§ Mr. Norman Hoggasked the Secretary of State for Employment if he will publish in the Official Report the most recent year's statistics of the number of deaths at work from (a) accidents, (b) diseases, (c) cancer and (d) asbestos; and what is known about the reliability of these statistics in monitoring such deaths.
§ Mr. Mayhew[pursuant to his reply, 11 November 1980, c. 129]: In 1979, 710 fatal accidents at work were reported to Health and Safety Commission authorities, and to other authorities in respect of merchant shipping—including fishing—and civil aviation. (This figure has been revised since publication of the Health and Safety Commission report 1979–80). Of these 710, 589 were statutory reportable accidents, and this figure is believed to be reasonably complete. The remainder comprises 121 fatalities voluntarily reported in anticipation of new regulations to be made under the Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974.
There is no reliable estimate of all deaths from disease attributable to working conditions. Industrial death benefit and similar compensation has been awarded in respect of 851 deaths from disease in 1978. Among these are eight cases of bladder cancer. The only other cancer distinguishable in the available statistics is mesothelioma, and awards of death benefit do not provide a good indicator of the number of deaths from that disease.
Statistics derived from death benefit awards are not in general a reliable guide to fatalities from occupational disease. One reason for this is that there are not always dependants to claim benefit another is that not all occupational diseases are prescribed, and not all cases of prescribed diseases are diagnosed. In the 191W case of cancer in particular, the difficulties of recognising the causes make it impossible in many cases to distinguish between occupational disease and disease attributable to other factors, and in general industrial death benefit is only payable for a few types of cancer which are very firmly associated with particular working conditions, as in mesothelioma with exposure to asbestos.
Nearly all cases of asbestosis and mesothelioma must be attributed to exposure to asbestos at work. In 1979 517 death certificates mentioned one or both of these diseases; 166 mentioned asbestosis and 422 mesothelioma.