If you worked in a British factory any time before the year 2000, there is a reasonable chance you worked near asbestos without ever being told. It was not just a shipyard and building site problem. Asbestos ran through the fabric of factories themselves, and the illnesses it causes can take decades to appear. This article explains where it was, what it can do, and what your legal options are today.

Where was asbestos hiding in factories?

Asbestos was cheap, fireproof and an excellent insulator, which made it the default material of industrial Britain for most of the twentieth century. Blue and brown asbestos were banned in 1985, but white asbestos remained legal until 1999. In a typical factory it could be found in:

• Lagging wrapped around steam pipes, boilers and hot water systems
• Boiler houses and plant rooms, where damaged lagging released fibres into the air
• Asbestos insulation board in walls, ceilings, ducts and fire breaks
• Corrugated asbestos cement roofing and wall sheets
• Gaskets, rope seals and packing in machinery, ovens and kilns
• Protective mats, blankets and screens used near hot work

You did not need to handle asbestos directly to breathe it in. Maintenance fitters stripping old lagging, laggers mixing insulation, and anyone working nearby while that happened could all be exposed. Fibres also travelled on overalls, which is how some family members were exposed at home.

What illnesses can asbestos from factory work cause?

Asbestos-related disease usually develops 20 to 50 years after exposure, which is why people who left factory work in the 1970s, 1980s or 1990s are still being diagnosed now. The main conditions are:

• Mesothelioma, an aggressive cancer of the lining of the lung. The Health and Safety Executive recorded 2,146 mesothelioma deaths in Great Britain in 2024, down from 2,255 in 2023 (HSE, Mesothelioma statistics for Great Britain 2026, published July 2026).
• Asbestos-related lung cancer, which HSE estimates causes a similar number of deaths each year as mesothelioma. Where a worker also smoked, asbestos and smoking multiply each other’s risk, something the courts recognise and WE Solicitors understands well.
• Asbestosis, a progressive scarring of the lung tissue that causes breathlessness and fatigue.
• Pleural thickening, a scarring of the lung lining that restricts breathing.

Taken together, asbestos-related illness still causes around 5,000 deaths a year in Great Britain, one of the highest rates in the world (HSE, Asbestos-related disease statistics, Great Britain 2026, published July 2026).

Can I claim if the factory closed down years ago?

In many cases, yes. An asbestos claim is almost never paid by the people who ran the factory. It is paid by the insurance company that covered the employer at the time of your exposure. Specialist solicitors can trace those historic insurers even where the company itself was dissolved decades ago, and where necessary a dissolved company can be restored to the register so a claim can proceed. Where no insurer can be traced for a mesothelioma claim, the government’s Diffuse Mesothelioma Payment Scheme, set up in 2014, may provide a payment.

WE Solicitors has recent, direct experience of this work, including a settled mesothelioma claim for a North East shipyard worker’s family and a settled asbestosis claim against a major national employer whose engineers worked with asbestos for years. Tracing long-gone employers and their insurers is a core part of what our specialist solicitors do.

How long do I have to make an asbestos claim?

The general rule under the Limitation Act 1980 is three years, but the clock only starts on your date of knowledge, meaning the date you knew, or reasonably should have known, that your illness was connected to asbestos exposure. For most people that is the date of diagnosis, not the date they worked in the factory. Families can also claim within three years of losing a loved one to an asbestos-related disease. Separate government schemes, such as lump sum payments under the Pneumoconiosis etc. (Workers’ Compensation) Act 1979, may apply alongside a civil claim.

What can compensation cover?

• Pain, suffering and the impact on your daily life
• Lost earnings, past and future
• Care and support, including care provided by family
• Medical treatment, equipment and travel costs
• Home adaptations where breathing problems limit mobility

You can read more about the conditions we handle on our asbestos disease claims page.

Frequently asked questions

I was exposed to asbestos but I am not ill. Can I claim?
Not on exposure alone. In England and Wales a claim needs a diagnosed asbestos-related condition. If you know you were exposed, tell your GP so it is on your medical record, and seek advice promptly if symptoms ever develop.

My father died of an asbestos disease. Can the family still claim?
Possibly, yes. Claims can be brought on behalf of someone who has died, generally within three years of the death or of the inquest findings linking the death to asbestos. A free conversation will clarify where you stand.

I washed my husband’s overalls for years. Could my own illness be linked?
It could. Secondary exposure claims, often involving family members who handled dusty work clothes, have succeeded in the UK courts. These cases are complex, and specialist advice matters.

What will it cost?
Nothing upfront. WE Solicitors acts on a No Win, No Fee basis, and the first consultation is free and without obligation.

Talk it through with a specialist

A diagnosis like asbestosis or mesothelioma raises a hundred questions, and the legal one should be the easiest to answer. WE Solicitors has represented factory workers, engineers and their families for more than two decades. Call 0800 294 3065 for a free, unhurried conversation, or use our online contact form and we will call you back.

Sources: HSE, Mesothelioma statistics for Great Britain 2026, published July 2026 · HSE, Asbestos-related disease statistics, Great Britain 2026, published July 2026 · Limitation Act 1980 · Diffuse Mesothelioma Payment Scheme (Mesothelioma Act 2014) · Pneumoconiosis etc. (Workers’ Compensation) Act 1979