Newport, RIStanley worked in the shipyards as an electrician for 33 years. He died of asbestos mesothelioma in 2007. His widow recently filed a negligent death lawsuit, and Stanley made an appearance in court.
Stanley worked on many different types of ships, including cargo ships and new construction Navy aircraft such as the USS Enterprise and the USS America. While he didn't work directly with asbestos products, Stanley would have, over the years, breathed in significant amounts of fine asbestos fibres as a result of asbestos removal work being done on the ships.
But Stanley, like so many people of his time, was not aware of the health concerns associated with asbestos – specifically asbestos mesothelioma and asbestosis. In fact, it wasn't until he began feeling really unwell in 2005 that he went to see a doctor, suspecting something was amiss. In April 2006 he was diagnosed with asbestos-related cancer. After having a lung removed he died in December 2007. He was just 72 years old – in the prime of his retirement. He left behind 4 children and several grandchildren.
Stanley's wife, Nancy, filed a lawsuit and in a new twist, Stanley appeared in court to tell his story in his own words. He must have known, after his diagnosis, that his illness was not just luck of the draw – or due to natural causes. So he made a video tape in which he discussed his work in the shipyards and the dangers he was unknowingly exposed to. He wanted to people to know that his illness could have been prevented had the shipyard and the ship owners taken appropriate steps to protect their workers against asbestos exposure.
Asbestos Exposure in the 1940s and 1950s
Stanley was exposed to asbestos when other workers ripped out asbestos insulation from piping in engine and boiler rooms. During the 1940s and 1950s many ships, both commercial and naval, were refitted, which included removing the asbestos insulation from pipes, boilers, engine rooms, any of the working parts of the ships. This stripping out of asbestos didn't just affect shipyard workers, it also affected officers and crew who lived and worked on the ships.
Marge recently lost her husband, Bob, a career Navy officer, to asbestos mesothelioma. He worked and lived on Navy ships while they were having asbestos removed. But his cancer didn't turn up until he was retired, just like Stanley.
Unfortunately, asbestosis and asbestos mesothelioma can literally take decades to emerge – up to 30 years in some cases, and it affects everyone differently. Some people suffer the worst consequences from only slight exposure, while others may contract asbestosis after years of continued exposure. There's no way to predict who will fare worse.
However, one could safely predict that there will likely be many more cases like Stanley's and Bob's. More than 27 million workers were exposed to asbestos between 1940 and 1980. And their stories are just starting to be told.
The Problem Continues
Unbelievably, millions of people remain at risk, particularly construction workers – an estimated 1.3 million construction workers according to some sources. That's because asbestos, despite all that is known about it, is still used for renovations, and in roofing materials, friction products, insulation and textiles. And workers continue to suffer asbestos exposure during building demolitions and asbestos removal.
According to the Environmental Working Group Action Fund, an estimated 10,000 people die every year die from asbestos-caused diseases the United States. That includes 1 out of every 125 American men who die over the age of 50.
So, Stanley was smart to make a video, because his story will live on, and continue to be told, as both a warning and a reminder, not to mention a useful tool in an asbestos mesothelioma lawsuit.