Asbestos and The University of Bath

This series explores the ongoing impacts of the asbestos industry today. Major asbestos companies knew asbestos was carcinogenic by the 1940s and that even brief exposure to certain types of asbestos could cause the fatal cancer mesothelioma by the mid-1960s. Nevertheless, global asbestos production did not peak until 1977. 

The consequences have been devastating. Public and private institutions have absorbed enormous costs for removing and managing the asbestos in their buildings. Worldwide, millions of people have died – and more continue to die every day – from asbestos exposure. And many more live with the fear, or realities, of contracting asbestos-related diseases.

The University of Bath has received seven claims since 2000 from people with asbestos-related diseases, and still has over 6,900 different asbestos-containing materials across its buildings, Confront can reveal.

The University of Bath was founded in 1966. As it transitioned from the Bristol College of Science and Technology into a university, it undertook extensive building works which make up much of the campus today. Consistent with other construction work at the time, asbestos was heavily used.

By then, the asbestos industry had known for years that asbestos causes mesothelioma, in addition to lung cancer and asbestosis. Nevertheless, the asbestos industry continued to defend its products. It wasn’t until 1985 that the UK introduced a partial ban on asbestos, before a full ban in 1999.

As a result, The University of Bath still has 6,997 asbestos-containing materials in its buildings, according to figures provided to Confront in 2024 from a Freedom of Information request. Of these, 6,385 were classified as ‘low-risk’, 558 as ‘medium risk’, and 24 as ‘high risk.

A university official added, “All high-risk items are located in voids or restricted unoccupied areas with the majority in a decommissioned building that is being cleared and that is currently subject to major removal and refurbishment works.” This was stated to be completed in 2025. While all asbestos-containing materials have the ability to release asbestos, a number of factors dictate the risk categories. This includes the type of material, how much asbestos is contained, the condition of the asbestos, and its location.

Confront requested The University of Bath’s asbestos registers, which it refused to provide, citing exemptions including potential threats to public safety. The FOIA response stated, “The University has an open access campus and considers that public disclosure of specifics about our campus and buildings has the potential for unauthorised intrusion, would increase the chances of criminal activity and acts of harm which would affect the safety of students, staff, visitors and facilities.”

It normally takes decades after asbestos exposure for diseases to develop. So far, The University of Bath has received seven claims from people for contracting asbestos-related diseases. Of the seven claims, between one and four were settled – Bath declined to state the exact number, and the university has paid out a total of £616,319 in costs.

A spokesperson said, “The claimants involved worked at a number of different workplaces through their lives with differing exposures to asbestos. The alleged exposures to asbestos occurred in the 1960s, 70s, and 80s.”

Over 5,000 people a year die from asbestos-related diseases in the UK. According to multiple lawyers Confront spoke with, generally the most common asbestos-related disease in compensation claims is mesothelioma. “For people who do my kind of work, the majority of the cases that we see are mesothelioma cases,” said industrial diseases lawyer Michael Wolstencroft at RWK Goodman. “They’re working in buildings,” he said, “that have been constructed in the sixties and seventies and are simply riddled with asbestos.”

The full investigation by Confront into how British universities are managing asbestos can be read here.