March 21st, 2007

A UK woman who lost her husband to asbestos related cancer decided late last year to take action against the company that he worked for around four decades ago. John Willson was sixty-five years old when he died in 2005 after being diagnosed with mesothelioma, which is a cancer that results from exposure to airborne asbestos dust and fibers.

Willson worked as a driver for the energy supplier the South Eastern Gas Board in the 1960s, and part of his job, which involved removal of gas appliances, resulted in him being exposed to the deadly carcinogenic, asbestos, which is directly linked to mesothelioma. The coroner at the inquest of Mr. Willson confirmed he had died of asbestos related disease and added that he should have lived another eighteen years.

His widow and her attorneys are now looking for other former workers to come forward, and Mrs. Willson stated: "I want the other men out there who worked in the 1960s to have more help than we have had, and I'd like someone to own up and say they were responsible for John dying. He worked and he handled asbestos - so someone, somewhere is responsible for it."

The attorney acting on behalf of Mrs. Willson also added: "It's very important that we establish what work practices were back in the 1960s."