MESOTHELIOMA RATE IN GREAT BRITAIN
Mesotheliomas cases in my area of the UK rose more rapidly than the overall rate for Great Britain. Does this mean my area has an asbestos problem?

This most likely means that your residential area in Great Britain had a relatively low rate of mesothelioma cases.

The geographical distribution of mesothelioma deaths is affected by the fact that death certificates (upon which statistics are based) only record the last address of residence. Thus people may have had heavy exposures to asbestos in the past in the traditional high-risk industries located within certain geographical areas, and then moved to areas of a relatively lower risk before dying from mesothelioma.

Also, the effect of the risk of more general exposures across a wider range of occupations (e.g., exposure to maintenance workers in buildings) is likely to affect all geographical areas and is thus likely to be most noticeable in those that have traditionally been of lowest risk.