A Hampshire man who used to work as a caretaker has died of malignant mesothelioma, an Inquest has heard.
Mr Graham Gale, who was 62-years-old, died in November last year as a result of asbestos exposure during many years working as a caretaker.
Dr Balvinder Shoker, who conducted the port-mortem, confirmed that a large tumour was present in Mr Gale’s right lung. There were also several tumours of various sizes in Mr Gale’s liver, kidney and intestines.
The inquest heard how Mr Gale had left school in 1968 to work as a painter and decorator and was employed by the council to work on houses at Townhill Park.
In a statement given by Mr Gale, read out at the hearing, he described his years of working with asbestos whilst at Southampton City Council, Hampshire County Council and Eastleigh Borough Council.
“I recall rubbing down guttering and pipes in preparation for them to be repainted,” Mr Gale wrote. “The majority of council homes had asbestos and a great deal of dust was created. I was never provided with a mask.”
The inquest heard how Mr Gale went on to work at a Devon primary school, a job which required him to maintain school classrooms and fix broken window ledges and cleaning pipes. These were all made of asbestos and “the school had a huge number of asthma sufferers as a result of the dust,” Mr Gale said in his statement.
He recalled a time when the water froze in the school’s radiator and water flooded the room. When the water thawed, much of the adjoining wall and floor came away, throwing a lot of dust into the air.
“My wife was working there at the time and she was assisting me,” he said. “At the time I was unaware of the danger and at no time was I given any warnings to do with the dangers of asbestos. In my view I would have continued exposure.”
Mr Gale’s death is a sad reminder of the sheer amount of asbestos that was present for caretakers and plumbers in their line of work. As Mr Gale described in his statement, no warnings were given about the amount of asbestos present in the school and there was no protection for workers.
At Russell Worth solicitors, we have represented many industrial workers who have been exposed to asbestos through their work and several years later developed an asbestos-related disease. If you or a loved one has been affected, contact us free on 0800 028 2060 or visit our dedicated website www.asbestosisclaim.com for targeted legal advice.