Asbestos killed wife who cleaned ‘dusty’ clothes

A WOMAN who spent years washing her husband’s work clothes was heartbreakingly oblivious of the lethal consequences she would face, an inquest has heard.

Sandra Dixon, who was originally from Cardiff but lived in Sageston near Tenby, died aged 71 in August from the effects of asbestos, an inquest has heard.

Assistant coroner for Carmarthenshire and Pembrokeshire Gareth Lewis described Mrs Dixon’s tragic passing as a “sad and classic case of secondary asbestos exposure”.

The inquest heard how Mrs Dixon had a passion for ballroom and Latin American dancing and became a popular dance teacher.

Following various administrative roles she left work to look after her two children James and Rebecca, while husband Keith worked hard in steelworks and power stations.

“His clothes would be visibly dusty,” coroner’s officer James Lang told the hearing yesterday.

At the power station where he worked, Keith would usually be present as asbestos lagging was being removed.

When Keith returned home, Sandra would regularly wash his clothing, not thinking she would need to wear protection as she brushed off the dust.

Mr Lang added: “With no protection, she would wash his clothes a couple of times a week.

“She would clean out his pockets and brush off the dust.”

Decades later, in October 2021, Sandra was diagnosed with advanced mesothelioma.

She had been complaining of sudden chest pain and had a CT scan which revealed the cancer typically linked to asbestos exposure which develops in the lining that covers the outer surface of some of the body’s organs.

On August 12, 2022, in the early afternoon Sandra collapsed at home and was transferred to Withybush Hospital in Haverfordwest, but her condition quickly deteriorated and she passed away at the hospital on August 14.

A postmortem examination carried out by Dr Victor Abiodun advised Mrs Dixon’s medical cause of death as 1A: sepsis secondary to pneumonia and 1B: advanced mesothelioma.

Mr Lewis said: “On August 14, 2022, at Withybush Hospital, Sandra Dixon died from the effects of advanced mesothelioma, with which she had been diagnosed.

“This is a sad and classic case of secondary asbestos exposure.”

Mrs Dixon’s family described her as a “beloved wife, a dearly loved mum and mother-in-law and an adored grandmother”.