Held every year between 1 and 7 April, Global Asbestos Awareness Week (GAAW) is organised by the Asbestos Disease Awareness Organisation (ADAO) to raise awareness of asbestos, prevent exposure and protect people from related diseases.
This year, as the initiative marks its twenty-first year, GAAW 2025 hopes to break down barriers and expand access to vital, life-saving information by uniting behind the powerful call to action: ‘Asbestos: One Word. One Week. One World.’
At Larcomes, we are proud to support this crucial initiative. Our experienced Industrial Diseases solicitors work every day with individuals and their loved ones whose lives have been affected by asbestos and witness first-hand the devastating effects exposure to asbestos can have.
To mark #2025GAAW, we will continue to raise awareness, assist those affected by asbestos-related diseases and help push to develop prevention-based education.
Asbestos remains a known carcinogen with no safe level of exposure, claiming over 200,000 lives worldwide every year, including approximately 5,000 deaths annually in Great Britain.
Asbestos is not like dust – you can’t see, smell, or feel the fibres in the air or on your clothes – instead, it can be hidden within different materials, such as lagging on plant and pipework, insulation products, roofing materials and sprayed coatings on structural steelwork to insulate against fire and noise.
These materials become dangerous when damaged or disturbed, for example, during maintenance, remediation or renovation work.
Despite being banned in the UK 25 years ago, asbestos can still be found in any building built or refurbished before 2000.
Around 300,000 non-domestic buildings in the country are believed to contain asbestos, including almost 75% (21,500) of UK schools.
Towards the end of last year, the Daily Mail launched a campaign, ‘Asbestos: Britain’s Hidden Killer,’ calling for asbestos removal from Britain’s public buildings, starting with schools and hospitals.
Most tradespeople are likely to encounter asbestos during their work, and asbestos persists as the single greatest cause of work-related fatalities in the UK.
Asbestos-related diseases typically take decades for symptoms to occur following exposure.
“Asbestos remains one of the most persistent occupational and environmental health threats of our time, claiming lives long after initial exposure,” said Linda Reinstein, mesothelioma widow and ADAO co-founder.
“Many believe asbestos is a danger of the past — but it’s still hiding in homes, schools, workplaces, and even consumer products. That dangerous myth creates a blind spot in public awareness.
“Our mission is to empower people everywhere with the knowledge to recognise the risks and take action to prevent exposure — eliminating suffering, disease, and death,” she said.
During this week, the GAAW campaign will focus on:
- Banning the mining, manufacturing, and use of all six asbestos fibres worldwide.
- Preventing asbestos exposure.
- Increasing compliance and enforcement of existing laws and regulations.
- Strengthening international partnerships to protect public health.
The 2025 GAAW campaign will culminate in a virtual worldwide candlelight vigil on April 7 in honour of victims and to reinforce the urgent need for prevention-focused policy change.
For more information about GAAW 2025, click here.
Industrial Diseases Solicitors
At Larcomes, our specialist industrial disease solicitors have been acting for the victims of asbestos exposure and related diseases for many years, obtaining much-needed compensation for sufferers and their families.
If you have been diagnosed with mesothelioma or any other asbestos-related disease, we are aware of the devastating impact this can have on both you and your family.
For more information about how we can help or to discuss your industrial disease claim with us, give us a call on 023 9244 8100 or click here to make an online enquiry.
Please note that this article is not intended as legal or professional advice. It is for general guidance only, and updates to the law may have changed since it was published.
