Kentish Gazette Canterbury & District
Were paper mill workers exposed to killer asbestos?
The family of a former paper mill worker who died of a lung cancer caused by exposure to asbestos are appealing to ex-employees for help in their claim for compensation.
Harry Beeching worked as a plumber and maintenance man at Chartham Paper Mill for more than 30 years. He died in July last year, aged 87 – eight months after being diagnosed with mesothelioma.
His job involved repairing steam pipes, which may have been lagged with asbestos and ran through the large factory site off Station Road.
Now his family are pursing a claim for industrial disease compensation. Their solicitors want to hear from former workers of the mill who remember the working conditions and particularly whether asbestos was present.
The action is not against Arjowiggins, which now operates the mill, but the insurers of the company which ran it while Mr Beeching was working there.
Speaking after he was diagnosed with the disease, greatgrandad Mr Beeching said: “In order to repair the pipes, I had to remove the insulation from around them to get to the faulty seal or valve underneath. I did this by using a hacksaw to saw the lagging off and pulled the remainder off with my fingers.
“Sawing the insulation and pulling it off caused a lot of dust to become airborne and it fell onto my overalls, got into my hair and on my skin. I never wore a mask. We were not required to.”
Mr Beeching’s family say he was a very fit and active man and rode his bike everywhere – even when in his early 80s.
But an inquest last year determined he had died from a metastatic malignant pleural mesothelioma caused by asbestos exposure. His lorry driver son Steve, 56, from Canterbury, said: “I think one of the reasons it took so long for us to realise that dad was ill was because for years he was so active.
“He’d been getting short of breath for about 10 years but still kept cycling and walking – and we put it down to old age.
“But his lungs were developing cancer and filling up with fluid. After the mesothelioma diagnosis the doctors drained his lungs three times and he went downhill very quickly.
“He was a very proud man. He wouldn’t accept help and fought it until he couldn’t argue any more. Even when he was in hospital he would tell the doctor he was fine and not in pain, but you could see it on his face.”
Anyone who knows about the presence of asbestos at Chartham Paper Mill between 1960 and 1995 should call Craig Howell from Birchall Blackburn Law on 01244 684 475 or Jan Garvey at the National Asbestos Helpline on freephone 0800 043 6635. Alternatively, email cnhowell@ birchallblackburn.co.uk.