Asbestos: a growing challenge for the future?

Summary: Asbestos remains a serious occupational and public health risk in the UK, despite being banned in 1999. Around 5,000 people still die each year from asbestos-related diseases, largely because symptoms can take decades to appear. British Safety Council is calling for continued public awareness, effective asbestos management, and adequate funding for the Health and Safety Executive.

Key points:

• Asbestos was banned in the UK in 1999, but it remains present in many buildings constructed or refurbished before that date
• Asbestos-related diseases can take 20–50 years to develop after exposure
• Around 5,000 people die each year from asbestos-related diseases in the UK, including mesothelioma, asbestos-related lung cancer and asbestosis
• Workers can be exposed when asbestos-containing materials are disturbed during maintenance, repair or refurbishment
• Residential buildings not covered by commercial regulation represent an underrecognised risk to tradespeople

Why asbestos remains a health risk today

Today, the risks associated with asbestos are well and widely known. We know that even a single airborne fibre risks triggering the development of a range of respiratory conditions, years or even decades later. Whilst the risks from asbestos were well known in the medical field as early as the mid-1920s, public awareness of risk, and therefore our wider societal response, remained low until the early 1990s. The UK went on to ban asbestos in 1999, almost seventy years after its first documented use.

How many people die from asbestos-related conditions in the UK?

According to the Health and Safety Executive, around 5,000 people die from asbestos-related conditions each year in Great Britain, chiefly lung cancers and mesothelioma. Within this, HSE data records 2,218 mesothelioma deaths in 2023 alone, reflecting past occupational exposure. While annual fatalities have remained around the 5,000 mark for several years, the long shadow cast by asbestos has not yet reached its full height.

We know that, since the introduction of regulation and legislation around the use, maintenance, and management of asbestos, public exposure has been reduced. Additional provisions and precautions should be in place, from PPE and respiratory equipment to physical barriers preventing access to spaces where work is being undertaken.

Why asbestos deaths can appear decades after exposure

Many asbestos-related conditions present decades later, a characteristic known as long latency. This means that the bulk of cases being diagnosed today stem from exposure in the 1960s–1980s, long before comprehensive legislative controls were in place.

Why asbestos could become a growing future challenge

Many health and safety practitioners expect an asbestos-related time bomb: a sharp rise in presentation numbers, and therefore fatalities, as cases linked to asbestos exposure in the late 1980s and 1990s begin to emerge, the period immediately before the UK ban was introduced.

The UK's high mesothelioma burden

The UK continues to have one of the world's highest rates of mesothelioma, reflecting historic levels of asbestos use and the long latency of asbestos-related disease. A sharp rise in asbestos-related illnesses will only contribute to worsening public health outcomes in the years ahead.

Where asbestos exposure risks remain

Still present in workplaces across the UK, the risks from asbestos exposure have not changed. What has changed is our level of knowledge, our response, and our vigilance around the safe management and maintenance of asbestos.

Residential buildings and the hidden risk to workers

Anecdotally, we see a higher presentation of Asbestos in residential buildings not covered by the same regulatory regime as commercial buildings. Whilst your home may not be a workplace day to day, it may be (or become) someone’s workplace; from electricians installing smart meters to glazers refitting windows. These considerations, not picked up by legislation, risk exposing workers to asbestos in a residential postcode lottery that is likely to continue to contribute to the presentation of asbestos-related conditions for years to come.

The role of public awareness and HSE campaigns

HSE-led public education, through campaigns such as Asbestos and You and Asbestos: Your Duty, has been central to raising public awareness, reducing risk, and, we hope, reducing future cases of asbestos-related illness. These campaigns are aimed at dutyholders responsible for the maintenance and repair of non-domestic buildings and multi-occupancy domestic premises, and play a vital role in ensuring obligations are understood and met.

Why regulator funding matters

In our Health, Safety and Wellbeing Manifesto, British Safety Council called for adequate funding for the Health and Safety Executive, the Building Safety Regulator, and local authorities that hold responsibility for the regulation and inspection of health and safety.

Our call recognises the challenges that an asbestos-related time bomb poses for a regulator whose funding sits £43 million lower today than it did in 2010, a real-terms cut of 18.85%.

British Safety Council's call for action

During Global Asbestos Awareness Week (1–7 April each year), British Safety Council renews its call to ensure that the HSE has the funding it needs to provide an effective response to the growing number of asbestos-related illnesses. Health and safety must not be an area where the regulator is forced to cut corners. Funding is needed to tackle asbestos-related challenges alongside the other vital, ongoing areas of their work.

What this means for employers and dutyholders

The asbestos challenge is not only a matter of public health policy. It has direct implications for employers and those responsible for buildings. Practical steps include:

• Establishing whether asbestos-containing materials are present in buildings under your control
• Maintaining an up-to-date asbestos register
• Assessing the condition and risk of any asbestos present
• Preparing and implementing an asbestos management plan
• Ensuring all workers and contractors are informed before work begins in relevant areas
• Providing appropriate asbestos awareness training where relevant

1. Is asbestos still a risk in the UK?

Yes. Although asbestos was banned in the UK in 1999, it can still be present in buildings built or refurbished before that date. It becomes dangerous when asbestos-containing materials are disturbed or damaged, releasing fibres into the air.

2. How many people die from asbestos-related diseases each year in the UK?

Around 5,000 people die each year from asbestos-related diseases in Great Britain, including mesothelioma, asbestos-related lung cancer and asbestosis. HSE data records 2,218 mesothelioma deaths in 2023 alone.

3. Why are people still dying from asbestos exposure if it was banned in 1999?

Asbestos-related diseases have a long latency period: symptoms may not appear until 20–50 years after exposure. People diagnosed today were often exposed during the 1960s, 70s and 80s, before widespread controls were in place.

4. Who is most at risk from asbestos today?

People who work on older buildings are among those most at risk, including maintenance workers, electricians, plumbers, builders, roofers and other tradespeople. Workers carrying out repairs or installations in residential properties may also be at risk if asbestos-containing materials are present.

5. Can domestic properties create asbestos risks for workers?

Yes. A home becomes a workplace when tradespeople carry out repairs, installations or refurbishment. If asbestos-containing materials are disturbed in the process, workers could be exposed. Owner-occupied domestic properties are not subject to the same duty to manage asbestos as non-domestic premises. However, the duty does apply to the common parts of multi-occupancy domestic premises, such as purpose-built flats.

6. What are the legal duties around asbestos in the workplace?

Dutyholders must identify whether asbestos may be present in premises under their control, maintain an asbestos register, assess the risk, prepare a management plan, and ensure workers are informed before any work takes place. Full guidance is available from the HSE.

7. What is Global Asbestos Awareness Week?

Global Asbestos Awareness Week takes place from 1–7 April each year and aims to raise awareness of asbestos risks and prevent future exposure. British Safety Council uses the week to renew its call for adequate funding for health and safety regulators.

8. Where can I learn more about asbestos awareness?

Visit HSE's asbestos guidance or find out about British Safety Council's Asbestos Awareness online course.

Sources: HSE: Key figures for Great Britain 2024 to 2025; HSE: Asbestos and You; HSE: The duty to manage asbestos in buildings