Asbestos widow needs your memories of Rugeley B Power Station
A grieving widow is appealing for the memories of anyone who worked at Rugeley B Power Station during the 1960s and 1970s.
Doris Whitehurst’s husband, Michael died from mesothelioma in June 2022. The disease is a terminal form lung cancer caused by breathing in asbestos dust and fibres.
Michael was a former electrical engineer and was exposed to the deadly material more than half a century ago whilst working at Rugeley B Power Station.
The National Asbestos Helpline and Alderstone Solicitors are helping Doris to make an industrial disease compensation claim to secure justice for Michael and to provide for Doris’ future care.
To be able to do so, Doris needs the help of anyone who can remember working at Rugeley B Power Station with or alongside the electrical engineers and knows of the presence of asbestos.
Michael, aged 83 at his death, was an electrical engineer with F H Weeler, part of Wheeler Crittal Berry Ltd, and was contracted to work at the Rugeley B Power Station. He worked in and around the asbestos lagged pipework that would have spanned the power station.
Asbestos was widely used across Britain’s energy infrastructure from the 1940s and into the 1980s for its insulation and heat proof properties.
During the late 1960s and early 1970s, as part of Michael’s working day he would have disturbed the asbestos pipework and worked alongside colleagues removing and maintaining the lagging, which would have released the material’s deadly fibres and dust into the air.
Mesothelioma is caused when asbestos fibres are inhaled and get lodged in the lungs. The fibres enter the pleural lining of the lung and chest wall where they injure the cells of the pleura, and, over time, cause the devastating cancer.
Jan Garvey, from the National Asbestos Helpline, says: "Mesothelioma is a cruel and aggressive lung cancer. To watch your loved-one deteriorate so quickly and be in constant pain is heart-breaking. The cancer is devastating a generation of working people who go on to face this terrible illness. More needs to be done to help people like Michael and Doris who are impacted by mesothelioma."
Helen Bradley, an expert asbestos solicitor with Alderstone Solicitors, says: “For Doris to lose her husband to this cruel cancer is unjust. Mesothelioma can take up to 50 years to develop and after such a long time it can be difficult to gain the evidence needed to prove where and when exposure to asbestos dust occurred, which is why we need former F H Weeler, Wheeler Crittal Berry Ltd, and Rugeley B Power Station workers to contact us.
“Do you remember Michael Whitehurst? Can you remember working alongside Michael or other electrical engineers and the power station’s lagged pipes? Or are you aware of anyone who worked at F H Weeler, Wheeler Crittal Berry Ltd, or Rugeley B Power Station and who developed breathing problems? Can you talk about the presence of asbestos at the power station in the 1960s and 1970s? What were the working conditions like? Please get in touch and help Doris. Your details will remain confidential.”
Doris met Michael in Stoke-on-Trent in 1974 and they were married the following year. Michael had already moved on from F H Weeler and Wheeler Crittal Berry Ltd, which makes is even harder for Doris to find out what happened to Michael in the Rugeley B Power Station.
Anyone who has information about expose to asbestos while working for F H Weeler, Wheeler Crittal Berry Ltd, or Rugeley B Power Station please get in touch with Helen Bradley at Alderstone Solicitors on 0161 238 5637. Alternatively, email hbradley@alderstonesolicitors.co.uk. Your details will remain confidential.
