Nurse diagnosed with terminal cancer calls for asbestos to be removed from public buildings

Helen Bone shares her story with reporter Chris Conway.

A former nurse diagnosed with terminal cancer linked to asbestos is calling on the government to act more quickly to remove the material from public buildings.

At the age of 42, Helen Bone from Middlesbrough was diagnosed with Mesothelioma. According to NHS figures, exposure to asbestos is the cause in 9 out of 10 cases.

Mesothelioma affects around 2,700 people every year, though most are over the age of 75.

Helen said: "I've got three children who depend on me. I'd have loved to have been their mam for all of their life and I'm not going to get to do that. The reason I'm not going to get to do that is that some point in my life I have breathed in some asbestos fibres, I've got this disease and I've been given a death sentence.

"It's now people like nurses, doctors, office workers. People who have no idea that they're going into a building that is dangerous. No idea that there is poisonous material there that could hurt them twenty, thirty years down the line."

After being used in industrial and residential buildings, the use of asbestos was eventually banned in 1999 - but millions of buildings still contain the material.

The Health and Safety Executive said: “Our sympathies are with anyone affected by asbestos-related illness.

"Workers’ exposure to asbestos is an issue we take seriously. Recently, we have updated our guidance, launched two campaigns and are undertaking assurance visits. As an evidence-based regulator, we will continue to review and consider any new or emerging evidence where it can help improve health outcomes.”

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