A joint investigation by Channel 4 News and The Independent has uncovered the tragic story of a profound failure to protect laboratory staff from life-threatening formaldehyde exposure.
What is Formaldehyde?
Formaldehyde, or formalin in its liquid solution, is a pervasive chemical used in diverse applications, from producing resins and adhesives to acting as a disinfectant, cosmetic preservative, and, critically, a toxic agent essential for preserving human tissue samples in NHS and university laboratories.
The Chemical Threat and Regulatory Failure
Despite its vital role, the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) classifies formaldehyde as a human carcinogen, and exposure to it is a significant concern.
Laboratory staff are reportedly facing disabling health effects or being forced to resign due to routine exposure to levels of the chemical that far surpass accepted safe limits.
Beyond immediate irritation to the eyes, skin, and respiratory tract, long-term exposure has been strongly linked to serious health issues, including nasal tumours, leukaemia, and damage to the nervous, reproductive, and respiratory systems.
Animal studies also show a link to cancer and confirming its potential as a respiratory sensitiser, particularly when heated resins release formaldehyde vapor.
Dilapidated Labs and Dismissive Attitudes
In evidence of this, several NHS laboratory staff have bravely come forward for justice, describing their working conditions as having poor or faulty ventilation systems, where tubs and jars of formalin solution were left exposed and open on trollies instead of on required downdraft benches, which actively put them in harm’s way.
Reporting that they were only supplied with basic gloves and aprons, in particular a pregnant NHS lab worker claims her request for necessary PPE was refused, with her managers telling her to “get on with it.”
Official figures have now been raised from NHS Resolution showing 371 claims from NHS staff have been related to exposure to harmful chemicals, including formaldehyde, were received between April 2013 and March 2023.
This ongoing crisis highlights a systemic failure by regulators and employers to provide a safe working environment.
Victims justice and settlements
For Robert Mifflin, 57, a former head of mortuary services at Oxford University, the exposure began with minor irritations such as sore eyes and a runny nose.
This progressed to debilitating symptoms, including vomiting, nosebleeds, and eventually, severe respiratory problems that forced him into early retirement after three years.
Mr Mifflin, once an active man who enjoyed motorcycling and walking, now depends on a walking frame with a seat. He believes his near-daily exposure to formaldehyde, which experts have likened to asbestos, has “completely wrecked” his life.
In 2024, the University of Oxford acknowledged a breach of its duty of care, leading to a £200,000 settlement for Mr Mifflin.
His experience is not isolated. Former staff, a biomedical scientist for NHS Lanarkshire, has also been forced to quit due to severe occupational asthma linked to working with open containers of formalin in poorly ventilated environments.
Legal exposure limits
The core of the risk lies in the alarmingly high legal exposure limit set in the UK compared to international standards. Experts warn that this lax UK standard, which is the highest defined limit in the world, is directly contributing to staff illness.
Research by Dr Richard Yates and Dr Magdalena Plesa found that 70% of 117 NHS pathology departments in England had exceeded the EU safety threshold regularly, and 34% had even exceeded the UK’s own high limit.
Despite the known carcinogenic risk, Dr Yates’s data shows that only 54% of NHS labs were monitoring formaldehyde levels more than once a month.
Refusal to Act Post-Brexit
Before Brexit, the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) planned to align the UK’s exposure threshold with the EU’s stricter limit. However, the UK has since refused to reduce its limit, citing a “blended approach to controlling exposures.”
Pathologist Dr Richard Yates argues this inaction is a grave mistake: “People have been saying over the last 25 or 30 years that formaldehyde is the next asbestos, so it’s not really a new position. You have a huge amount of regulation of asbestos as a carcinogen and very little regulation of formaldehyde.”
However, this evidence immediately elevates the seriousness of the situation, creating critical, life-threatening exposures for many. That’s why Oakwood Solicitors are prepared to fight and secure the full compensation and justice you are entitled to, if you have been impacted by unprotected Formaldehyde exposure.
Frequently asked questions:
What is a respiratory disease injury?
Respiratory illnesses affect the lungs and other parts of the respiratory system. Respiratory diseases range from mild and self–limiting conditions, such as the common cold, to more life-threatening diseases such as bacterial pneumonia and lung cancer.
Respiratory disease injury can be caused by an occupational lung disease. These are conditions that have been caused or worsened by someone’s occupation. Conditions are caused by inhaling mineral dust. The severity of the disease is related to the dust inhaled and the duration of that exposure.
How did I contract an industrial disease?
Industrial diseases are often contracted in the workplace, but symptoms may not appear until long after a victim has left their employment.
