Mesothelioma is still claiming lives in Bristol, decades after the dust settled. The Health and Safety Executive’s (HSE) latest figures by area, published in July 2026, record 302 male mesothelioma deaths in South Gloucestershire between 1981 and 2024, around 16% more than would be expected once the age of the population is taken into account, and a further 416 among men in the City of Bristol. Many of the men behind those numbers worked in the aircraft and aero-engine factories at Filton and Patchway, on the docks at Avonmouth, or in the paper and board mills along the Avon. If you or someone in your family worked there and has been diagnosed with mesothelioma or another asbestos disease, a claim against the former employer’s insurer is usually still possible, even if the business closed long ago.

This article explains what the new figures show, why Bristol’s industries left such a legacy, which illnesses can be claimed for, and what to do next. It is written for former workers and their families, not for lawyers.

What do HSE’s 2026 mesothelioma figures show for Bristol?

HSE publishes mesothelioma deaths for every local authority area in Great Britain, together with a standardised mortality ratio (SMR). An SMR compares the number of deaths in an area with the number you would expect if it had the same death rate as Great Britain as a whole, after allowing for differences in age. A figure of 100 is the national average, so 116 means around 16% more deaths than expected.

Three points stand out. First, South Gloucestershire’s excess is statistically robust: HSE’s confidence range for its SMR runs from 103.6 to 130.3, entirely above the national average. Second, it has not faded. In the most recent five years, 2020 to 2024, the area’s SMR was 120.5, higher than its long-run figure. Third, Bristol’s own ratio is also above average, although its confidence range (97.6 to 118.6) overlaps 100, so the data cannot rule out chance for the city on its own. Between them, the two areas recorded 104 male mesothelioma deaths in the last five years alone, and HSE also records 75 female deaths in Bristol and 40 in South Gloucestershire since 1981.

Nationally, HSE recorded 2,146 mesothelioma deaths in Great Britain in 2024, and estimates that asbestos-related diseases of all kinds cause around 5,000 deaths a year. Because mesothelioma usually appears 20 to 60 years after exposure, many of the people being diagnosed in Bristol today were exposed at work in the 1960s, 1970s and 1980s.

Why were Filton, Avonmouth and Bristol’s mills so dangerous?

Aircraft manufacturing began at Filton in 1910 and aero-engine production followed in 1920. Over the next half century the works across Filton and Patchway built everything from early biplanes and wartime aircraft to airliners, and the site helped build Concorde, which first flew in 1969. Avonmouth Docks opened in 1877, with the Royal Edward Dock added in 1907, and handled cargo and ship repair for well over a century. Along the Avon, board and paper mills ran steam-powered machinery for much of the twentieth century.

All three industries used asbestos as a matter of routine until the material was finally banned in the UK in 1999:

• Aircraft and aero-engine works: asbestos insulation, gaskets and jointing around engines and exhausts, and asbestos insulation board in hangars and engine test cells.
• Docks and ship repair: asbestos lagging on ships’ boilers and pipework, and asbestos cement sheeting on warehouses and sheds.
• Paper and board mills: boilers and steam pipework lagged with asbestos to hold in heat, exposing the fitters, engineers and boiler-room staff who worked closest to the plant.
• At home: family members who shook out and washed dusty work clothes could be exposed second-hand.

Our guide to asbestos and industrial disease claims for Bristol aerospace, dock and paper mill workers covers the history of each industry and the jobs most affected in more detail.

Which asbestos diseases can you claim for?

If you smoked as well as working with asbestos, you can still claim for lung cancer. Our article on lung cancer claims after asbestos exposure for smokers explains how the courts deal with it.

Can you still claim if the company has closed?

Yes. Compensation is paid by the insurer that covered the employer at the time of the exposure, not by the company itself, and that obligation survives the business. Employers’ liability policies can be traced through the Employers’ Liability Tracing Office, and a company that has been dissolved can be restored to the register under section 1029 of the Companies Act 2006 so that a claim can proceed against its insurer. Where no employer or insurer can be traced for someone first diagnosed with mesothelioma on or after 25 July 2012, the Diffuse Mesothelioma Payment Scheme created under the Mesothelioma Act 2014 can make a payment instead. You do not need to know who the insurer was before you contact us; tracing it is part of our job.

How long do you have to make a claim?

Generally three years from your “date of knowledge”, not from when you were exposed. Under sections 11 and 14 of the Limitation Act 1980, that is the date you first knew your illness was significant and linked to your work, which for most people is the date of diagnosis. Where someone has died, section 12 normally gives the family three years from the date of death. Mesothelioma claims are prioritised by the courts, and we start work on the day you instruct us.

“Every one of those numbers is a person, and many of them spent their working lives building aircraft at Filton or unloading ships at Avonmouth without ever being told what they were breathing. Families often assume that because the firm closed years ago there is nobody left to claim against. There nearly always is, because the insurance that covered the work is still there.”

Steve Evans, Senior Partner, WE Solicitors LLP

Frequently asked questions

Is Bristol a mesothelioma hotspot?

South Gloucestershire, which includes Filton and Patchway, has a male mesothelioma death rate significantly above the national average, with around 16% more deaths than expected between 1981 and 2024. The City of Bristol’s rate is also above average, by a smaller margin. Neither is among the very highest areas in Britain, which tend to be shipbuilding and dockyard towns, but the excess is real and has continued into the 2020s.

I only worked at Filton or Avonmouth for a few years. Could that be enough?

Possibly. Mesothelioma can follow relatively brief or low-level exposure. What matters is whether you were exposed to asbestos through your employer’s negligence and have since been diagnosed, not how long you worked there.

My father died of mesothelioma after working on the Bristol docks. Can the family claim?

Yes. His estate and dependants can bring a claim, usually within three years of the death. We can piece together his work history from HMRC employment records, pension paperwork, trade union records and former colleagues.

Do I need a solicitor based in Bristol?

No. WE Solicitors acts for asbestos disease clients across the country by phone, email and post, and meets clients in person where that helps.

How much compensation could I receive?

That depends on the diagnosis, its effect on your life and your financial losses, such as care and lost earnings. Judges value the injury itself using the Judicial College Guidelines, now in their 18th edition (April 2026). Rather than quote figures that change with each edition, we explain the bracket that applies to you at a free assessment.

Talk to us about asbestos exposure in Bristol

WE Solicitors has handled asbestos and industrial disease claims since 2001. We are regulated by the Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA number 445359), members of the Association of Personal Injury Lawyers, and every asbestos claim is run on a no win, no fee basis with a free initial assessment. If you or a relative worked in Bristol’s aircraft factories, docks or mills and has been diagnosed with an asbestos-related illness, call 0800 294 3065 or complete our online enquiry form. You can also read our Bristol aerospace, docks and paper mills guide, more about mesothelioma claims, and how our claims process works.

Sources: HSE, Mesothelioma deaths by geographical area, Great Britain 2026 (July 2026); HSE, MESOAREA data tables, 1981 to 2024; HSE, Key work-related health and safety statistics for Great Britain; HSE, Asbestos: why is it dangerous?; HSE, Introduction to asbestos; Aerospace Bristol, Bristol Built; Grace’s Guide, Avonmouth Docks; Troopers Hill, history of the board mills; Limitation Act 1980, section 11; section 12; section 14; Companies Act 2006, section 1029; Mesothelioma Act 2014, section 2; Employers’ Liability Tracing Office; Weightmans, The 18th edition of the Judicial College Guidelines, April 2026.