Asbestos News

A former railroad worker in the UK died recently after he had been exposed to asbestos at the workplace, the Bristol Evening Post reports.

Richard Horwood, 74, reportedly worked for Gloucestershire Railway and Wagon Works between 1959 and 1961, the news provider said.

Prior to his death, Horwood issued a statement for industrial injury in which he claimed that he was often exposed to the dangerous material and did not know of the potential consequences.

"While working on the carriages, other employees were spraying it inside with asbestos," Horwood said. "We were never made aware of the dangers of working near asbestos."

An inquest heard that Horwood died due to a tumor in his lungs and Assistant Deputy Coroner David Dooley recorded that the man died of an industrial disease.

Exposure to asbestos can cause a wide range of serious illnesses including asbestosis, lung cancer and malignant mesothelioma, a rare form of cancer that occurs in the tissues surrounding most of the body's internal organs.