Mesothelioma case against The C.E.G.B (Northfleet Power Station)

Mr F received payment of £233,000 in 2009

Asbestos was widely used by The Central Electricity Generating Board in the building and maintenance of Power Stations in the 1950s, 60s and 70s. Asbestos was used to lag pipes, boilers and any components where the heat resistant qualities of asbestos was required. During this period thousands of laggers, boiler makers and maintenance engineers had significant exposure to asbestos. Unfortunately this has lead to the development of asbestos related diseases including Mesothelioma.

The following case study is an example of the many claims we have made against The CEGB over the last decade.

Exposure to asbestos at The Central Electricity Generating Board

Mr F was employed by The Central Electricity Generating Board from 1966 until 1971 as a maintenance fitter at the Northfleet Power Station where he worked on the turbines and the auxillary plant.

mesothelioma from the CEGB

Mr F was exposed to asbestos throughout his employment with Central Electricity Generating Board in a number of ways.

He worked alongside laggers as they mixed up asbestos fibres and powder with water and then applied the wet asbestos to pipes and valves.

Anything that was steam heated needed to be insulated and asbestos was used everywhere throughout the power station. The valves that served the vessels were lagged with asbestos as were all of the boilers.

Mr F was often in the vicinity of the laggers when they mixed up the asbestos, emptying the asbestos powder into troughs or barrels which created clouds of dust in the air.

Then water was added to mix it until it formed a paste. The asbestos paste was then transferred to buckets and applied it to pipes or valves by hand or whatever tools they could get their hands on. They then fixed the lagging with chicken wire and then they added another layer of wet asbestos. This asbestos then dried and hardened.

It was very common to see asbestos laggers all over the power station and they were employed on a full time basis directly by the CEGB, but Mr F also regularly removed asbestos lagging from the valves he repaired.

Removing asbestos lagging

” The heat had made the asbestos brown, dry and crumbling. It was cracked. I knocked the old lagging off with a hammer or chisel. I then cut through the chicken wire with a pair of scissors which we called Gilbos which looked like large shears. The old lagging came off in clumps in my hands and fell to the floor. There was an awful lot of asbestos lagging to remove as the valves were sometimes enormous. Other fitters would remove lagging as and when was required around me and at different heights so if they were above me the asbestos would rain down below onto me. I stripped asbestos lagging from valves about once a week during my employment with CEGB. ”

Mr F also removed asbestos lagging from boilers, which were often massive, measuring 12 feet or more across. He also worked alongside laggers as they cut and fixed pre-formed sections of asbestos with a hacksaw or a Stanley Knife.

There were never any warnings about the dangers of asbestos. No protective equipment such as masks were provided so he was constantly covered in asbestos dust. This was especially the case when asbestos was stripped from valves and also boilers and there was no way of avoiding breathing in the asbestos dust. One way that he and his co-workers used to get the asbestos dust off the overalls was by using a compressed air line to blow the dust off each other. This just created clouds of dust in the air which was breathed in. They also used to shake down their overalls at the end of the day.

Have you been diagnosed with mesothelioma after asbestos exposure at The CEGB?

If you or a close family member have recently been diagnosed with mesothelioma and have worked for The Central Electricity Generating Board we may be able to help.
For free advice on whether you can claim mesothelioma compensation, contact us on (FreePhone) 0800 923 0046 and ask for Kathy Cooke or Warren Miller.

FreePhone 0800 923 0046
Official Claim Form

Solicitor

Helen Childs

Helen Childs

Lead Solicitor

Helen is our lead solicitor and a partner at Royds Withy King Solicitors. Helen is recognised as a Leading Lawyer by the Legal 500, where she is described as an exceptional partner with a huge capacity for work and an unerring willingness to fight for her clients and an excellent knowledge of asbestos litigation..   Read more >

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