Mesothelioma News

A man who spent more than a decade working as a shipwright in the UK died of malignant mesothelioma caused by asbestos exposure, a coroner's court recently heard.

Keith Hoskins - like many people in the shipbuilding and maintenance industry - was regularly exposed to asbestos on the job, according to the Plymouth Herald. This exposure ultimately cost him his life as his contact with the deadly asbestos fibers caused him to develop the rare cancer.

Hoskins' widow told the court that her husband said that he came in contact with asbestos while working on ships.

"He told me that all the ships he worked on contained asbestos used for heat and fire insulation, and for lagging pipes," she said.

Gloucestershire Deputy Coroner David Dooley heard that a large amount of asbestos fibers were found in the man's lungs, leading him to conclude that his exposure to the naturally occurring substance caused his death.

"On the balance of probabilities I can be sure that he died from the industrial disease malignant mesothelioma," he said.

Asbestos exposure doesn't only cause mesothelioma, however. Contact with the substance can also cause lung cancer and asbestosis.