A FORMER carpenter died from a rare cancer linked with his exposure to asbestos at work decades earlier.
Brian Hawkins, 71, collapsed and died at his home on Ingram Crescent, Knottingley, at about 11pm on March 28, two days after he had come out of palliative care.
An inquest in Wakefield heard the father-of-one worked with asbestos sheeting – drilli
ng, cutting and fitting the product in new homes – from about 1961 to 1978 and would often come home covered in asbestos dust.
In November Mr Hawkins was diagnosed with mesothelioma, a rare, untreatable cancer which affects the lung lining and usually appears 25-40 years after a person is exposed to asbestos.
Consultant pathologist Dr Patricia Gudgem told the inquest his cancer had spread to other organs.
She added: “Mesothelioma often occurs when people are exposed to smaller amounts of asbestos.
“But test results suggest Mr Hawkins was exposed to a great deal.”
Mr Hawkins had filed an industrial disease compensation claim after his diagnosis.
His son Darren told the Express: “Last year my father was fit and healthy.
“I just wish everyone had known at the time how dangerous working with asbestos was and that there had been proper safety equipment available.
“I’m upset about losing my dad to something that could have been prevented.”
Coroner David Hinchliff recorded a verdict of death from industrial disease and the cause of death as mesothelioma.
He added: “There is in my mind a clear connection between Mr Hawkins’ exposure to abestos in the workplace and the mesothelioma which claimed his life.”
The full article contains 266 words and appears in Ponte and Cas Express newspaper.
