Asbestos claims could cost State more than €50m

The State faces compensation claims running to hundreds of millions of euro from employees who claim that they were exposed to asbestos while working in public buildings.

The outcome of many of these cases may hinge on a Supreme Court judgment expected in the new year.

The Minister for Finance, Mr McCreevy, recently confirmed that 471 cases had been filed against the State by people who worked in State-owned buildings and claim that they were exposed to asbestos.

Asbestos has been used in everything from lagging material to cement products and paint because of its insulation and fire-protection qualities. It becomes dangerous when its fibres are released into the air and this can cause asbestosis and lung and chest cancers. Some of these illnesses can take up to 30 years to develop.

Because asbestos was used so widely in the past, legal firms believe that the current batch of cases are just a sample of what lies ahead.

It is understood that employees or former employees in almost all of Dublin's main State-owned buildings have already approached solicitors with a view to taking legal action. These include, in Dublin, Áras an Uachtaráin, Hawkins House, the National Gallery and the National Museum. ESB workers are also pursuing a number of cases related to exposure to asbestos.

Some of Iarnród Éireann's train carriages were sprayed with asbestos in the past and fitters and other maintenance workers have begun legal action. In 1999, the British-based family of a former CIÉ apprentice fitter was awarded more than £200,000 after he died of lung cancer following exposure to asbestos.

A total State liability of €50 million has been suggested, but this is a conservative figure, according to some legal experts.

In October, the Supreme Court heard an appeal from the State against a High Court ruling in which compensation was awarded to five people who claimed that they had suffered from exposure to asbestos at Leinster House. These five people and six others had between them been awarded more than €1 million in court judgments and out-of-court settlements.

The State appealed five cases and claimed that people were not entitled to be compensated for the alleged psychological trauma associated with potential illness. During these cases the court heard that the Department of Health had told the Office of Public Works about the potential dangers of asbestos in 1983. However, employees were not notified of the dangers for several years.

The court heard that, in the 1980s, letters inviting tenders from contractors for asbestos removal in the basement of Leinster House stated that protective clothing and masks should be worn, but State employees were not informed of the risks.

While certain prohibitions on the marketing and use of asbestos began to be put in place in the 1980s, a ban on the use of "white" asbestos was introduced in the Republic only two years ago.

The OPW began an asbestos removal programme in all 6,000 State buildings four years ago. This was expected to conclude next year, but progress has been slower than expected.

A Belgian study released last year found that one in seven Brussels residents showed signs of asbestos damage to their lungs. The study examined post-mortem results over a two-year period and found that the rate of asbestos damage was higher in males.