Health Risks & Diseases

How does asbestos cause harm to health?

• AFibres are absorbed through unbroken skin into the bloodstream
• BThe material gives off a toxic vapour at normal room temperature
• CFibres are breathed into the lungs✓
• DFibres burn the skin on contact and cause chemical irritation

Answer: Asbestos is dangerous when fibres become airborne and are inhaled. Skin contact is not the route of harm, and asbestos does not release a toxic gas.

Approximately how many people die each year in Great Britain from past asbestos exposure?

• AAround 50,000
• BAround 5,000✓
• CAround 500
• DAround 50

Answer: HSE puts asbestos-related deaths at roughly 5,000 a year, including mesothelioma, asbestos-related lung cancer and asbestosis. It remains the single greatest cause of work-related deaths in Great Britain.

Which cancer is almost always caused by asbestos exposure?

• ALeukaemia
• BSkin cancer
• CBowel cancer
• DMesothelioma✓

Answer: Mesothelioma is a cancer of the lining of the lungs or abdomen and is very strongly associated with asbestos exposure. It is almost always fatal.

What is asbestosis?

• AScarring of the lung tissue✓
• BAn allergic skin rash from asbestos dust
• CA cancer of the lung lining
• DA short-term chest infection that clears with antibiotics

Answer: Asbestosis is fibrosis — scarring — of lung tissue, which makes breathing progressively harder. It is not a cancer, and it does not resolve with treatment.

How long after exposure do asbestos-related diseases typically appear?

• AWithin two to three weeks
• BWithin a few hours
• CBetween one and two years
• DBetween about 15 and 60 years✓

Answer: The latency period is very long — often decades. That delay is why people exposed today may feel completely well and why the deaths occurring now come from exposures in the last century.

How does smoking affect the risk of asbestos-related lung cancer?

• AIt has no effect on the risk
• BIt multiplies the risk substantially✓
• CIt only matters if you smoke while handling asbestos
• DIt reduces the risk by clearing the lungs

Answer: Smoking and asbestos exposure combine to produce a much greater lung cancer risk than either alone. Stopping smoking is one of the few things an exposed person can still do to reduce risk.

Which group of workers is at particular risk from asbestos today?

• AOffice staff working in modern, well-ventilated open-plan buildings
• BAgricultural workers spending most of the day in open fields
• CDelivery drivers who remain in their vehicles between drop-offs
• DTradespeople working in older buildings✓

Answer: Maintenance and refurbishment trades disturb the fabric of older buildings — drilling, lifting panels, running cables — which is exactly how asbestos fibres get released.

Is there a known safe level of exposure to asbestos fibres?

• AYes — anything measured below the control limit is completely safe
• BYes — provided you wash thoroughly at the end of the shift
• CNo — any exposure carries some risk✓
• DYes — brief exposures of a few minutes are entirely harmless

Answer: The control limit is a legal maximum that must never be exceeded, not a safe threshold. Risk rises with total exposure, so it must always be reduced as far as reasonably practicable.

What is pleural thickening?

• AInflammation of the sinuses
• BA hardening of the skin on the hands
• CA build-up of fluid in the stomach
• DThickening of the lung lining✓

Answer: Diffuse pleural thickening is a widening and stiffening of the membrane around the lungs, which limits how far they can expand and causes breathlessness.

Why is asbestos still a significant hazard despite being banned?

• ALarge quantities remain in buildings put up before 2000✓
• BIt is still legally imported for industrial use
• CIt naturally re-forms in old brickwork
• DNew asbestos products are still manufactured in the UK

Answer: The ban stopped new use; it did not remove what was already installed. Millions of tonnes remain in schools, hospitals, offices and homes, which is what CAR 2012 manages.

Which of these does NOT reduce your risk when asbestos is present?

• AWorking quickly to cut exposure time✓
• BLeaving the material undisturbed
• CReporting it and stopping work
• DFollowing the asbestos register before starting

Answer: Working faster still disturbs the material and releases fibres — and rushing usually makes it worse. The correct response is to stop, leave it alone and report it.

Can asbestos-related diseases be cured once diagnosed?

• AYes, a course of antibiotics clears them
• BNo — there is no cure for them✓
• CYes, provided they are caught in the first year
• DYes, surgery fully reverses the damage

Answer: Asbestos-related diseases cannot be cured; treatment can only manage symptoms and slow progression. Preventing exposure is the only effective control.

Which fibres pose the greatest risk of being inhaled deep into the lung?

• AFibres that have settled and been wetted down
• BFine fibres released when disturbed✓
• CLarge visible lumps of asbestos cement
• DFibres still fully bound in undamaged material

Answer: Only fibres small enough to stay airborne reach the deep lung. Material that is intact and undisturbed is far less dangerous than the same material broken or drilled.

Roughly how many people died from mesothelioma in Great Britain in 2024?

• AAbout 210
• BAbout 2,100✓
• CAbout 21
• DAbout 21,000

Answer: HSE recorded 2,146 mesothelioma deaths in 2024. Mesothelioma alone accounts for around half of all asbestos-related deaths each year.