Asbestos dust led to man's death

Apr 11 2007 By Ross McCarthy, Birmingham Mail

A RETIRED Birmingham painter and decorator died from a malignant tumour after being exposed to asbestos dust 50 years previously, an inquest was told.

Lawrence Grinnell, aged 74, inhaled asbestos fibres "in a very graphic way" while working for a Birmingham-based building firm between 1956 and 1985, it heard.

In a statement Mr Grinnell, who died at his home in Sladepool Farm Road, Kings Heath last October, said he was exposed to asbestos while working for AC Watkins & Son at various commercial premises.

The former soldier said part of his job was to scrape down all surfaces before painting them, causing chunks of asbestos lagging to fall on the floor and that he was often covered in the resulting dust.

He was also exposed when working on roofs with asbestos sheets, and was only provided with a mask towards the end of his employment.

Pathologist Dr Simon Trotter said Mr Grinnell had died from mesothelioma due to occupational asbestos exposure.

Birmingham Coroner Aidan Cotter recorded that the pensioner died from an industrial disease.