UK asbestos statistics

So what does HSE now think the current annual total number of asbestos related cancer deaths is?

In 2004 (the latest year with published data) there were 1969 mesothelioma deaths. Adding an equivalent number of lung cancers brings the total to 3938. Using this exact figure would imply much more accuracy than is truly the case. Even rounding to the nearest hundred, 3900, overstates our certainty if it is taken to imply the true number is larger than 3800 and is smaller than 4000. Thus we suggest "around 4000" is the best available simple formulation.

Based on an analysis of the deaths from 1980 – 2000 the ten occupations found to have the highest risk of mesothelioma for males were Metal Plate Workers, Vehicle Body Builders, Plumbers and Gas Fitters, Carpenters, Electricians, Sheet Metal Workers, Electrical Plant Operators, Production Fitters, Construction Workers, and Electrical Engineers. Because of the long latency period of mesothelioma (between 15 and 60 years) these results generally relate to exposures before the 1980s. These and other high-risk occupations can generally be associated with three broad areas of past asbestos use: shipbuilding, railway carriage and locomotive building, and the installation of lagging or other insulation materials in buildings or industrial plant. However, over 25% of those dying from mesothelioma had worked in the building or maintenance industry, an area of exposure we cannot be sure has been eliminated.

Source - HSE

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