Exposure to asbestos can cause a range of lung diseases

Vale of Glamorgan MP John Smith will hold a public meeting in Barry on Monday to raise awareness of the problems caused by asbestos exposure.

Mr Smith claims the Barry area is a potential 'hot spot' for asbestos-related illnesses due to its use in the area's power stations and docks.

More than 3,000 people a year currently die in the UK from asbestos-related diseases.

Mr Smith said: "We are likely to see a major upsurge in industrial diseases over the next few years particularly those linked to exposure to asbestos.

We do not know what is out there and what will prove to be dangerous in the future Lawyer Michael Imperato

"I hope the meeting will highlight the problem and raise awareness.

"This is going to be a major health issue for this part of Wales and the problem will only get worse before it gets better."

Asbestos diseases are caused by inhaling asbestos dust, a mineral commonly used in the construction industry until the 1970s.

Workers affected

Asbestos fibres can lay dormant in the lungs for 30 years or more and victims may be symptom-free for that period of time.

Common conditions linked with asbestos are asbestosis, a progressive respiratory disease, lung cancer and mesothelioma (cancer of the lining of the chest and lungs) and pleural disease.

More than 3,000 people a year die of the disease in the UK and numbers are predicted to rise to 10,000 a year by 2020.

Those infected are mainly builders, plumbers and shipyard workers, but teachers, children and nurses are believed to have been put at risk since asbestos was used in the construction of some schools and hospitals.

South Wales-based industrial disease lawyer Michael Imperato, who will also be at the meeting to advise potential claimants for industrial injury compensation, added: "Many people will have worked in conditions that could affect their health.

"They might not discover this until years later.

"Asbestos-related disease is an obvious example of this but it is certainly not the only illness.

"We do not know what is out there and what will prove to be dangerous in the future."