The Health and Safety Executive has revealed that mesothelioma is on the increase in parts of the UK.
The North-East has the highest death rate for mesothelioma. Among men in the area, the death rate is 89.52 per million people, up from 87.08 previously. The death rate among women in the area is also up to 16.41 per million from 11.19.
The West Midlands has also seen an increase in the death rate from mesothelioma. Among men it increased to 46.7 per million people from 44.7. Among women the death rate also rose, to 7.87 per million from 6.64.
My colleague Alida Coates knows all about mesothelioma in the West Midlands as she heads up the asbestos-related diseases team in our Birmingham office.
Commenting on these figures, Alida said: “Although we have known for years that the Mesothelioma death rate was set to peak some time around 2015, seeing the cold, hard statistics always brings home the extent of the problem we continue to face in the UK,” Ms Coates said.
“We handle scores of cases involving Mesothelioma victims annually and each and every one is utterly heartbreaking. It is a fast-acting and fatal disease, the effects of which are felt keenly in the West Midlands.
“One of the most sickening aspects of these cases is that the majority of the people involved have been negligently exposed to asbestos by employers who, quite simply, knew the risks involved and continued to put the lives of their workforce at risk. We are increasingly seeing cases involving younger people who worked in old buildings like schools and hospitals while there is a rise in cases where family members have been exposed to the deadly fibres brought home on the overalls of their husband or father.
“Although the damage has largely been done – current and future sufferers were mostly exposed to asbestos decades ago – we must not stop fighting for justice for the victims and their families whose lives have been torn apart by this disease.”
The death rate for Great Britain is 61.34 per million, a rate that has been increasing steadily since 1984. Full figures for every UK region can be found at the HSE website.