Stephen with Ian Lavery MP, Chair of the Occupational Safety and Health APPG
Stephen has lent his support to the charity, Mesothelioma UK. It has recently launched its ‘Don’t Let the Dust Settle’ campaign. It looks to “call time” on asbestos by raising awareness of the dangers of asbestos exposure and the asbestos-related cancer, mesothelioma.
Asbestos is estimated to kill more than 200,000 people per year globally and exposure to asbestos is responsible for nine out of ten mesothelioma cases. It is the single greatest cause of work-related deaths in the UK each year, as more than 5,000 people die from asbestos-related cancers.
According to the Health and Safety Executive (HSE), Britain’s national regulator for workplace health and safety, the UK has the highest rate of mesothelioma deaths per capita in the world. The cancer has a long latency period of 15-45 years, with some prolonged cases of 60 years before symptoms show.
Despite its use being banned, asbestos remains in many UK buildings. The HSE estimates that between 210,000 and 400,000 buildings in the UK contain asbestos. Other sources say that there are about six million tonnes of asbestos, spread across approximately 1.5 million buildings – the most asbestos per capita in Europe. Freedom of Information requests in 2022 revealed that 81 per cent of schools reported asbestos was present in their buildings, with more than 90 per cent of hospital buildings containing asbestos.
The ‘Don’t Let the Dust Settle’ campaign is demanding that the Government heeds the two key recommendations of the Work and Pensions Committee inquiry into the management of asbestos. In 2022, the Committee recommended the creation of a central digital register of asbestos and a commitment to the phased removal of asbestos over the next 40 years, prioritising schools and hospitals.
Speaking about the campaign, Stephen said: “The 1999 ban on using asbestos didn't make it a thing of the past. It’s still in our buildings and causes over 5,000 deaths per year. This risk from asbestos will increase in coming decades, as we retrofit buildings to meet net zero targets. To prevent needless deaths and suffering, we need to act decisively, and finally make asbestos history. We need a central register so that we know where all the asbestos is and in what condition it is. We also need to set a timeframe for its safe removal, prioritising the highest risk asbestos from settings such as schools and hospitals. The clock is ticking.”