SOLICITORS dealing with Mid Cheshire families fighting for compensation following asbestos-related deaths have backed an awareness campaign.
Stoke-based law firm Thompsons said it is dealing with about 180 cases in Mid and South Cheshire on behalf of families who have lost loved ones to industrial diseases linked to asbestos, like mesothelioma.
A number of Mid Cheshire campaigners supported events as part of the National Awareness Day for Mesothelioma last week. And representatives of Thompsons attended a ceremony in Crewe to highlight the impact the disease has had on people who were employed at Crewe Works.
Mesothelioma is a terminal cancer, almost invariably linked to exposure to asbestos at work.
Janet Finney, asbestos litigation solicitor with Thompsons, which is taking the action on behalf of Mid Cheshire families, including the family of a Barnton man who worked at ICI featured last week, said: 'Mesothelioma Awareness Day was a sombre day upon which we could all reflect upon the distress and suffering of the families and victims whose lives have been destroyed by the deadly asbestos cancer namely mesothelioma.
'The present estimate is that around 3,000 people a year are dying from mesothelioma in the UK but this looks destined to increase. The final death toll from asbestos-related disease could easily exceed 150,000 people.
'Asbestos was commonly used in Cheshire in the construction industry, in Bakelite products, as heat resistant surfaces on ironing boards and fire protection and was used by laggers to insulate boilers and pipework. A significant number of workers in diverse occupations have been exposed to lethal asbestos.'
Partner Dianne Yates added: 'One microscopic particle of asbestos fibre, if inhaled, can lead to the development of mesothelioma some 20 or 40 years later. For many workers it is a ticking timebomb. There is no effective cure and death normally occurs within 12 to 18 months of the diagnosis.
'The dangers of exposure to asbestos have been known since the 1930s but the victims coming forward now may have been exposed from the 1960s onwards when there was common knowledge of the potential risks. There were protective measures and equipment that could have been taken to prevent exposure but it is sadly evident that the risks were ignored.
'Mesothelioma has often been described as a silent killer because it is little known until families are given the diagnosis. It is a harsh way to learn. One of the most frightening developments has been the emergence of women victims who washed their husbands' work clothes which had become contaminated with asbestos dust.
'Worse still, fathers when returning from work picked up their children or bounced them on their knee and so unwittingly exposed their children to asbestos dust.'
