Pleural plaques are another type of asbestos condition.
These are lesions of scar tissue on the lining of the rib cage and are caused by asbestos exposure. They tend to appear between five and thirty years after exposure.
They do not usually cause lung impairment or inconvenience. Neither does their presence mean that a person with pleural plaques will go on to suffer from one of the asbestos illnesses.
It is no longer possible to claim compensation for pleural plaques in England and Wales (although it is in Scotland).