Medway has country's second-highest asbestos death rate

Statistics show the number of people who died from mesothelioma, a terminal cancer of the lung wall, was more than twice the national average in the Towns.

The disease, which affects workers who have come into contact with asbestos, was recorded as the underlying cause of 104 deaths in the area from 2006 to the end of 2010.

That is the equivalent of 6.5 deaths in 100,000 people. The national average during the same period was 2.5 deaths.

The figures for England and Wales were obtained from the Office of National Statistics using the Freedom of Information Act.

The area with the highest mesothelioma death rate from 2006 to the end of 2010 was Barrow-in-Furness, Cumbria, with 8.4 deaths in 100,000 people.

For the full story click here

                                                                                          Copyright © 2009 Asbestos First Ltd