The Military’s Catastrophic Asbestos Legacy
The headline of a front-page article in the Daily Mail on August 4, 2025 was as shocking as it was controversial: “Asbestos Kills More Troops than Taliban.”1 According to the first sentence in the hard-hitting exposé by Steve Boggan: “Asbestos killed nine times more military veterans than there were British victims of the Taliban during the Afghan campaign, government records reveal.”
 Front page reproduced under licence by the Daily Mail. |
A supplementary article: Heartrending tales of veterans who fell victim to the British military’s silent killer asbestos by the same author told the distressing stories of service personnel whose lives had been lost to asbestos-related cancers and diseases.2 During their military careers, the asbestos casualties form the army, navy and air force had been exposed to asbestos in tanks, vehicles, ships, submarines, helicopters and equipment as well as to asbestos-containing products in miliary accommodation, barracks and workplaces.
Confirming the appalling fallout from these toxic conditions, Professor Kevin Bampton, chief executive of the British Occupational Hygiene Society, said:
“We know and understand that defence jobs have a very high risk of injury or death attached to them…However, those working in the service of their country should be able to expect that their housing, work accommodation and equipment do not pose more of a likely cause of death than hostile combatants.”
Steve Boggan has written other devastating articles about the asbestos legacy in UK schools, hospitals, supermarkets and public buildings as part of the Daily Mail’s Asbestos: Britain’s Hidden Killer campaign.3 One of these articles was cited in a Parliamentary debate on June 18, 2025 by MP Emma Lewell:
“Recently, the Daily Mail, as part of its ongoing campaign, revealed an asbestos ticking time bomb in our supermarkets. I am not being alarmist when I say that the investigative work undertaken by journalist Steve Boggan makes it clear that asbestos is all around us, including in this building… as asbestos ages, it breaks down, which means the deadly fibres are released and then inhaled. Asbestos-related disease is not only in our past and present; it will be in our future if we do not act.”4
After more than 35 years as an asbestos researcher, I thought I was unshockable but the latest article left me reeling. The facts collated and the data reported by Boggan were appalling and gruesome in equal measure. While a handful of other UK news outlets referenced this exposé,5 it is noteworthy that the story was widely covered by the Russian media. I say noteworthy for a number of reasons:
- Russia is the world’s biggest producer of asbestos.
- The global asbestos lobby, led by Russia, denies that the use of chrysotile (white) asbestos is hazardous to humans, contrary to the stated positions of major international agencies.6
- Mention of the asbestos hazard is heavily censured on Russian information and news portals.
Russian articles detailing the contents of Steve Boggan’s recent headline article included:
- Daily Mail: Из-за асбеста умерло более 3,5 тысячи британских военных [Daily Mail: Over 3,500 British soldiers have died due to asbestos];7
- DM: Минобороны Британии убило больше своих военных, чем противники [DM: UK MoD kills more of its own troops than its adversaries];8
- Daily Mail: Из-за асбеста умерло более 3,5 тысячи британских военных Об этом сообщает “Рамблер” [Daily Mail: More than 3,500 British soldiers have died due to asbestos. Rambler reports this];9
- Одно решение британского Минобороны унесло тысячи жизней солдат [One decision by the British Ministry of Defence has cost thousands of soldiers their lives];10
- Минобороны Великобритании признало гибель своих военных от воздействия асбеста [The British Ministry of Defense admitted the death of the military from the effects of asbestos];11
- DM: Асбест унес в британской армии больше жизней, чем афганская кампания Об этом сообщает "Рамблер" [DM: Asbestos has claimed more lives in the British army than the Afghan campaign. Rambler reports this].12
Most of the Russian language texts paraphrased the contents of the August 4 headline article with helpful information such as the conversion of the £112.5 million paid out under the military mesothelioma compensation scheme over the last nine years into “around 11.9 billion roubles.” Slight differences in the abbreviated texts were the inclusion of various images and curious additional titbits such as:
- “Britain previously broke the record for migrants convicted of sex crimes;”13
- “the High Court of London ruled that information about British soldiers who impregnated Kenyan women must be provided to their children;”14
- as part of a new defence strategy, Prime Minister Keir Starmer warned that the UK was “moving into a war preparedness mode.”15
Oddly, from what I can recall, none of the Russian texts mentioned the name of the original article’s author: Steve Boggan.
Each life lost to asbestos is one too many. For decades, the UK Government has been aware of the evidence linking asbestos exposures to deadly cancers, respiratory diseases and other serious health conditions. In an age when the reputation of most newspapers has fallen to new lows, the Daily Mail’s Asbestos: Britain’s Hidden Killer campaign is an example of what can be achieved by honest journalists determined to hold to account failing institutions and negligent officials. The Daily Mail should be congratulated for devoting so much time and attention to a situation that successive governments and national regulators have, for decades, sought to ignore or downplay.
