Meso Victim “Played in Asbestos”
A British woman who recently died from the asbestos cancer mesothelioma played as a child in asbestos ashes “like they were snow” after a fire at a nearby Army base, reports a story on BBC News.
Before she passed aware, Ellen Paddock, age 31, told her doctor and family members that she believed her cancer was a result of the blaze near her home in Donnington, Shropshire, in 1983. Her father, Alan Bush, concurred with her beliefs, saying he remembers her catching some of the ashes in her mouth while playing outside after the fire.
At an inquest in Shrewsbury, a consultant pathologist told those gathered at the hearing that the odds of her tumor forming without the presence of asbestos were a “million to one”.
Family members said the only known exposure to asbestos that Paddock may have experienced was indeed the blaze. It was confirmed that the Ministry of Defense building on the army base contained asbestos and that fibers were released into the atmosphere and remained on the ground after the fire.
A preliminary inquest hearing was told that Ms. Paddock, who had started legal action against the Ministry of Defense before she passed away, died of broncho-pneumonia and an asbestos-related cancer last July. Other people who felt they were affected by the fire were asked to attend a public meeting last year. The hearing continues.
