An inquest has found that a sixty-five year old man died due to asbestos related cancer after being exposed to the deadly fibres when he was a teenager.
Charlie Glass from Ballinteer, Dublin, passed away at St Vincent´s Hospital in September 2013 having been diagnosed with mesothelioma cancer after a workplace accident in 2009.
Charlie had hurt his ribs in a fall at work, and had attended a VHI Swiftcare Clinic for treatment. X-rays revealed more fluid on his lungs than would normally be associated with a fit, working man; and, after the fluid had been drained, a CT scan detected the cancer.
Considered to be a candidate for radical intervention, Charlie underwent chemotherapy and surgery in London. He returned to Ireland and enjoyed several years of good health until the cancer returned and his health deteriorated.
It was while Charlie was discussing his diagnosis with his doctors that the link with asbestos came to light. At the age of 14, Charlie was cutting asbestos sheets for fire doors for Brook Thomas Building Suppliers. As the risks of asbestos were not so widely known in the 1960s, no protective clothing was provided and the workforce often ate their lunches in the vicinity of where the asbestos had been cut.
At the inquest into Charlie´s death, the Dublin Coroner – Dr Brian Farrell – was told that when Charlie was first diagnosed with asbestos related cancer, he had only been given eleven months to live, but managed to survive for more than four years. Dr Farrell also heard that both of Charlie´s siblings died due to asbestos related cancer, although in unconnected incidents.
Evidence presented from the autopsy on Charlie´s body revealed that “numerous asbestos bodies were identified in the lungs” confirming the diagnosis of disseminated mesothelioma. Dr Farrell returned the verdict that Charlie had died due to asbestos related cancer, commenting that it was very unfortunate that all three siblings had died from such a rare disease.