1 in 17 British carpenters born in the 1940’s will die of mesothelioma

This is the harrowing statistic released by Cancer Research UK. If a carpenter born in the 1940’s did more than 10 years of relevant work before the age of 30 there is a 5.9% chance that he will go on to develop mesothelioma. This can be compared with 2.9% for electricians, decorators and plumbers.

Cancer Research UK along with the Health and Safety Executive funded the largest study of its kind. Over 600 mesothelioma patients took part in the study along with 1400 healthy people. The aim of the study was to consider various occupations and compare the UK rates of mesothelioma to these occupations.  The study appears in the British Journal of Cancer.

The study reveals that the risks are clearly not limited to certain occupations. A staggering two-thirds of all men and one quarter of all women have been exposed to asbestos at some point in their lives. Dr Lesley Walker, the director of Cancer Research UK said that the research is important in revealing who is at greatest risk from asbestos exposure.

The UK mesothelioma death rate is now the highest in the world. 1749 men died of mesothelioma in 2005. If this statistic wasn’t frightening enough it was also revealed that for every case of mesothelioma, asbestos also causes one case of lung cancer. Professor Julian Peto, the lead researcher stated that the risk is highest in people that were exposed to asbestos before the age of 30. He believes that the study shows that the risks in certain occupations were much higher than originally thought. Also, that new regulations introduced in 1970 reduced exposure to asbestos in factories but heavy exposure to the much larger workforce in construction and various other industries continued.

Further research to come

The second part of this research is already underway. It will provide further information about the role of amosite and how it causes mesothelioma in the younger generation. The results of this research are expected in 2010. The research will be valuable because it will show the extent of recent exposure, compared to past exposure levels on our future tradesmen.

Notes

John Pickering and Partners LLP- Specialist mesothelioma compensation solicitors

We are a specialist personal injury law firm.  We have been handling claims for industrial disease for over 30 years.  Most of our work involves acting for asbestos disease victims.  We only act for the sufferers of asbestos diseases and never act for the organisations that caused the asbestos exposure or their insurers.  We have an ethical approach and pledge to donate 10% of our net profits every year to good causes that help asbestos sufferers.  Click here to find out about our donations to good causes.  We have also been involved in most of the landmark judgments that shape this area of law.  Find out more about us or find out about our reported cases.  We are on the panels of several asbestos support groups and are ranked highly by legal guides.  Click here to find out more about what others have said about us.

John Pickering and Partners LLP is a niche legal practice that has represented Claimants in the leading asbestos "test cases" in the last ten years. The firm represented Sylvia Barker in Barker v Corus (UK) Plc, a case that highlighted the legal tactics of employers and insurers trying to cut back their compensation liabilities to mesothelioma sufferers, and which prompted the amendment of the Compensation Act 2006 to ensure full compensation for mesothelioma claims. The firm represented two of the three Claimants in the Fairchild appeal, in which the insurance industry tried unsuccessfully to block compensation altogether for mesothelioma sufferers unable to identify which of two or more sources of asbestos exposure had caused their illness.

The firm represented Alice Jefferson, a mesothelioma sufferer, whose illness and compensation claim against Cape Asbestos were featured in the important documentary "Alice: A Fight For Life."   Shown by Yorkshire Television in July 1982, the programme was an important catalyst for legal change and public awareness of the plight of mesothelioma and other asbestos disease sufferers and a prompt for important legal reform.

Mesothelioma is a type of cancer that affects the lining of certain bodily organs.  It most commonly affects the lining of the lungs (the pleura) but it can affect other areas including organs in the abdominal cavity (the peritoneum).

According to the British Lung Foundation, more than 2,000 people are diagnosed with mesothelioma every year in the UK and there is one mesothelioma death every five hours. The number of deaths from mesothelioma increased from 153 in 1968 to 1,969 in 2004 and is expected to peak at 2,450 between 2011 and 2015.

The British Lung Foundation, supported by John Pickering and Partners LLP, launched the first Action Mesothelioma Day on 27th February 2006, to raise awareness about mesothelioma, to improve the treatment and care of mesothelioma patients, and to lobby for better funding for research into mesothelioma and for the protection and education of people working with asbestos.

If you need advice about an asbestos related illness, contact us now for information about making a claim for compensation.

Ellen Butler – Trainee Solicitor
John Pickering and Partners LLP
20 Clare Road
Halifax
HX1 2HX

Tele: 01422 345535
Fax: 01422 438500
Email@ eb@johnpickering.co.uk

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