A WELDER who worked in nuclear power plants wore asbestos-lined clothing for protection – but it ended up killing him.
Raymond Stanley, of Borrowash, spent years welding and fitting pipes in power stations across the country.
As protection, he wore gloves and overalls made from, or lined with, asbestos.
But Mr Stanley died at the age of 97 from asbestosis.
At an inquest into his death, Derby deputy coroner Louise Pinder said to his family: "It's ironic, isn't it?"
Joyce Stanley, his wife, told the hearing her husband started as a welder in 1956.
"He worked in most of the nuclear power stations all over the country," she said.
He was responsible for welding pressure valves inside nuclear reactors, Derby Coroner's Court heard.
Welding blankets, gloves and aprons were previously made from, or lined with, asbestos to protect people working with high temperatures.
That was before the full, potentially fatal impact of breathing in deadly asbestos dust was known. Modern welding equipment contains asbestos substitutes.
In June last year, Mr Stanley, of Charnwood Avenue, first started to show signs of asbestosis.
His wife said: "He would do something and have to sit a bit to get his breath, but then he got worse and worse.
"They kept giving him different tablets. Eventually, he couldn't shower, he couldn't do anything for himself.
"He couldn't eat and lost about two-and-a-half stone. It was tragic to see him."
Neil Sandy, partner of Mr Stanley's daughter, said workers used to see asbestos as their "friend".
"I imagine he would have been wearing asbestos clothing – that's my understanding," he said.
"We all see it now as being dangerous. But if you were working in dangerous environments in those days, especially as a welder, you saw it as being your friend."
Mrs Pinder asked Mrs Stanley: "Do you think he was aware of the dangers?"
Mrs Stanley replied: "I do not think he was aware, no."
Mr Stanley later worked at Boots, working inside an asbestos-lined boiler.
Pathologist Andrew Hitchcock carried out a postmortem examination. He said Mr Stanley's lungs were "abnormal" and both showed signs of heavy scarring.
The lung damage he found was almost exclusively restricted to people who have worked with asbestos in the past, the doctor said.
Ms Pinder, recording a verdict of death by industrial disease, said: "There were two different types of employment, but during both of those he has been exposed to asbestos. He clearly had been exposed from 1956, right up to his retirement at 65."
source: thisisderbyshire.co.uk
Link: Asbestos Claims
