Asbestos-Related Deaths Increasing

Approximately 2, 500 people are dying every year in the UK from exposure to asbestos.

Mesothelioma is an incurable cancer caused by exposure to harmful dust, often found in people who worked in heavy industries decades ago.

11 people in Fife died from the disease in 2013.

Lawyers are calling for improved monitoring of public buildings where asbestos has been found, such as in schools, hospitals and government buildings, to help reduce the risk of the deadly dust causing even more harm.
  
Elaine Russell, a Partner and expert asbestos-related disease team at Glasgow-based law firm Irwin Mitchell, said: “The number of victims of mesothelioma has yet to peak and we have seen that the disease is now affecting those outside of the traditional heavy industries associated with diseases caused by asbestos exposure.
 
“Recent years have seen a rise in the number of people affected by asbestos who have spent their working lives in public buildings, hospitals, schools and other academic institutions. It is absolutely crucial that more is done to make these buildings safer for employees, which means monitoring asbestos and the eventual removal of the hazardous material, before it becomes dangerous.
 
“The Palace of Westminster and Buckingham Palace have recently been the subject of asbestos investigations and removal. A full risk register is now needed for public buildings across the country so that the safe removal of the harmful asbestos can be carried out, and a stringent monitoring programme can be put in place.
 
“Mesothelioma is a very aggressive, and sadly, incurable disease and those who fall victim suffer simply because the appropriate precautions were not taken to keep them safe, they were not warned of the dangers of asbestos or provided with the correct protective equipment.
 
“We hope that by supporting Action Mesothelioma Day we will help to raise awareness of the dangers of asbestos and mesothelioma, as well as encouraging employers and the government to take action to protect future generations from further suffering.”