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Search the Public Notice PortalOxford University has denied there is any risk of cancer from asbestos in its buildings despite successive audits showing it was not complying with regulations.
The university’s response follows an investigation by Confront Power which showed that the historic university was in breach of regulations designed to protect people from asbestos exposure.
Asbestos is the name for a group of materials, known for their heat and chemical resistance that used to be widely used in construction.
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However – according to the National Cancer Institute – over time accumulated asbestos fibres can cause tissue inflammation and scarring, and it has been linked to several forms of cancer.
One of those is mesothelioma, a terminal cancer which killed science academic Dennis Shaw in 2017.
In the inquest into his death, the coroner noted: “Dr Shaw sadly died on July 20 this year of mesothelioma, which possibly had work-related causes.”
Rosamund Rhodes-Kemp added: “Mesothelioma is a disease that comes about due to someone’s exposure to asbestos.”
In the final days of his life, Dr Shaw wrote a statement to his family discussing a list of projects that could have contributed to his illness, including major refurbishment and underground building work to the Bodleian Library, which took place in the 1970s and which he supervised.
The UK fully banned the substance in 1999 and five years later introduced the Control of Asbestos Regulations in 2004 and a further act in 2012 to manage the risk of asbestos-affected buildings.
An investigation by Confront into asbestos risk has revealed that the University of Oxford was in breach of these regulations.
This is according to audit documents relating to an investigation by PwC in 2019.
The professional services firm found that, 15 years on from the legislation “asbestos management at the university is still in its infancy”.
It added: “The university is currently non-compliant with The Control of Asbestos Regulations 2012.
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“This is due to the lack of reliable information on the asbestos register and incomplete implementation of asbestos management plans across the estate.”
Around 235 university buildings are estimated to have asbestos-containing materials and just four had developed and implemented sufficient plans.
The audit noted that the information regarding the location, type and condition of Asbestos-containing materials was “not complete, consistent nor up to date”.
It added: “This puts the university population at a heightened risk of asbestos exposure, in addition to possible risks of prosecution and fines as a result of non-compliance.”
The criticisms led to a second audit by PwC a year later, which noted “substantial progress”, although not full compliance.
The university was due to have had 72 asbestos-management plans completed by June 2020, but only 23 were issued – although the audit noted the impact from the Covid pandemic.
The university still had a large number of older buildings containing asbestos without asbestos management surveys, with only 97 out of 160 of the highest-risk buildings (those built before 1985) being fully surveyed.
There has not been a third audit since to confirm that the university is meeting asbestos regulations, according to Confront.
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Responding to this, a spokesperson for the University of Oxford said: "Oxford University has a large, diverse estate with buildings of a wide range of ages.
“As a consequence, asbestos-containing materials are present in some of these.
“We are confident that the systems and processes in place provide suitable protection against the risk of asbestos exposure for everyone who uses our buildings."
Despite this, it took nearly a year – including appeals to the Information Commissioner’s Office – for Confront to gain access to the asbestos management audits.
In addition the not-for profit publisher said that since June 2025, Oxford University paid out £850,000 relating to three claims it had received on asbestos exposure.
Confront added that it is one of many UK universities that has been forced to make payouts, with Oxford University estimating it has spent £7.6 million on asbestos management and removal in the past five years.
