Wife was exposed to asbestos in laundry

A WOMAN died from exposure to asbestos dust after years of washing her husband's work clothes, an inquest heard.

Marjorie Fox, 61, is believed to have contracted fatal lung cancer after almost 20 years of shaking the dust from her husband Kenneth's overalls which he wore while working as a carpenter before putting them in the wash.

She first noticed a shortness of breath in October 2002 and went to her GP the following January, an inquest in York was told.

The doctor referred her to hospital for tests and by February 2003 she was diagnosed with cancer.

Mrs Fox, from York, was told she had the asbestos-related mesothelioma and asbestos particles had been found in her right lung. She went on to have chemotherapy and radiotherapy, but died in January this year.

Compensation has since been paid to her family by the company Mr Fox worked for in the 1960s and 1970s.

In a statement given before her death, Mrs Fox said: "Having given some thought to how I was exposed, the dust must have been brought into the car and our home by my husband who was exposed to it at work.

"Since we married in April 1966, I have always done the laundry at weekends. This included my husband's work clothes, which I would take outside and shake before putting in the washing machine."

York Deputy Coroner Jonathan Leach recorded a verdict of accidental death. He said Mrs Fox had been killed by a blood clot in her lungs but mesothelioma was a contributory factor.

After the hearing, her daughter Sally Cooper said: "As a family, we're behind the campaigns that are going on to speed up the compensation process.

"It's such a horrible, horrible disease, and we just hope things can be made easier because it's a long drawn-out process at the moment.

"Although money doesn't make up for the loss of a loved one, it does mean people can retire a bit earlier and spend their precious time together."

The inquest comes after Pensions Minister John Hutton pledged to make it easier for asbestos victims and their families to claim compensation.

Source: Yorkshire Post Today