Asbestos victims support groups in England: a Manchester and Merseyside perspective

Our plain-English summary of Asbestos victims support groups in England: a Manchester and Merseyside perspective, by J. Flanagan, T. Whitston (International Journal of Occupational and Environmental Health, 2004).

The study

• Authors: J. Flanagan, T. Whitston
• Journal: International Journal of Occupational and Environmental Health
• Published: 2004;10(2):177-82
• Type of article: Review
• Read it: PubMed · Publisher

Abstract

The development, functions, and effectiveness of asbestos victims' support groups in Manchester and Merseyside, England, are described.

In plain English

This is not a research study but the authors' account of how the Merseyside and Greater Manchester asbestos victims' support groups in northwest England began and what they do. The groups were set up in 1993 (Merseyside) and 1994 (Manchester). The groups advised and supported victims and families on benefits and compensation and helped at Medical Appeal Tribunals and inquests. The Merseyside group was assisting approximately 20 asbestos victims per month; the Manchester group helped just over 170 between October 2002 and October 2003. In Greater Manchester, 42 of 114 sufferers seen in 2001 had mesothelioma. They described exposure from the Manchester and Liverpool docks, Liverpool shipbuilding and T&N factories. Parliamentary figures showed that in 1975 Manchester received 53.7 and Liverpool 25.3 thousand metric tons of imported asbestos, more than any other port listed. They gave examples of victims refused benefits. They described campaigns after the Chester Street Insurance collapse, the Fairchild decision and T&N's insolvency, including a 350-person Manchester public meeting. The authors stated that support groups play a unique role in campaigning on asbestos-related issues.

We wrote this plain-English summary from the full article with the help of AI, and a second AI model checked each sentence against the article. It is not the authors' wording; the abstract and the article are their own account.

What the study did and found

• Design: Descriptive account (not a research study) by members of two asbestos victims' support groups about their history, work and campaigns
• Who was studied: The Merseyside Asbestos Victims Support Group (set up early in 1993) and the Greater Manchester Asbestos Victims Support Group (set up in 1994), in northwest England, and the asbestos victims and families they support
• Exposure: Asbestos imported through the Manchester and Liverpool docks, asbestos used in Liverpool shipbuilding (Cammell Laird) to fit out ships and insulate engine rooms, T&N (Turner Brothers) factories in Greater Manchester, and construction work. No fiber types were specified.
• Main results:
  • The groups provided advice and support to asbestos victims and their families, information about benefits and civil and state compensation, and help at Medical Appeal Tribunals and inquests, and they campaigned for justice for asbestos victims.
  • The Merseyside group was assisting approximately 20 asbestos victims per month.
  • The Manchester group helped just over 170 asbestos victims between October 2002 and October 2003.
  • In Greater Manchester, 42 of the 114 sufferers seen by the group in 2001 were diagnosed as having mesothelioma (the article also prints 37, consistent with 37 percent).
  • Figures given in answer to a parliamentary question (Table 1) showed that in 1975 Manchester received 53.7 and Liverpool 25.3 thousand metric tons of imported asbestos, the largest amounts among the principal ports listed.
  • A docker and founder member of the Manchester group recalled working conditions on the docks, where asbestos floated in the tea that dock workers drank.
  • In one case, a man who had worked for T&N for 18 years was refused his claim for asbestosis by the Decision Maker, who preferred a diagnosis of cryptogenic fibrosing alveolitis.
  • In another case, the widow of an asbestos lagger who had worked in the trade for over 40 years was told his lung cancer was not caused by asbestos, although his x-rays showed interstitial fibrosis and pleural thickening.
  • To protest the Fairchild decision, which refused compensation to mesothelioma victims exposed by more than one employer, the groups organized a public meeting in Manchester attended by 350 people.
  • After the Chester Street Insurance collapse, a largely successful agreement was reached with the Treasury to pay compensation to asbestos victims.
• The authors' conclusion: The authors stated that asbestos victims' support groups play a unique role in campaigning on asbestos-related issues and in supporting victims and their families.

Topics

The National Library of Medicine indexes this study under subjects our site covers: Asbestosis.

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