Swimming Pool Maintenance Man Dies of Mesothelioma

February 7 , 2007 - The widow of a British man who worked as a swimming pool mechanic at public pools in Calderdale has received a substantial settlement from the courts in a suit against the town.

An article in Halifax (England) Today notes that John Michael Holdsworth died of mesothelioma in June 2006 at the age of 71.  He was employed by the Calderdale Council for twenty years, from 1969 to 1989. 

As a maintenance engineer, Holdsworth worked at swimming pools across Calderdale where asbestos was present on boilers and pipes.  He and his colleagues removed asbestos but were not adequately protected, says the newspaper account.  Their employer failed to provide the men with face masks or other protective gear to prevent inhalation of dangerous asbestos fibers. 

Calderdale Council admitted exposing Mr. Holdsworth to asbestos and last week agreed to an out-of-court with his widow, Ariel Holdsworth. 

Lawyers for Mrs. Holdsworth say that they do not know how many other council members are at risk.  They also speculate that Mrs. Holdsworth herself could be in danger of developing the disease due to exposure to the toxic dust brought home on her husband’s work clothes. 

"His overalls were covered in dust and it is a worry," she said. "You just don't know. It can be years before it strikes, as Michael's case proved.”

"I brought the case because I felt somebody had to own up and say 'yes, it was our
fault,” Mrs. Holdsworth told Halifax Today. “Asbestos is a killer but the workers didn't know that."

England’s Factory Act of 1961 and the Asbestos Regulations of 1969 laid the responsibility on employers to protect workers and the Calderdale failed to do so, says Holdsworth’s lawyer, Fozia Hussain. "The council did not use precautions," she said.

Mrs. Hussain noted that the pool engineers worked in boiler houses and protective masks could have been provided along with extractor fans and better ventilation.

"It is quite possible members of the public using swimming pools could have been exposed to asbestos," she added. "But that would be a public liability case and hard to prove."