Lord Wills – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Wills on 2015-11-17.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of the occupations most at risk from mesothelioma.

Baroness Altmann

The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) maintains a register of all death certificates in Great Britain which mention mesothelioma within the cause of death. Analyses of the occupations recorded on such death certificates show that former construction workers, including carpenters, plumbers and electricians, and those who worked in shipbuilding are those most at risk of developing mesothelioma today.

A research study to look in more detail at the sources of mesothelioma risk in Britain carried out by Professor Julian Peto supported these conclusions, and estimated that nearly half of male mesothelioma deaths were attributed to building-related jobs including carpenters, plumbers and electricians. These risks are a result of high past asbestos exposures during the period when asbestos was being very widely used within the building industry.

Workers today who are potentially at higher risk of mesothelioma in the future – and who are now the focus of strict control measures – are those most likely to come across asbestos during their work, including building maintenance and asbestos removal workers.