Growth in Mesothelioma Deaths in UK

Health and Safety Executive have compiled data in respect of deaths from mesothelioma across Great Britain from 1981 to 2022. Through this timeframe, there were 59,688 male deaths and 11,024 female deaths and although male deaths make up a greater proportion of the deaths, there has been a trend of overall growth across males and females in the period, as can be seen in the graph below:

Shockingly, in the period between 1981 and 1992, there were 7,807 male deaths and 1,287 female deaths, compared to 20,534 male deaths and 4,210 female deaths between 2013 and 2022.

UK Mesothelioma Death Hotspots

Areas with high asbestos-related death rates due to mesothelioma are typically those with heavy industry, such as the construction industry and ship building industry. These include the following hotspots for male deaths:

• Barrow-in-Furness;
• North Tyneside;
• South Tyneside;
• Plymouth;
• Portsmouth;
• Medway;
• Hartlepool;
• Gosport; and
• Southampton.

For female deaths, the hotspots include:

• Barking and Dagenham;
• Sunderland;
• Newham;
• Leeds;
• Barrow-in-Furness;
• Basildon;
• Havering;
• Castle Point;
• Blackburn with Darwen

The full report of the Health and Safety Executive can be viewed by clicking on the following link:

Mesothelioma by geographical area in Great Britain (hse.gov.uk)

These Statistics Do Not Tell The Full Story

What is all the more shocking is that the fact that these statistics do not show the full extent of asbestos related deaths. They show only deaths related to mesothelioma, whereas there are a number of other asbestos related diseases, such as asbestos related lung cancer, for which there will also be many deaths.

If you or a loved one have suffered asbestos related disease, you may be able to bring a claim for industrial disease. Our specialist team has many years of experience in pursuing such claim and have a proven track record of securing compensation for those who have been injured. If you or a loved one have had a diagnosis of asbestosis related disease, please contact our Industrial Disease team to discuss how we can help.