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According to recent research published by the British Medical Journal there are now over 1800 deaths per year in Britain as a result of exposure to asbestos and the number is still increasing.  Furthermore, one in every hundred men born in the 1940s will die of malignant Mesothelioma.  This is because asbestos used in buildings and engineering industries peaked around the 1960 and 1970s, when men born in the 1940s would be starting their working lives. We have found that people diagnosed with Mesothelioma came into contact with asbestos as an apprentice.  In some cases they were never again exposed to asbestos in their working lives.  Watch Mesothelioma Film

•  Someone dies every five hours from Mesothelioma in the UK

• There were 1,628 deaths from Mesothelioma in 2000 in Britain

•  Mesothelioma is preventable....the only known cause is exposure to asbestos

•  The annual death toll will rise to around 2,000 by 2010 and will remain above 1,500 until about 2025

•  There are 33% more deaths from Mesothelioma than from cervical cancer

•  Deaths from Mesothelioma have increased ten-fold since 1968 in the UK

•  There will be over a million deaths in western Europe by 2035

•  The disease can take up to 60 years to develop following exposure to asbestos

•  The greatest risk group are men born between 1945 and 1950
  

• The annual number of Mesothelioma deaths has increased from 153 in 1968 to 1633 in 2000, 1860 in 2001, and 1862 in 2002.

• The latest projections suggest that the annual total number of Mesothelioma deaths in Great Britain is estimated to peak at around 1950 to 2450 deaths some time between 2011 to 2015.
• Occupations with the highest risk of Mesothelioma for males include: metal plate workers (including shipyard workers), vehicle body builders (including rail vehicles), plumbers and gas fitters, carpenters and electricians.
• The industry groups with the highest incidence rates of Industrial Injuries Scheme (IIS) assessments for Mesothelioma in 2001-2003 were construction (including insulation and asbestos removal workers) and extraction, energy and water supply. 

MESOTHELIOMA

Mesothelioma is a form of cancer that attacks the protective lining around the lungs (pleura), abdominal organs (peritoneum), or heart (pericardium). Most cases of Mesothelioma begin in the pleura or peritoneum

Mesothelioma is a cancer caused only by exposure to asbestos dust. It grows on the lining of the lung, gut (peritoneum) or very occasionally in the lining of the pericardium (the cavity in the chest where the heart sits).
The disease is sometimes noticed first by a build up of fluid in the area being affected, known as an effusion. This condition can be caused by other diseases such as an infection. The usual treatment is to drain the fluid and check it for any cancer cells.
Otherwise the disease is recognised when with a patient reports pain to their GP and a growth is noticed on an x-ray or during a post mortem.

ASBESTOSIS

Asbestosis is the most widely known disease associated with asbestos exposure. Many people think that asbestosis is a cancer, but this not the case. Asbestosis is also sometimes called “interstitial pulmonary fibrosis”. Simply, this means that the lung itself is damaged by the body’s inflammatory reaction to asbestos fibers. The inflammation results in scar tissue, or fibrosis, building up in the interstitium (or tissue between the air sacs). The build up of fibrosis reduces the elasticity of the lungs and they become stiff, making it less easy for the lungs to inflate on breathing.

Symptoms of asbestosis include breathlessness, especially on exertion, a dry cough, and chest tightness. Asbestosis may progress even after exposure has ceased and it cannot be reversed. However, the extent of the progression varies widely, as does the effects on breathing. It can take up to 20 years for asbestosis to develop, but this time scale may vary either way.     

You can claim Industrial Injuries Disablement Benefit from the Benefits Agency for asbestosis if you were exposed to asbestos at work. You can also claim compensation from your employer through the courts if you were negligently exposed to asbestos or from the DWP if your employer is no longer trading

PLEURAL PLAQUES

Pleural plaques are localised, well-defined areas of pleural thickening, rather like calluses on other parts of the body. They are patches of tough sinewy tissue formed on the pleura on the chest wall. The pleura is a two-layered membrane surrounding the lungs, shown on the diagram. Sometimes these plaques are ‘calcified’ and may be referred to as ‘calcified pleural plaques’. Your consultant will be able to see these on an X-ray. 

Usually, you will not experience any symptoms of breathlessness or discomfort because of pleural plaques and it is unlikely that you will know that you have them.   Pleural plaques are seen as the least serious form of asbestos disease and are not in themselves dangerous. But, they are seen as an indicator of exposure to asbestos and there is a small chance, because of that exposure, that you may develop one of the other types of asbestos disease in the future.

You cannot claim Industrial Injuries Disablement Benefit for pleural plaques. The Benefits Agency does not consider pleural plaques a disease for which you may claim benefits.  Due to a recent ruling by the House of Lords, it is now not possible to claim compensation for pleural plaques.  However, it is worth contacting the Derbyshire Asbestos Support Team for further information. 

DIFFUSE PLEURAL THICKENING

Diffuse pleural thickening is similar in appearance to pleural plaques, but the ‘thickening’ is more widespread and may involve both layers of the pleura. As with pleural plaques, one or both lungs may be affected. Diffuse pleural thickening can cause breathlessness and because of this it is considered to be more serious than pleural plaques. This thickening or ‘fibrosis’ can be identified sometimes through clinical examination, but is usually diagnosed by X-ray.

Sometimes a build up of fluid in the pleural cavity occurs before diffuse pleural thickening develops. This condition is called a ‘pleural effusion’ and can cause breathlessness and, in some instances, pain.  It can take up to 10 to 20 years to develop pleural plaques and pleural thickening after exposure to asbestos.

You can claim Industrial Injuries Disablement Benefit from the Benefits Agency for diffuse pleural thickening if you were exposed to asbestos at work. You can also claim compensation from your employer through the courts if you were negligently exposed to asbestos or from the DWP if your employer is no longer trading

LUNG CANCER ASSOCIATED WITH ASBESTOS

Workers exposed to asbestos have an increased risk of developing lung cancer. This risk is greatly increased if the person exposed to asbestos also smokes. Because it is very difficult to distinguish lung cancer caused by asbestos and that caused by smoking or other environmental pollutants, it is often very difficult to get a clear diagnosis of asbestos-related lung cancer.

Because of these diagnostic difficulties the Benefits Agency does not accept a diagnosis of asbestos-related lung cancer unless the person has asbestosis or diffuse pleural thickening as well as lung cancer. This results in great injustice as there is no medical certainty that asbestosis or diffuse pleural thickening is a necessary precursor of lung cancer. The treatment for asbestos-related lung cancer is the same as that for lung cancer generally. Although treatment is decided individually for each patient, it is generally accepted that the earlier the diagnosis the better the outcome of the treatment. Early lung cancer can sometimes be cured by surgery and some forms of lung cancer can be treated with chemotherapy. Radiotherapy is often given to improve the symptoms of lung cancer.

You can claim Industrial Injuries Disablement Benefit from the Benefits Agency for asbestos-related lung cancer if you were exposed to asbestos at work. You can also claim compensation from your employer through the courts if you were negligently exposed to asbestos or from the DWP if your employer is no longer trading

© David Martin 2004-2009