I recently became aware of an inquest into the death of Ann Beaufoy, a former administrator of a National Trust property in North Yorkshire.

The coroner recorded that Mrs Beaufoy died of pleural mesothelioma due to asbestos exposure. He also said there was no evidence of exposure to asbestos other than when Mrs Beaufoy was working at Beningborough Hall, a National Trust property near York. More details on the inquest are available on the York Press website.

This sad case was of particular interest to me because of the exposure to asbestos at a National Trust property. I am a National Trust member and along with thousands of others I have visited National Trust properties over the years. I'm sure that we all hope that those visits were safe.

The National Trust says that asbestos has now been removed from all of their properties to meet national standards. That is a positive move and other organisations that are responsible for the maintenance of public spaces and workplaces should look to remove asbestos to minimise the danger caused to employees and the public.

People with a professional or personal interest in mesothelioma and the dangers of asbestos may be aware of the British Asbestos Newsletter, which recently marked its 20th year of publication.

The newsletter is edited by Laurie Kazan-Allen, co-ordinator of the International Ban Asbestos Secretariat.

A special edition has been published, looking back over the past 20 years and the progress made in the battle to ban asbestos and achieve justice for victims.

The special edition, to which I contributed a piece on asbestos litigation, is available to read online. Click here to read the newsletter.

I have also recently reached a personal milestone. It is now 20 years since I handled my first asbestos cancer case. I represented a man named Irving Sheldon who had been exposed to asbestos while serving in the Royal Navy.

20 years on and some progress has been made. The general public are much more aware of the dangers of asbestos and a number of high-profile cases, including June Hancock’s battle against Turner & Newall, have set precedents that improved access to compensation for those exposed to asbestos.

Sadly there is still much work to do. We continue to see thousands of cases of mesothelioma each year, which means the British Asbestos Newsletter is as important today as it was 20 years ago.

The Guardian recently reported that the town of Asbestos in Canada is launching a campaign to attract tourists to the area – read the Guardian article.

The town is home to the biggest asbestos mine in the world, which is also the town’s largest employer.

Canada has come under significant international pressure in relation to its continued export of asbestos, much of which goes to the developing world where protection for workers is not in place.

To those of us who deal with the misery caused by exposure to asbestos, any attempt to encourage visitors to the area seems extraordinary. The Guardian reporter’s observation that her “alveoli ache” should make people think carefully about visiting.

The Co-operative Insurance has called for insurance companies to back plans to help people with mesothelioma and other asbestos related diseases to claim compensation even when insurers cannot be found.

Many people now suffering from mesothelioma were exposed to asbestos many years ago and their employers at the time have gone bust or closed down.

In these instances compensation claims can be difficult as it is not always possible to trace the insurers of the companies involved.

The Co-operative Insurance has called for insurers to fund a pool from which compensation can be paid in these instances.

A similar scheme already exists in the motor insurance industry where there is a pool available to pay compensation to people injured by uninsured drivers or drivers that cannot be traced.

A pool to compensate mesothelioma sufferers would provide compensation to many people who, through no fault of their own, find it difficult under the current system to access compensation.

Researchers in the USA have developed a vaccine that may be able to fight mesothelioma and help sufferers to live longer.

The study was funded by the Mesothelioma Applied Research Foundation and involved giving three vaccines to ten mesothelioma patients. All patients displayed increased levels of antibodies and three showed signs that their tumours had decreased in size.

Side-effects did not seem to be as severe as those shown by people undergoing chemotherapy, although eight of the patients developed flu like symptoms that lasted for two days.

Scientists involved in the study hope that further research may eventually lead to a vaccine that could be given to people exposed to asbestos that would prevent them from developing mesothelioma.