Coroner issues industrial disease ruling after asbestos death

Posted 08/06/2009

A coroner has ruled that a man who died of lung cancer acquired the disease in the workplace.

Roy Hancock had worked as a scientist at a nuclear laboratory in Berkeley, but two years ago, he fell ill and was later diagnosed with mesothelioma.

This is an industrial disease that he apparently developed as a result of working in close proximity to asbestos, the Gazette reports.

Mr Hancock, who died only two months after receiving his diagnosis, also visited several power stations in Russia throughout his career.

It is believed he may have received further exposure to asbestos during this period, and coroner Alan Crickmore has therefore recorded a verdict of industrial disease.

Meanwhile, a local authority in West Yorkshire has been forced to draft in specialists after traces of asbestos were found at a disused swimming pool in Leeds.

The building is set for demolition at an as-yet unconfirmed time, although work to remove the dangerous substance is expected to take about four months, reports the Yorkshire Evening Post.