August 14, 2025
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1 Boggan, S. Asbestos kills more troops than the Taliban: National disgrace revealed by Mail as toxic MoD homes and equipment caused NINE TIMES more deaths than 20-year Afghan campaign. August 4, 2025.
https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-14967455/Asbestos-kills-troops-Taliban-National-disgrace-Afghan-campaign.html
2 Boggan, S. Heartrending tales of veterans who fell victim to the British military’s silent killer. August 4, 2025.
https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-14967521/Heartrending-tales-soldiers-fell-victim-British-military-killer-asbestos.html
3 Boggan, S. Exposed. How the Palace of Westminster is riddled with deadly asbestos – and there have already been two terrifying incidences which may have endangered workers and MPs. October 19, 2024.
https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-13975727/EXPOSED-Palace-Westminster-riddled-deadly-asbestos-two-terrifying-incidents-endangered-workers-MPs.html
Boggan, S., Pollard, C. EXCLUSIVE. Fears of 'tsunami' of deaths from asbestos in UK schools: Poisonous building material could kill hundreds of thousands of former pupils and teachers, damning report says. October 20, 2024.
https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-13981073/asbestos-classroom-kill-report-warns-campaign-public-buildings.html
Boggan, S. Horrifying extent of NHS asbestos danger exposed: Dr Janet Leese died from asbestos-related cancer... and she's one of thousands of victims working in hospitals riddled with the toxic fibres. October 28, 2024.
https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-14008343/NHS-asbestos-danger-Dr-Janet-Leese-died-cancer-victims-hospitals-toxic-fibres.html
4 HANSARD. Asbestos Removal: Non-domestic Buildings. June 18, 2025.
https://hansard.parliament.uk/commons/2025-06-18/debates/64452B48-07E1-4ACF-83B4-21BC1AE7A412/AsbestosRemovalNon-DomesticBuildings
The article MP Lewell was referring to in her comments to the House of Commons was:
Boggan, Exposed. How the Palace of Westminster is riddled with deadly asbestos – and there have already been two terrifying incidences which may have endangered workers and Mps. October 19, 2024.
https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-13975727/EXPOSED-Palace-Westminster-riddled-deadly-asbestos-two-terrifying-incidents-endangered-workers-MPs.html
5 Asbestos: the silent killer stalking Britain’s veterans. August 4, 2025.
https://aoav.org.uk/2025/asbestos-the-silent-killer-stalking-britains-veterans/
Wilson, C. ‘Substandard’ military accommodations and vehicles killed more soldiers than the Taliban. August 5, 2025.
https://www.express.co.uk/news/uk/2091335/asbestos-military-accommodations-vehicles-victims
6 IBAS. Asbestos Policies of Major International Agencies. Accessed August 10, 2025.
https://ibasecretariat.org/lka_asb_polic_maj_int_agencies.php
7 Makarychev, M. Daily Mail: Из-за асбеста умерло более 3,5 тысячи британских военных [Daily Mail: Over 3,500 British soldiers have died due to asbestos]. August 4, 2025.
https://rg.ru/2025/08/04/daily-mail-iz-za-asbesta-umerlo-bolee-35-tysiachi-britanskih-voennyh.html
8 DM: Минобороны Британии убило больше своих военных, чем противники [DM: UK MoD kills more of its own troops than its adversaries]. August 4, 2025.
https://news.mail.ru/politics/67289918/
9 Daily Mail: Из-за асбеста умерло более 3,5 тысячи британских военных Об этом сообщает “Рамблер” [Daily Mail: More than 3,500 British soldiers have died due to asbestos. Rambler reports this]. August 4, 2025.
https://news.rambler.ru/army/55086207-daily-mail-iz-za-asbesta-umerlo-bolee-3-5-tysyachi-britanskih-voennyh/
10 Одно решение британского Минобороны унесло тысячи жизней солдат [One decision by the British Ministry of Defence has cost thousands of soldiers their lives]. August 4, 2025.
https://news.ru/europe/v-britanii-raskryli-skolko-zhiznej-soldat-uneslo-odno-reshenie-minoborony
11 Минобороны Великобритании признало гибель своих военных от воздействия асбеста [The British Ministry of Defense admitted the death of the military from the effects of asbestos]. August 4, 2025.
https://realnoevremya.ru/news/347928-minoborony-velikobritanii-priznalo-gibel-voennyh-ot-vozdeystviya-asbesta
12 DM: Асбест унес в британской армии больше жизней, чем афганская кампания Об этом сообщает "Рамблер" [DM: Asbestos has claimed more lives in the British army than the Afghan campaign. Rambler reports this]. August 4, 2025.
https://news.rambler.ru/army/55088129-dm-asbest-unes-v-britanskoy-armii-bolshe-zhizney-chem-afganskaya-kampaniya/
13 DM: Минобороны Британии убило больше своих военных, чем противники [DM: UK MoD kills more of its own troops than its adversaries]. August 4, 2025.
https://news.mail.ru/politics/67289918/
14 Одно решение британского Минобороны унесло тысячи жизней солдат [One decision by the British Ministry of Defence has cost thousands of soldiers their lives]. August 4, 2025.
https://news.ru/europe/v-britanii-raskryli-skolko-zhiznej-soldat-uneslo-odno-reshenie-minoborony
15 DM: Асбест унес в британской армии больше жизней, чем афганская кампания Об этом сообщает "Рамблер" [DM: Asbestos has claimed more lives in the British army than the Afghan campaign. Rambler reports this]. August 4, 2025.
https://news.rambler.ru/army/55088129-dm-asbest-unes-v-britanskoy-armii-bolshe-zhizney-chem-afganskaya-kampaniya/
