Chester’s tradespeople, its joiners, plasterers, electricians, plumbers and builders, were exposed to asbestos not in heavy industry but in the fabric of the buildings they worked on: schools, colleges, offices, shops and homes built or refurbished before 2000. Carpenters and joiners die of asbestosis at nearly four times the average rate for all occupations. If you worked with your hands in and around Chester’s buildings and have been diagnosed with an asbestos-related disease, you can usually still claim, even decades later.
Chester is not a factory town, and many former tradespeople assume asbestos disease is something that happened to shipyard and mill workers elsewhere. The reality is that asbestos was built into ordinary buildings for most of the 20th century, and the people most heavily exposed were the trades who cut, drilled, sanded and stripped it out, usually without ever being told it was there.
Where did Chester tradespeople encounter asbestos?
The Health and Safety Executive’s guidance is blunt: any building constructed or refurbished before the year 2000 should be assumed to contain asbestos unless proven otherwise. In practice it turned up as insulating board in ceilings, partitions and fire protection, lagging on pipes and boilers, asbestos cement in roofs, gutters and flues, textured decorative coatings, and floor tiles. Every renovation of an older school, college, office or house risked disturbing it, and Chester’s building stock is older than most.
One reported North West case involved a Chester plasterer who helped insulate a college theatre roof with asbestos materials, with no protection and no warning of the danger. Decades later he was diagnosed with pleural thickening and recovered a settlement in the tens of thousands of pounds, on a provisional basis that lets him return for more compensation if his condition worsens. His story is typical of how these claims arise: ordinary jobs, done as instructed, with a bill that arrived forty years later.
Which trades are most at risk?
Health and Safety Executive mortality data published in July 2026 shows how sharply the risk concentrates in the building trades. A proportional mortality ratio of 100 is average; the figures below, for asbestosis deaths between 2011 and 2020, show some trades dying at four to nine times that rate.
Asbestosis deaths by trade, proportional mortality ratio 2011 to 2020 (HSE, 2026)
| Trade | PMR (100 = average) | What drove the exposure |
|---|---|---|
| Pipe fitters | 900.8 | Stripping and refitting lagged pipework |
| Construction operatives | 611.7 | Demolition, refurbishment and site labouring |
| Plumbers and heating engineers | 479.1 | Boilers, flues and lagged systems |
| Roofers and slaters | 405.9 | Asbestos cement sheets and roof linings |
| Carpenters and joiners | 384.5 | Cutting and drilling asbestos insulating board |
| Painters and decorators | 211.4 | Sanding textured coatings and preparing surfaces |
Swipe sideways to see the whole table
Trades needing asbestos awareness under current Health and Safety Executive guidance include builders, roofers, painters and decorators, joiners, plasterers, shop fitters, plumbers, gas fitters, electricians and heating engineers: in other words, almost everyone who ever worked on an older building.
Which diseases do these exposures cause?
The main conditions are mesothelioma, asbestosis, asbestos-related lung cancer and diffuse pleural thickening. All four typically appear 15 to 50 years after the exposure that caused them. Asbestos remains responsible for over 5,000 deaths every year in Great Britain, including 2,146 mesothelioma deaths in 2024.
Are workers protected now?
Far better than they were. The Control of Asbestos Regulations 2012 require asbestos in non-domestic buildings to be identified, recorded and managed, and higher-risk work to be done by licensed contractors. Locally, Cheshire West and Chester Council operates a formal asbestos management policy across its own buildings. None of that, though, helps the generations who did the work before the rules existed. For them, the remedy is a compensation claim.
Can you still claim decades after the work?
Yes, and most successful claims are brought decades later. Compensation is paid by the employer’s insurers rather than the business itself, and historic employers’ liability policies can usually be traced even where the firm is long gone. Time limits normally run for three years from the date you knew your illness was linked to your work, which is generally the date of diagnosis, not the date of the job. Read more about time limits for asbestos claims and how the claims process works.
“Tradespeople are the hardest hit group we see now. They were never told what was in the boards they were cutting. When they ask me whether it is too late to do anything about it, the answer is almost always no.”
Frequently asked questions
I was self-employed for some of my career. Can I still claim?
Often, yes. Claims can be brought against the contractors and employers whose sites exposed you, and liability can be shared across several of them. Mixed employed and self-employed histories are normal in the trades.
Can I claim if the building firm no longer exists?
Yes, in most cases. Claims are met by the employer’s insurers rather than the business itself, and specialist solicitors can trace historic policies going back decades.
How long after the work can an asbestos disease appear?
Typically 15 to 50 years. It is normal to be diagnosed long after retirement, and a long gap between the work and the illness does not weaken a claim.
I only worked with asbestos occasionally. Is that enough?
It can be. Some conditions, particularly mesothelioma, can follow relatively light exposure. If you have a diagnosis, it is always worth asking.
What is a provisional settlement?
A settlement that compensates you now while preserving your right to claim again if you later develop a more serious asbestos-related disease. It is a significant protection and worth asking about before settling any asbestos claim.
Do I have to live in Chester to make a claim?
No. What matters is where the exposure happened, not where you live now. We act for clients across England and Wales.
Can I claim on behalf of a relative who has died?
Yes. Where someone has died from an asbestos-related disease, the estate and certain dependants can bring a claim. Different time limits apply, so it is worth asking early.
What does it cost to make a claim?
We act on a no win, no fee basis in appropriate cases. There is nothing to pay upfront and nothing to pay if the claim does not succeed.
Speak to a specialist asbestos solicitor
WE Solicitors is a specialist industrial disease practice. We act for tradespeople and their families across Cheshire, the North West and the rest of England and Wales, on a no win, no fee basis. You can read about how much your claim is worth and cases we have settled.
WE Solicitors LLP is regulated by the Solicitors Regulation Authority, SRA number 445359. We are members of the Association of Personal Injury Lawyers and the Professional Negligence Lawyers Association.
Sources
The figures and legal references on this page come from the following authorities, checked at the time of publication.
- Health and Safety Executive, Asbestos-related disease statistics in Great Britain 2026 (published July 2026). https://www.hse.gov.uk/statistics/assets/docs/asbestos-related-disease.pdf
- Health and Safety Executive, guidance on presuming asbestos in pre-2000 buildings and where it is found. https://www.hse.gov.uk/asbestos/duty/is-asbestos-present.htm
- Health and Safety Executive, asbestos training guidance (trades requiring asbestos awareness). https://www.hse.gov.uk/asbestos/training.htm
- Health and Safety Executive, asbestos frequently asked questions (over 5,000 deaths every year). https://www.hse.gov.uk/asbestos/faq.htm
- Control of Asbestos Regulations 2012, Approved Code of Practice L143. https://www.hse.gov.uk/pubns/books/l143.htm
- Cheshire West and Chester Council, asbestos management policy. https://www.cheshirewestandchester.gov.uk/asset-library/asbestos-management-policy-v1.3.pdf
- Thompsons Solicitors, report of a North West pleural thickening settlement including a Chester plasterer (February 2010). https://www.thompsonstradeunion.law/news/news-releases/asbestos-disease-news/north-west-unison-members-compensated-for-asbestos-related-disease
