EDS

THERE can't be many people who haven't heard of the health risks associated with asbestos...but how many of us genuinely know what those risks are and how much of a danger they pose to the workforce?

There are actually four main diseases associated with the dangers of inhaling asbestos fibres.

Probably the most familiar is asbestosis, a condition in which the lung tissue is scarred by asbestos, though it is medically recognised that this is likely to occur only in cases where an individual has experienced prolonged heavy exposure.

Asbestosis was described as an underlying cause of death on 111 death certificates in 2006 and, according to Health and Safety Executive statistics, disablement benefit cases as a result of the condition have shown an increase since the 1980s, though figures do show a decline in the past 12 months.

Asbestos is also recognised as a potential cause of lung cancer, though it is not currently possible to say how many lung cancer deaths can be attributed to the industry.

Mesothelioma is a more rare form of cancer in which malignant cells are discovered in the protective sac that covers most of the body's internal organs, especially affecting the lining of the lungs and the area around the lower digestive tract.

Trades in which the illness has traditionally had the highest risk include  joiners, carpenters, plumbers, ventilation and heating engineers and electricians and electrical fitters.

The majority of people who develop this rare form of cancer will have worked in areas where they inhaled asbestos fibres, though there is most often a delay of three to four decades between early exposure and the patient's death.

This means that most of the people now dying and expected to die in the future - statistics show the yearly number of mesothelioma deaths rose from 153 in 1968 to 2056 in 2006 - are going to have been affected by working methods of many years ago.

Diffuse pleural thickening, another related illness, affects the pleura, the two-layered membrane surrounding the lungs and lining the interior of the rib cage - once again it is caused by inhalation of fibres into the lungs which then work into the pleura and result in scarring which results in thickening of the pleura and can contribute towards breathlessness in the patient if the thickening covers large areas.

A conservative estimate of disablement cases as a result of the condition is put at 390 new cases in 2007, though figures seem to have become more stable in recent years.

In addition to these four main areas of concern, there is also evidence to suggest that asbestos could also be a cause of laryngeal cancer and can in addition be linked to pharyngeal, colorectal and stomach cancers.