This time lag necessitates careful investigation to trace and identify the liable parties, especially since a claimant may have worked for multiple employers who all contributed to the illness.
If your former employer is no longer trading, this isn’t necessarily a barrier to claiming. We will conduct an Employers’ Liability Tracing Office (ELTO) search to identify the company’s insurers at the time you worked there. If located, these insurers become the paymasters for the claim.
Since exposure often occurred decades ago, claimants may struggle to recall every relevant job or the precise legal name of their employer.
Therefore, we will obtain your comprehensive employment schedule from HMRC to list all past employers. After review, we will pursue claims against all identified defendants and their respective insurers.
What can I claim?
Each Industrial Disease case has to be treated individually, and not every case will be the same. In any claim for personal injury, there are broadly two heads of damages that can be claimed:
Awards that are made for the pain, suffering and loss of amenity of life. Loss of amenity means the inability to complete activities, either temporarily or permanently, after an accident, which could be undertaken before. This is an award designed to compensate you for the actual injuries suffered and the effect those have had on your quality of life.
Damages to compensate for any financial losses as a result of the Industrial Disease. This could be any loss of earnings, any medication you have had to pay for, or any cost of care for the extra care you have needed from family or care providers.
If you are not able to do things such as gardening, walking the dog and have to pay somebody for these services as a direct consequence of your Industrial Disease, these can also be claimed for.
What is the duty of my employer to protect me from developing respiratory illness at work?
As well as the common law duty to ensure a safe place of work and a safe system of work, your employer will have duties set down by statute.
Health and Safety at Work Act 1974
- Employers have a duty so far as is reasonably practicable to ensure the safety and welfare of their employees.
Management of Health and Safety at Work Regulations 1999
- Duty to undertake a reasonable risk assessment (Reg. 3)
- Requirement to undertake a health surveillance (Reg. 6)
Personal Protective Equipment at Work Regulations 1992
- Ensure that suitable personal equipment is provided (Reg. 4)
- Ensure an assessment of any personal protective equipment is undertaken to determine whether it is suitable.
Control of Substances Hazardous to Health 2002
- Required to assess health risk where work is liable to expose employees to substances hazardous to health (Reg. 6)
- Ensure exposure to substances hazardous to health is either prevented, or where not reasonably practicable, adequately controlled (Reg. 7)
- Ensure any employee exposed to substances hazardous to health is monitored and under suitable health surveillance (Reg. 11)
How do I make a claim?
If you have read the above and feel that you may be suffering from any of the symptoms whilst exposed to substances at work, call Oakwood Solicitors to speak to a member of our dedicated Industrial Disease team.
To run the majority of personal injury claims, you have to have started the claim within three years of the injury. However, with industrial disease claims, it may be that the injury started over a period of time and was only diagnosed within the last three years. We will be able to clarify this for you.
How long will my case take?
The length of time for a case can vary and can strongly depend on how Defendants and their insurers want to defend the action.
It may take a considerable length of time to identify insurers for the Defendants if they are no longer trading, and the obtaining of evidence from experts in respiratory medicine (and potentially from health and safety experts or a chemical engineer) in regards to the exposure to chemicals can take a long time.
We will also need to obtain the full list of your past employers from the HMRC, which can also take some time to obtain. The case can take anywhere from 12 months up to 3–4 years to conclude.
Why choose Oakwood Solicitors?
Oakwood Solicitors Ltd agrees to work on your industrial disease claim on a ‘no-win, no-fee’ basis. If your claim is unsuccessful, you will not be expected to pay us a penny. If you are successful in your claim, we take a percentage of the compensation, meaning that the only time we will receive money is if we have brought your claim to a fruitful conclusion.
You will have a dedicated advisor who will see your claim through from start to finish, assisting you in the event of any queries or issues you may have. Your case handler will also continue to provide regular updates until the conclusion of your claim, ensuring the process is as stress-free and effortless as possible.
Further information:
Revealed: Hidden scandal of NHS staff exposed to cancer-causing chemical deemed the ‘next asbestos’
HSE guide on Formaldehyde: its safe use in foundries
Exclusive: Regulators fail to protect NHS staff exposed to cancer-causing chemical dubbed ‘the new asbestos’.
Respiratory Disease Claims.
WHAT TO DO NEXT
If you have suffered as a result formaldehyde exposure, get in touch today for a no-obligation consultation.
Choose one of the methods on the right-hand side of this page, or call us on 0113 200 9720 to find out how we can help you.
Asimah Ali is currently a Solicitor in the Industrial Disease Department.
Asimah started working at Oakwood Solicitors in October 2016, shortly after completing the Legal Practice Course in July 20…
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