13 April 2007
Capper Pass Claims Review Scheme - update
The Capper Pass Claims Review Scheme was set up in 2002 to deal with claims from former employees and residents (and their immediate families) relating to the tin smelting plant on North Humberside, which operated from the mid 1930s and closed in 1991.
The current position on the 660 eligible claims which have been examined by the independent Review Board under the Claims Review Scheme is as follows:
- 29 lung cancer claims and 1 metal poisoning claim have been determined in favour of the claimants
- 576 claims covering a wide range of different conditions have been rejected because there is no evidence to support the claims
- 54 claims (mostly for non malignant respiratory conditions) are expected to be determined shortly
The levels of compensation that will be offered to the 30 successful claimants will be determined by an assessor appointed by the Review Board who will be guided by common law principles.
The Board's determinations are consistent with the findings in the major epidemiological study of the Capper Pass smelter: Mortality Experience of male workers at a UK tin smelter (Binks, Doll et al) that was published in the scientific journal 'Occupational Medicine' in March 2005. That study, directed by the eminent scientist the late Sir Richard Doll (who 50 years ago first established the link between smoking and lung cancer) showed that the overall death rate of the former Capper Pass employees was no different from normal (compared against both national and regional death rates), with detailed findings showing a higher risk of lung cancer, a lower risk of fatal heart disease and no significant differences for all other disease categories.
A follow-up study entitled "Lung cancer mortality at a UK tin smelter (Jones, Atkin et al) has been published today (16 April 2007) in the journal 'Occupational Medicine'. This study concludes that the excess mortality from lung cancer amongst former workers at Capper Pass can best be explained by the combined effects of occupational arsenic exposure and a higher than average proportion of smokers within the workforce.