§ Mr. CoxTo ask the Secretary of State for Health what is her estimate of the number of people who have died in sed each of the last three years from lung cancer as a result of handling asbestos; and if she will make a statement.
§ Mr. McLoughlinI have been asked to reply.
Since April 1985, lung cancer has been a prescribed disease under the industrial injuries scheme provided the sufferer has had occupational exposure to asbestos and has some other clinical sign of asbestos-related disease. The numbers of cases diagnosed under this scheme in the last three years for which figures are available are:
Asbestos-related Lung Cancer Year Number 1989 54 1990 58 1991 55 These figures were published in the Employment Gazette occasional supplement No. 3, September 1992.
However, the 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.