HC Deb 19 July 1993 vol 229 cc70-1W
Mr. Hutton

To ask the Secretary of State for Employment how many deaths occurred as a result of asbestos-related illness in each year since 1990.

Mr. Michael Forsyth

The latest figures for deaths due to asbestosis and mesothelioma published in "Health and Safety Statistics 1990–91", are in the following table:

Asbestosis Mesothelioma
1990 163 862
1991 1163 11,017
1 Provisional.

The figures are taken from death certificates. Mesothelioma is thought to have a natural background incidence of about 100 cases per year; the rest are presumed to be asbestos-related.

Since April 1985, under cetain conditions, lung cancer in asbestos workers has been a prescribed disease under the industrial injury scheme. The number of cases diagnosed under this scheme since 1990 for which figures are available are as follows:

Asbestos-related lung cancer
1990 58
1991 55
1992 154
1 Provisional.

Lung cancer deaths attributable to asbestos are known to be considerably understated, mainly because many cases may not be recognised as asbestos related by the sufferers or their doctors. Studies suggest that the actual number of lung cancers attributable to asbestos exposure is likely to be more than 1,000 per year.