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Asbestos Questions Answered: 7 FAQs for Global Asbestos Awareness Week

To support Global Asbestos Awareness Week which runs from the 1st to the 7th of April 2015 the expert Personal Injury Solicitors at Slater and Gordon Lawyers have come up with the answers to seven frequently asked questions about Asbestos.

1. What is Asbestos?

2. What was Asbestos used for?
Asbestos was used in a variety of forms in the UK including, roofing, sheeting, ceilings, tiles as well as asbestos lagging for pipes in commercial buildings.

3. Why was Asbestos banned?
Asbestos was banned in the UK in 1999 because it was classified as a human carcinogen. This means that the substance causes cancer. Asbestos has been known to be hazardous since Roman times and the carcinogenic properties of Asbestos have shockingly been known since the 1930s!

4. How does Asbestos cause cancer?
When products that contain Asbestos are disturbed tiny fibres are released into the air. This is also known as ‘Asbestos dust’. When breathed in Asbestos fibres can get trapped in the lungs. The accumulation of Asbestos dust in the lungs can cause many different respiratory problems such as Lung Cancer, Asbestosis, Pleural Thickening, Pleural Plaques and Mesothelioma.

5. Who is at risk of Asbestos-related diseases?
The people who are most likely to contract an Asbestos-related disease are those who’ve had exposure to Asbestos dust on a regular basis, often over long periods of time. At high risk are the people who’ve worked directly with the material and people who’ve worked in an environment with Asbestos fibres. Family members are also put at risk when they come into close contact, due to the Asbestos fibres clinging to their contaminated clothes.

6. Where can you find Asbestos?
Asbestos can be found in any building constructed before the year 2000 because it is in many of the common materials used in industrial buildings and residential properties.

7. How many people are affected?
According to the Health and Safety Executive every year Asbestos causes around 5,000 deaths in the UK.

If you or a family has suffered from an Asbestos-related cancer or disease call the expert Personal Injury Solicitors at Slater and Gordon Lawyers on 0800 844 0275 on contact us online.

Slater and Gordon are one of the largest Personal Injury Law Firms in the UK who specialise in industrial diseases. We have offices in London, Manchester, Liverpool, Birmingham, Sheffield, Milton Keynes, Bristol, Derby, Merseyside, Cambridge, Edinburgh, Cardiff, Halifax, Newcastle, Wakefield and meeting rooms in Bramhall, Cheshire and in Hull, Yorkshire.

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