“Looked like ghosts”: evidence from asbestos-related coronial inquest

“Looked like ghosts”: evidence from asbestos-related coronial inquest

A dockworker and seaman gave a posthumous statement at a coronial inquest in Gloucester, UK, which included a statement that revealed the man and his workmates were covered in asbestos dust, so far as they ‘looked like ghosts,’ a coroner has heard.

William Daley died in October of last year. Following his death, a post mortem examination found that pleural thickening from asbestos exposure was the cause of his death.

The tests conducted following his passing showed that he had 37,344 asbestos fibres per gram of dry lung tissue.

Mr Daley made the statement regarding his working conditions and asbestos exposure in the workplace as part of a compensation claim approximately six months before he died.

In the statement, he explained that he had been in contact with asbestos for significant periods of his working life, across various maritime roles, including in engine and boiler rooms. This, in particular, meant he was likely to be exposed to asbestos during manual removal of lagging around pipework.

In his statement, he explained that “we continued with our work while trampling around in it (asbestos dust). There was really no getting away from it.

“Clouds of dust were created. It really seemed to get everywhere. Laggers were covered head to toe in asbestos dust, and they looked like ghosts.

“Sometimes the dust fell on my face and hair – it was part and parcel of the job, and we just got on with it.”

In the coronial inquest, the coroner concluded that the evidence that Mr Daley filed before his death, and on “the evidence of Professor Maskell, I shall record a conclusion of death from industrial disease.”

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