More Information on Asbestosis and Mesothelioma
The recent death of former Sex Pistols manager Malcolm McLaren has once again highlighted the terrible risk faced by anyone who has come into contact with damaged or broken asbestos. Asbestosis, and its fatal cancerous counterpart Mesothelioma are still not widely known in the UK, despite the increasing annual death toll. Both conditions can take up to 40 years to develop. Given the wholesale usage of asbestos in buildings following the Second World War, until it was banned in the UK in 1999, it seems likely that the effects of asbestos exposure will be with us for some time to come.
One major problem with asbestos compensation claims is in ascertaining where the original exposure took place. In the case of McLaren it has been speculated that his death resulted from the inhallation of asbestos fibres in recording studios, where soundproofing involved vinyl tiles impregnated with asbestos. However, his partner claimed this week that the demolition of the ceiling in his famous shop ‘Sex’ on New Kings Road during the 1970′s was the most likely cause. McLaren’s mother said she had seen asbestos boards there, and in the words of his partner:
“When Malcolm created Sex he broke open the ceiling to make it look like a bomb had hit it … I always suspected that shop because it was the only place Malcolm ever really spent any serious length of time in, and there was a lot of construction and changing things.”
McLaren joins other luminaries who have suffered a similar fate, including music producer Mickie Most, and Hollywood actor Steve McQueen who worked in shipyards prior to his career in films. Methoselioma is a fatal lung cancer, but doctors still have trouble attributing it with any certainty to asbestos exposure. The ubiquitous nature of asbestos in construction means that sufferers often cannot recall exactly when or where they came into contact with the deadly fibres. With life expectancy following diagnosis averaging 18 months to 2 years, Mesothelioma is an ongoing and accelerating tragedy. Millions of construction and industrial workers were unwittingly exposed to asbestos in the late 20th Century. This is despite the fact that Asbestos has always been known as a dangerous substance. The Roman historian Pliny even commented on the untimely deaths of workers in asbestos mines. Unfortunately in the rush for profit following the Industrial Revolution such concerns were set aside.
Any person suffering from lung cancer should seek expert medical opinion as to whether asbestos exposure may have been the primary cause.
More Information on Asbestosis and Mesothelioma
