DEADLY illnesses caused by asbestos exposure could rise even more than expected as "hidden victims" emerge, Derby's coroner has warned.
There are fears that many teachers, pupils, wives of men in manufacturing jobs and nurses could develop diseases caused by the dust.
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Dr Robert Hunter fears a big rise in the number of deaths linked to asbestos.
The number of deaths caused by asbestos-related illnesses like lung cancer mesothelioma are rising year-on-year.
The most common victims are men who have breathed asbestos dust while working in Derbyshire's traditional industries.
But coroner Dr Robert Hunter said the illnesses are now starting to appear in other groups of people, and that many may have been exposed and not yet know it.
There can be a delay of up to 40 years between exposure and becoming unwell, which could mean the number of deaths currently being brought to Derby Coroner's Court are just the tip of the iceberg.
Dr Hunter fears a number of people may have come into contact with deadly dust in old school buildings and Derbyshire Asbestos Support Team thinks nurses who worked in old hospitals may also be at risk.
Experts are predicting that asbestos-related deaths will not peak until 2020.
Dr Hunter said the issue was a frightening unknown. He said: "I don't think that, 15 or 20 years ago, anyone was predicting asbestos-related deaths among people such as schoolteachers or women who washed their husbands' overalls, but those cases are now evident.
"Recently, we've had a flurry of inquests into the deaths of women who washed overalls covered in asbestos dust so there could be other hidden victims we don't yet know about who could come to light."
The number of asbestos-related deaths dealt with at inquest by Derby and South Derbyshire Coroner's Court rose to 48 in 2011, compared to 34 in 2005.
Dr Hunter fears one group of people who may start to develop asbestos-related illnesses are those who went to school decades ago.
He said this was reinforced by a UK Supreme Court case last year involving a person aged only in their thirties who was exposed to asbestos while at school.
This caused the incurable and fatal lung cancer mesothelioma.
Dr Hunter said: "Many people can remember playing with the asbestos mats that the Bunsen burners sat on during science lessons.
"I can remember them, I can remember pulling bits of asbestos off."
His view has been supported by the co-ordinator of Derbyshire Asbestos Support Group Joanne Gordon.
She said: "We're seeing more and more people who either don't know where they were exposed or are in categories that you don't readily associate with being exposed, such as teachers and nurses.
"I've heard a former nurse living in Nottingham who said the quickest route between different areas of the hospital where she worked was via tunnels where there was asbestos.
"And we've seen several cases of women who washed overalls.
"It may never come to light how many people have been exposed at school, as they may simply not have realised."
Derby is a hotspot for these types of deaths due to its industrial heritage, with many men exposed while at work.
This prompted the launch of the Derby Telegraph's long-running Deadly Dust campaign, which been calling on the Government to take action to help victims by ensuring they are financially compensated for their exposure.
Dr Hunter said asbestos-related illness was particularly cruel because it often developed in men who had worked with the deadly dust decades ago and were just about to enjoy their retirement.
He said: "It's a very destructive disease for which there is no treatment and death is normally very quick after diagnosis.
"It robs couples of their retirement together and it robs grandchildren of their grandparents."
High-profile victims of mesothelioma include former Sex Pistols manager Malcolm McLaren, who was exposed to asbestos from the ceiling of his shop, and film star Steve McQueen, ho was exposed while a Marine when he removed asbestos lagging from pipes aboard a troop ship.
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