The number of Britons dying from asbestos-related diseases is set to peak at around 2,000 a year during the next decade, costing the country ?8 billion to ?20 billion, the equivalent of $14.7 to $36.7 billion, over the next 30 to 40 years, according to research by the Actuarial Profession, the industry body for actuaries in the United Kingdom.
The British insurance industry is expected to be responsible for 50 percent of these costs, more than half of which will be for mesothelioma. Although mesothelioma claims are expected to rise for the next 10 years, claims for other asbestos-related diseases, such as asbestosis, will fall due to the declining use of asbestos in Britain since the 1970s. The actuaries project 80,000 to 200,000 new insurance claims over the next three decades.
Despite the fact that asbestos consumption and manufacture in the developed world has declined recently, it has continued to expand in Asia and parts of Eastern Europe. Asbestos use has fallen five-fold in North America and Western Europe since 1960, yet has increased by a similar figure in developing nations. In Asia, more asbestos is being used now than was consumed at its peak in the United States 30 to 40 years ago, the group noted.
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