like Bolton have seen a number tragic incidents where people, including members of the public, have gone to workplaces and have not come home again. The importance of safety regulations cannot be over emphasised.

“Our laws were won by collective action of workers and trade unions over the past 100 years, but these are under threat and standards will be driven backwards.

We must defend health and safety for our own sake and future generations.”

The Corporate Manslaughter and Corporate Homicide Act 2007 gave new powers to convict an organisation if a gross failure in the way activities were managed results in someone's death.

David Crausby, Labour MP for Bolton North East, said he was very concerned about government plans to get rid of safety regulations.

The Health and Safety Executive, a government agency, said it was unable to comment on Workers’ Memorial Day or the debate surrounding its work.

Anyone who wants to take part in memorial day events can find more information at www.tuc.

org.uk/wmd