We all called it monkey dust and we used to throw it about
TAM’S STORY
TAM Mooney, 70, worked at the Fairfax and Stephen shipyards in Glasgow’s Govan from 1965 until 1987.
He was diagnosed with mesothelioma, a cancer of the outer lining of the lungs, in 2017. He also has pleural plaques – growths on the membrane around his lungs. He has had a financial settlement from his former employers.
He said: “My dad worked in the yard as a riveter. I was a pipe fitter and a welder and later became a welding instructor but still on the tools – I wouldn’t want to go shirt and tie.
“When I was 38, someone dropped a pipe on me. It weighed one ton. I was crushed all down my left side and had to retire early.
“Asbestos was everywhere. We used to call it monkey dung. In the engine room, the chaps who worked with it used to throw it about and stick it in the bulkhead.
“One time, when a ship came in for a repair, we ripped out all the old pipes. They cut a big 18-inch hole and I was welding while they were still chipping away. There were asbestos fibres everywhere in the air. It was like snow. All I had for protection was the welding mask. I was breathing in everything.
“It was my son who first noticed a change in my breathing. We were walking to Ibrox to see Rangers. He spotted that I was slowing down.
“I was first diagnosed with asthma. It took two-and-a-half more years before I was diagnosed with mesothelioma. I thought I was going into the hospital for a biopsy but I was in for five days while they drained fluid from my lungs.
“When they told me it was mesothelioma, I knew it was connected to asbestos. They told me it’s incurable but treatable.
“I can’t do as much as I used to but I can still go to football and spend time with my grandchildren. There’s life in me yet.”
TAM MOONEY ON WORK LIFE IN THE SHIPYARDS