One in 10 British carpenters born in the 1940s and who worked in the
trade for 10 years before they hit 30 is at risk of developing
asbestos-related cancer.
This is according to a study funded by Cancer Research UK and the HSE,
which involved interviews with more than 600 mesothelioma patients and
1400 healthy people, making it the largest global study of its kind.
The risk among the same group for developing mesothelioma specifically
is about one in 17, while for plumbers, electricians and decorators
born in the same decade and also working for more than 10 years before
they were 30, the risk is one in 50.
The study also revealed that two thirds of all British men and a
quarter of women had worked in jobs involving potential asbestos
exposure at some time in their lives. There was a small increased risk
in those who had lived with someone who had been exposed to asbestos.
Lead researcher and Cancer Research UK epidemiologist, Prof Julian
Peto, commented: “The UK has the highest death rate from mesothelioma
in the world. The risk is highest in people who were exposed to
asbestos before age 30. By getting information on all the jobs people
had ever done we have shown that the risk in some occupations,
particularly in the building industry, is higher than we previously
thought.”
Construction union UCATT said the result of the study were “deeply
disturbing”. Added general secretary, Alan Ritchie: “It is scandalous
that construction workers who are now most at risk of dying from
asbestos were those who were young men in the 1960s and 70s, working
unprotected with a substance that bosses and the authorities were
already aware was lethal.”
He warned: “It is vital that the research is used to step up campaigns
and prosecutions to ensure that workers are properly protected and no
longer exposed to asbestos.”
Steve Coldrick, head of the HSE’s Disease Reduction Programme, said the
study demonstrates that the Executive has been correctly targeting
those who are most at risk from asbestos exposure. He added: “We must
continue to remember that asbestos maintained in good condition on site
is not a threat unless it’s disturbed, and the fibres become airborne.
Also, other potential ‘risk factors’, such as residence in certain
types of housing, living near industrial sites, or engagement in DIY
activity, were not associated with an increased risk.”
Next year will see publication of the results of the second stage of
the study, which is looking at the role of amosite (brown asbestos) in
causing mesothelioma in the younger generation.
The full results of this first stage of the study – entitled
‘Occupational, domestic and environmental mesothelioma risk in the
British population: a case-control study’ – were published in the
British Journal of Cancer: www.bjcancer.com
