date: Wednesday 13 February 2002

embargo: 00.01h Thursday 14 February 2002

Attention: Safety, health & industrial correspondents


Five thousand people die every year from asbestos, says TUC

At least five thousand people died in 2001 of asbestos-related diseases, according to TUC analysis of official figures. The figure is up from 3,000 a decade ago - an increase of two thirds, and now 50% more people die from asbestos than die on the roads every year. The TUC warns that the death toll will continue to rise if measures are not taken now to control asbestos exposure in British buildings.

The TUC is today (Thursday) launching Asbestos: no hiding place, a new guide for workplace union safety reps on how to help prevent exposure to asbestos, based on forthcoming Regulations from the Health and Safety Commission. The guide is published jointly with the Hazards campaign, an organisation of local safety campaigners, in the TUC-backed Hazards magazine, also published today.

TUC General Secretary John Monks said:

'Asbestos was the ‘fatal fibre’ for most of the twentieth century, and its days as the ‘miracle mineral’ are long gone. But the death toll is continuing to rise, and unless we take steps now to stop more people being exposed to asbestos, the new century will see a modern plague of asbestos diseases.

'Unions have always led the fight against asbestos, and our guidance shows how safety reps are vital to protecting people from the asbestos that is in so many British buildings. Asbestos is still a deadly dust, and safety reps need to know what they can do to help protect their work-mates.'

Alan Dalton, author of Asbestos Killer Dust, speaking for the Hazards Campaign said, "if the millions of tonnes of asbestos in our homes, schools, hospitals and workplaces is not removed and disposed of safely the 'asbestos cancer epidemic' will continue well into the 22nd century. We must get it right this time, for our children's grandchildren!"

The TUC’s analysis of official figures shows that the death toll from asbestos has been growing throughout the last decade, and the latest official figures from 1999 show that, on conservative assumptions, 5,000 people will have died from the diseases caused by exposure to asbestos: mesothelioma, lung cancer, asbestosis and other cancers (see table below).

The TUC/Hazards campaign guide advises safety reps to make use of the new role the forthcoming Regulations will provide, such as:

  • taking part in the selection of asbestos surveyors;

  • identifying the materials which need to be assessed; and

  • the development of plans to manage the asbestos found in buildings.

Asbestos-related deaths (ARDs) 1991-2001

Year Deaths from mesothelioma Estimated deaths from all ARDs**

1990 895 2,685

1991 1,023 3,069

1992 1,097 3,291

1993 1,152 3,456

1994 1,246 3,738

1995 1,318 3,954

1996 1,320 3,960

1997 1,355 4,065

1998 1,535 4,605

1999 1,595 4,785

2000 1,650* 4,950

2001 1,705* 5,115

Source: mesothelioma deaths from 1990-1999 are taken from Health and Safety Statistics 2001 published by the HSE, and are based on death certificates issued in England, Scotland and Wales. * The projected fatalities for 2000 and 2001 are based on the average annual increase from the previous five years of 55 (in fact only in two years from 1990 to 1999 did the increase fall below this level - the average annual increase over the last ten years has been 70). ** Estimated deaths from all asbestos-related deaths are based on the well-established epidemiological ratio of at least two lung cancer deaths attributable to asbestos exposure for every one mesothelioma.

Notes to Editors:

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The importation, sale and new use of asbestos was finally banned in Britain (and across Europe) in 1999 (although some types of asbestos had been banned much earlier). The only country in the EU with declining rates of deaths from asbestos is Sweden, which was the first country in the EU to ban all forms of asbestos.

There are still vast amounts of asbestos in British buildings which means that repair, renovation and removal workers will be at risk for a generation, and as, to a lesser extent, will the people who work, visit or live in those buildings. The new HSC Regulations, due out in the summer (and consulted on twice in the last eighteen months) will impose new duties on employers and building owners, and the European Union is discussing a Directive which will drastically reduce the permitted exposure levels for people working with asbestos.

Contacts:

Media enquiries: 020 7467 1248 or email media@tuc.org.uk

Other enquiries: Owen Tudor, TUC Senior Policy Officer, on 020 7467 1325 or 07788 715261 or email at otudor@tuc.org.uk

Press release (900 words) issued 14 Feb 2002

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