East Sussex Asbestos Death Ruled Industrial Disease

Construction businesses in the UK have been advised to check their builder's liability policies after the illness of a UK worker, confirmed to have died from asbestos exposure while on the job 60 years ago, died recently.

Maurice Kelly, 80, from Hartington Place, Eastbourne, in East Sussex, died on March 15 at Eastbourne District General Hospital as a result of a tumor on his lungs which Sussex pathologist, Dr. Hassan El Teraifi, diagnosed as mesothelioma from exposure to asbestos.

Asbestos is a fibrous mineral widely used during most the last century in everything from building materials like insulation to floor and (acoustical) ceiling tiles and acoustical sprays.

Asbestos can lead to a number of diseases, including asbestosis - which is generally acquired only after long exposure - lung and digestive system cancers, and mesothelioma, a unique cancer of the mesothelial lining of the lungs, heart cavity and abdomen.

Inhaled or ingested as loose, airborne fibers, asbestos causes irritation in any external or internal tissue it comes in contact with, eventually creating lesions which become cancerous. This is especially true for the pleura, the mesothelial tissue that surrounds and protects the lungs.

Pleural mesothelioma, occurring in about 75 percent of mesothelioma cases, has a long onset, lying dormant for up to five decades before symptoms become so pronounced doctors can readily diagnose it. Unfortunately, by that time, the cancer has invaded so much vital tissue that sufferers are commonly given between a year and 18 months to live, though aggressive treatments like surgery and dual chemotherapy can increase that to two years or more in about 10 percent of cases.

According to a local newspaper, the Bexhill Observer, Kelly's wife, Diane, presented a statement from her late husband to the coroner definitively stating that Kelly had come in contact with asbestos 60 years ago, while tearing down a boiler house at EMI Records factory. In his statement, Kelly described the dust inside the facility as "terrific".

Based on his post-mortem exam and the statement, El Teraifi concluded that asbestos was the most likely cause of death, the cause listed on the coroner's report filed by Coroner Alan Craze.

No fines have been mentioned in association with Kelly's death, but recent fines assessed against two UK firms, A & T Roofing and Noble Gift Packaging of Enfield (for unlicensed asbestos removal), are a reminder to construction companies throughout the country to conduct asbestos inspections before teardown and remodeling, and to carry sufficient builder's liability insurance against the possibility of inadvertently violating existing asbestos regulations.

Sources: The Eastbourne Herald, The Daily Mirror

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