Asbestos victim Advice - Pleural Plaques

These are raised areas of thickened pleura, the lining of the chest wall.

They are the least serious asbestos related disease as generally they do not cause you any problem although you are normally at a 1 – 5% risk of developing a further asbestos related disease such as mesothelioma or asbestosis.

These are not usually detected until around 10 – 20 years after you were first exposed to asbestos and are detected on x-rays or CT scans. These are often performed when you are being investigated for some other unrelated condition.

Pleural Plaques Scheme Opened

The Ministry of Justice have now opened the pleural plaques scheme to compensate those victims eligible for a one off £5,000 payment.  We have published the main points below but would recommend that if you feel you are eligible you contact the Ministry of Justice immediately.

Am I eligible? »

Diagnosis, symptoms and treatments

Pleural plaques do not cause any symptoms except in the rarest of situations.

Patients are usually being investigated for some other problem when pleural plaques are spotted on either a chest x-ray or a CT scan.

Pleural plaques themselves will not changed into another asbestos related condition, however there is evidence that a patient with pleural plaques are at an increased risk of going on to develop mesothelioma.

Due to pleural plaques not giving rise to any symptoms and in themselves are not life threatening there are currently no treatments available.

Patients are advised to attend for regular check ups in order that the pleural plaques can be monitored and to rule out the development of any other asbestos related condition. Often this calls of repeat x-rays every 6-12 months