During the 1960's asbestos was a very popular industrial material. Not only is asbestos a flexible and strong material but it is also fireproof and so was considered an extremely useful building tool, even though the dangers of exposure to asbestos have been known since 1899.

JW Roberts, a Leeds based asbestos manufacturer let asbestos escape from the factory into the surrounding residential area.

The asbestos dust covered the local streets and nearby school, exposing many innocent residents to the dangerous mineral . One such resident was June Hancock, who grew up and went to school in the area. June was diagnosed with mesothelioma in 1994 and decided to take action against Turner & Newall (T&N Plc) , the parent company of JW Roberts.

Even though the factory closed over 40 years ago, Armley is still affected by the disaster. Asbestos does not break down and can only be removed by special procedures and since the asbestos spread over such a large area of the community the effects are still on-going.