Hope for workers scarred by asbestos

By [rparsons]

GERALD Whittle only came into contact with asbestos for nine months at work but at times he felt like he was eating the toxic substance.

The 64-year-old, from Bakersfield, was in contact with asbestos while working at Wilford Power Station as a labourer in 1964.

His duties included getting in between pipes to remove old asbestos lagging but he was given no protection or ventilation.

"You are a 19-year-old, you don't think about that," he said. "You just think about the money.

"I was the youngest one there and I was the only one thin enough to go between the pipes.

"I was practically eating the stuff. There were no rules in those days and I had no protection."

He may not have realised it at the time, but his exposure to asbestos was condemning him to years of breathing difficulties.

Gerald, a grandfather-of-three, also has a potentially more serious legacy of those nine months – the scars on his ribcage and diaphragm brought about by pleural plaques.

The condition is not painful in itself and has no symptoms, but means a higher risk of potentially fatal conditions such as lung cancer, asbestosis and mesothelioma.

Compensation was an established right for sufferers for 20 years but in 2007 a ruling in the House of Lords meant payouts for workers were scrapped.

Insurance companies have long opposed compensation for pleural plaques and say they do not cause other conditions.

Gerald, who was diagnosed with the condition in 2005, said: "We are currently between the devil and the deep blue sea until the Government reconsiders.

"I was shocked when I was diagnosed. I went in to have my heart X-rayed and I came out with that. It's not nice having it hanging over you, particularly with the other breathing problems I have been having."

Chris Stansfield, a partner at Nottingham law firm Nelsons, has been dealing with asbestos compensation cases for almost two decades.

But since the Lords ruling in 2007 he has had to tell people diagnosed with pleural plaques they are not entitled to any recompense for their heightened risk of serious disease.

Sufferers of conditions such as mesothelioma are able to apply for compensation but in many cases become seriously ill before they get a chance.

Mr Stansfield said: "Pleural plaques are basically a marker that someone has been affected by asbestos. The insurance industry argues that it is not dangerous but for 20 years compensation was given out."

However, hope may soon arrive for the hundreds of people with the condition, as MPs last week unanimously passed a bill to restore compensation. The Damages (Asbestos-Related Conditions) Bill has now passed its second stage and is one step closer to becoming law.

The proposed changes were put forward as a private member's bill by Labour MP Andrew Dismore, though Prime Minister Gordon Brown had promised an announcement on the subject "after Easter".

The amendments still need to be approved a third time and given assent by the House of Lords before they become law.

Mr Dismore said: "Pleural plaques cause real anxiety and stress for those who have them.

"It is hard to imagine someone's fear if they are at risk of developing an evil, disabling illness.

"There is no perfect option for dealing with this issue, but pleural plaques are a serious condition and doing nothing is simply not an option."

Mr Stansfield said: "People are still getting diagnosed with this and are being told they have an asbestos-related condition.

"I have met people who used to work in major industry and there is a good chance they used to work next to someone who has died of mesothelioma.

"They will think that they have had the same exposure and are frightened, quite rightly, that in the next 20 years they might get it."

robert.parsons@nottinghameveningpost.co.uk