IBAS news release, 23 September 2009

UK Asbestos Slaughter

The ASA ruled that an element of the much-praised campaign run by the HSE to alert tradespeople of the hidden asbestos danger in the country’s infrastructure was an “exaggeration.” If anything, the figures cited by the HSE were an under-estimate. According to Consultant Thoracic Surgeon Mr. John Edwards:

“It is a fact that at least 4,000 people are dying a year from asbestos-related cancer in the UK. Evolving evidence suggests that this is an underestimate and that consequentially it is of utmost importance that we minimize future exposures to asbestos as well as identify problems in those people who have previously been exposed. The HSE are to be commended on their campaign in this regard.”

The latest available figures (2006), records 2,056 annual British deaths from the asbestos cancer mesothelioma; this compares to 312 (1976), 706 (1986) and 1,322 in 1996.  The 2006 figure represents a more than a six-fold increase in fatalities in 40 years.1 The outlook remains bleak:

“Mortality amongst all males is expected to keep increasing, reaching a peak at around 2,040 deaths in the year 2016, with a rapid decline following the peak year. Around 91,000 deaths are predicted to occur by 2050 with around 61,000 of these occurring from 2007 onwards.” 2

Laurie Kazan-Allen, Editor of the British Asbestos Newsletter and Coordinator of the International Ban Asbestos Secretariat, is appalled by the ASA ruling; “it  will,” she says “be used by global asbestos producers as ‘proof’ that warnings issued by the ILO, the WHO and the IARC over the use of asbestos have been exaggerated.” She believes that the HSE’s estimate of 4,000 annual asbestos deaths does not begin to reflect the tragic reality. Ms. Kazan-Allen says:

“When mesothelioma and asbestosis deaths are added to fatalities caused by cancers of the lung, larynx, ovary and stomach – other cancers now linked to asbestos exposure – the huge price paid for the country’s failure to act on the asbestos danger becomes apparent.”

Notes to Editors

For further information, contact Laurie Kazan-Allen, the IBAS Coordinator by email: laurie@lkaz.demon.co.uk or phone: + 44 (0) 208 958 38 87/ IBAS: International Ban Asbestos Secretariat website: www.ibasecretariat.org

More information on British asbestos developments can be obtained from the website of the British Asbestos Newsletter: website: http://www.lkaz.demon.co.uk

The use of chrysotile asbestos was banned in the UK in 1999; the use of amosite and crocidolite having been banned in the 1980s. Throughout the 20th century, 6 million tons of asbestos were used in Britain. Currently, 2,000+ people die of mesothelioma (asbestos cancer) every year, a further 3,000-4,000 die of asbestos-related lung cancer and 700+ of asbestosis. A conservative estimate of the number of annual asbestos-related deaths in Britain would be 5,000.

The World Health Organization, the International Labor Organization, the European Union, the International Commission on Occupational Health, the United Nations, the Collegium Ramazzini, groups representing global labor and many other international agencies and national governments agree that exposure to all types of asbestos is hazardous.

The International Labor Organization estimates that there are 100,000 asbestos deaths a year, one person every five minutes. Other estimates put the global toll much higher.

References