Home improvement fans warned of asbestos risk

Britain's craze for home improvements could be putting people at risk of a deadly asbestos-related lung disease, medical experts warn today.

A conference will hear that doctors believe an epidemic of mesothelioma is set to hit Britain in the next five to 10 years, killing thousands of people a year.

The cancer, which is caused by asbestos poisoning, has no cure or treatment and the average length of survival from diagnosis to death is just nine months.

About 1,800 people die every year from the disease and experts believe that by 2011 up to 3,300 people will die from it each year.

Doctors want to raise awareness of the risks of asbestos exposure as well as campaign for more funding for research into treatments for the agonising illness, which occurs in the membranes surrounding the lungs and often spreads throughout the body.

Research has predicted that deaths from the disease in Britain will peak between 2011 and 2015 before declining. The people most at risk are workers in the building trade who may have been exposed to asbestos before strict new rules were brought in on its importation in 1980.

But a British Lung Foundation Conference will hear today that low awareness of the disease, coupled with the UK's enthusiasm for home improvement could be putting even younger people at risk.

Dr Mark Britton, of the British Lung Foundation, said: "One of the myths that people have is that during the Seventies asbestos was ripped out of any building that contained it. That is not true. It was simply not put into new houses. So if you are living in a house built before 1980 it is possible that it could have asbestos.''

He added: "We don't want to create panic but I think that people should be aware of this issue. If you don't know what you're doing and you start playing around with asbestos that is in an unstable condition you could be putting yourself at risk.''

Researchers in Australia have predicted that up to 30 per cent of new cases of mesothelioma there could be attributed to do-it-yourself enthusiasts who are unwittingly exposing themselves to asbestos.

Dr Britton said: "This is one of the most agonising diseases. You can't get oxygen in or out of your body and it slowly gets worse.

"We desperately need more funding to come up with better treatments to prolong people's lives.''