Welder exposed to killer dust

AN ex-welder who worked in power stations across Derbyshire died after "crawling around in asbestos dust", an inquest heard.

Lakhbir Johal had spent part of his career working in power stations including Drakelow and Willington.

Derby Coroner's Court heard that during that spell, from 1976 to the late-1980s, he had been constantly exposed to asbestos, even though he never handled it himself.

He developed malignant mesothelioma, a form of cancer linked with exposure to the toxic material, and died in September, aged 54.

In a statement signed before his death and read out in court, Mr Johal, of Chellaston, recalled his exposure to the substance. It said: "There was considerable exposure to dust and fibres – my overalls were covered in dust.

"Because of the nature of my work, I was lying and crawling around in asbestos dust."

The statement went on to say Mr Johal had stopped working for a short time until 1983, at which point he carried on being exposed to the substance.

It added that Mr Johal, of Realm Close, had been provided with a helmet and boots but no masks or facial protection. Mr Johal's son, Steven, told the inquest his father had still been in work up until he was diagnosed with mesothelioma.

He said: "He was always very active – he was not one for sitting around watching television. There would have been quite big periods of time where he would have been exposed on a daily basis. He was not always at power stations but that was the majority of his work."

The inquest heard that Mr Johal had led a very active life, completing a 240-mile 12-day trek through the Himalayas in 2000.

A postmortem examination found asbestos fibres in Mr Johal's lungs and his medical cause of death was given as malignant mesothelioma.

Derby and South Derbyshire deputy coroner Louise Pinder recorded a verdict of industrial disease.

She added: "Mr Johal was obviously extremely fit and well. It seems to me that this illness came about very dramatically. He was exposed to asbestos during the course of his working life whilst working in the various power stations."