East London's asbestos hotspot revealed

Residents of Barking and Dagenham are more likely to have a long-term disease than any other Londoners, a new report from the London Hazards Centre (LHC) has revealed.

Rising from the dust, sponsored by the Barking and Dagenham branch of UNISON public services union, records the devastating impact of work-related ill health in the east London borough.

The 2001 census recorded that nearly one-fifth of the borough’s households contained someone with a long-term illness – a figure well above the average for England. For cancers of all kinds, the death rate is higher than in other London boroughs, and significantly above the national average for men.

Barking and Dagenham is also the tenth worst borough in the UK for men experiencing the effects of asbestos – the top nine are all in shipbuilding regions. And it is the worst in the country for the number of women dying of the asbestos-related cancer, mesothelioma.

The publication of the report – available free at www.lhc.org.uk/members/pubs/asbsupport/rising.pdf – coincided with the launch of an asbestos victims support group in Barking and Dagenham.