Marlborough woman died after washing asbestos covered clothes

This is Wiltshire.co.uk reported on 12th April that a pensioner died 45 years after she used to wash her husband's asbestos-covered work overalls.

Olive Brown, of Marlborough, was diagnosed with mesothelioma - cancer of the lining of the lung - in April last year. Her health began to deteriorate and she died in September.

An inquest heard that she washed her husband Eric's overalls weekly for nine months in 1962.
At the time Eric, now 77, worked for a builders' merchant.
There he came into direct contact with asbestos products used for insulation.

He said: "I only worked for them for nine months and it cost me my wife's life.
"I feel awful about what my wife went through, but she put on a brave front and not once did she complain.
"But I'm very pragmatic. It's happened.
"You can't turn the clock back, unfortunately, so what's the point of getting angry?"

In the hardware store where he worked they would frequently sell asbestos products such as asbestos stove mats.
"Asbestos was a normal material and we sold all sorts of asbestos products," he said.

David Ridley, the Deputy Wiltshire Coroner, who presided over the case, recorded a narrative verdict.
He said: "Her husband didn't wash his hands and instead rubbed them into his overalls.
"This was then handled and washed by Olive on a weekly basis."
He said Olive died from the industrial disease mesothelioma, when she was exposed with contact of her husband's work clothing.

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