Exposure to the material and the potential consequences for health have been highlighted in the coroner's court. Christine Newman reports.
Two inquests in the past week recorded verdicts of death due to occupational disease probably caused by exposure to asbestos.
The cases have highlighted the risks of exposure and once again drawn attention to the increasing number of legal proceedings.
Because of the time lag between exposure and the development of health problems, which can be as long as 20 to 30 years, it is likely that the number of deaths from asbestos-related diseases will rise.
Last Wednesday the inquest jury found that the death of a man who worked at the power plant in Arthur Guinness & Sons was "highly probably" caused by exposure to asbestos.
Mr John May, of Clontarf, Dublin, died on September 23rd, 2001, aged 65 years of mesothelioma, which is a rare form of cancer that occurs in the lining of the lungs and in the peritoneum, a structure that lines the abdominal cavity.
The inquest was told he worked in the power plant where boilers and pipes were lagged with asbestos.
The choice open to the jury was one of a verdict that the deceased was potentially exposed to asbestos and on the balance of probabilities this had a causal connection to the cancer.
The other choice was for them to find that the possible relation between asbestos exposure and the disease was not enough. In this case, they should bring in an open verdict.
Mr David Hurley, solicitor, McCann Fitzgerald, for Guinness Ireland Ltd at the inquest argued that there was evidence of potential exposure but that it did not go further than that. He submitted that Mr May had never worked directly on asbestos.
For the family, Ms Patricia Moran SC said there had been no evidence to the contrary that Mr May had not been exposed.
Legal proceedings have been issued against Guinness Ireland Ltd.
In the other case, an inquest jury again found the same verdict. This time the company was Cape Ireland. It is believed it settled an action with the man before he died.
Two other cases referred because of an alleged link between the death and possible exposure to asbestos are pending.
In Mr May's case, there was no post-mortem, so if there had been forensic evidence it was not available.
The reason for this was that the case was not reported to the coroner's office by the hospital but by the registrar of deaths, a situation that the Dublin City Coroner, Dr Brian Farrell, is anxious to redress.
In Ireland, recording of the incidence of causative disease has been hampered by lack of referral.
Dr Farrell is anxious that hospitals report such cases to the coroner, particularly where there is a disease which is very often linked to exposure to asbestos. So far, the coroner has relied on the registrar of deaths to pass on such information.
The lack of recording, however, has not prevented an increase in the numbers taking legal proceedings; nor do inquests have any involvement with any court case. Litigants range from families of people who have died to employees taking actions, particularly against the State, claiming psychological problems after being exposed to asbestos.
However, a Supreme Court decision could deter people from making this type of claim, particularly against State Departments. A man who won a large compensation award because he developed an anxiety about exposure to asbestos dust while working at Leinster House lost the money on appeal.