Living with asbestosis

"This disease has made our lives very hard." Margaret Knowles

Asbestosis

For the past five years, thousands of victims of an asbestosis scandal have been battling in court for compensation.

Inside Out reveals how, for some of those victims here in the South West, the wait for justice still isn't over.

Asbestos was hailed as the magic material, the best insulator nature could provide

But the processes of mining and milling released its deadly potential.

Workers coming into regular contact with asbestos were at serious risk.

Proper protection

Tony Whitston, an asbestos campaigner explains:

"From the turn of the century right up to the 1970s people have been exposed to large amounts of asbestos without proper protection."

The companies involved in both the mining and milling of asbestos were well aware that it was a killer.

One such company was Turner and Newall, which owned brake-lining manufacturer Ferodo.

In 1998 giant US car parts company Federal Mogul took over Turner and Newall.

Charlie Knowles worked for Ferodo for 41 years

Charlie Knowles worked for Ferodo for 41 years as a driver transporting raw asbestos and finished brake pads around the country.

He retired to Cornwall in 2001 where he was diagnosed with asbestosis.

Charlie tells us how it has destroyed his retirement and has taken over his life.

"Everything I do is a struggle," says Charlie.

Once carcinogenic asbestos fibres are inhaled, respiratory problems can begin to develop.

Over time, these symptoms can often get progressively worse, leading to asbestosis, pleural thickening, lung cancer or Mesothelioma.

Julian Peto from Cancer Research explains that mesothelioma is a terrible disease for which there is no cure:

"It's an appalling death of pain and suffocation."

No Compensation

But Charlie, like thousands of other former employees of Federal Mogul, has been denied compensation for more than five years - despite their suffering.

Asbestos - the hidden killer for some industrial workers

That's because in 2001 Federal Mogul filed for Chapter 11 Bankruptcy in the United States.

This allowed the company to continue to trade but stopped all asbestos claims in their tracks.

Asbestos campaigner Tony Whitston is outraged by this use of Chapter 11:

"It's obscene. A large multi national company has a bullet proof vest against losing money- and someone who's dying is cast aside."

Less than they deserve

The wait for compensation is nearly over for surviving Federal Mogul asbestos victims, thanks to a settlement negotiated by UK administrators Kroll.

But most people will get only a fraction of what they deserve.

That means that many of the UK victims will only get 20 pence in a pound of what they were due to receive.

The administrator's bill for negotiating this settlement is in excess of £70 million.

Kroll defend their charges:

"We have enormous sympathy for all employees who have suffered hardship as a result of the insolvency of T & N.

"As Administrators, we undertook tough legal battles on behalf of creditors with insurance companies, who were determined to avoid paying legitimate claims, as well as the US management and creditor groups.

"Due to this action, payments to creditors will now be at least three times higher than they would have been and, in some cases, payment will be made in full.

"We have achieved similar improvements for the company’s pensioners and have also kept the company trading in the UK, protecting 3,000 jobs and livelihoods.

"This was the most complex and difficult Administration ever undertaken in the UK."

Federal Mogul refused to comment.

Barbara Balmer, who's father Alan Balmer died from mesothelioma, says it all comes down to people making money out of asbestos victims.

She says the sum of money her family will get is, "not justice - it's an insult."

Chapter 11 bankruptcy means that Federal Mogul can look forward to a bright and profitable future.

But for thousands of asbestos families their future remains bleak.

Links relating to this story:

• BBC Health - Asbestosis
• NHS Direct - Asbestosis
• British Lung Foundation
• Health and Safety Executive - Asbestosis

The BBC is not responsible for the content of external websites

A new day...

Looking for hope - Margaret Knowles

We asked Margaret Knowles featured in the Inside Out film to write about her experiences of living with asbestosis.

Her husband Charlie has the condition and is currently trying to get compensation.

This is her story...

"When Charlie and I met, it was electric.

"We had mutual friends who decided we would be good together so they fixed a blind date.

"We were married with in a year and have been happy for more than 30 years. We have a son Philip, and two grand children, Lauren and Ashley.

"Our lives have had ups and downs like any one with family, but when we retired to Cornwall, we hoped for a lot more than we have now.

"We moved here in August 2002 but Charles was ill by October and diagnosed with asbestosis on 22 December 2003."

A working life

"I'm absolutely shattered with it... it took over our lives completely but we struggle on the best we can. Everything I do is a struggle." Charlie Knowles

Diagnosed with asbestosis - Charlie Knowles

"He worked for Turner and Newall in a factory called Ferodo.

"This name was a play on the name (Herbert) Frood, after the man who invented a brake liner made from asbestos and a mix which was a secret.

"Charlie started work there when he was 15 as a truck boy.

"A year later, he moved to the tool room.

"Fourteen years on he moved to transport.

"He wanted to buy a house, and wages were better for drivers than engineers."

Exposed to asbestos

"During those years driving, he was exposed many times to asbestos.

"Many times he was told that it was safe.

"I remember a very heated discussion we had because there was always asbestos fibres in his overall pockets.

"I questioned him about safety, and was told the white asbestos was quite safe.

"We now know that blue grey and white asbestos causes untold misery to many families.

"This disease has made our lives very hard."

Hopes for the future

"I do not have good health so we try to share the cooking and taking out the rubbish, and sorting the recyling.

"The shopping is a chore, we have to have a cleaner, so we do without things to pay for this.

"Our son worries, our brothers and sisters and families are sad because we are so far away from them.

"We have not got the energy to go back up north, so, each day is a new day - each day we put the last one behind us and move on.

"If we did not we would cry every day, feel sorry for ourselves.

"Today I had a phone call - this email is the result.

"Tomorrow is a new day - I wonder what it will bring?"

Also featured...

We tell the story of Joseph Emidy, a former slave who, when given his discharge in Falmouth, went on to become a famous composer.

Plus, 2007 marks the 40th anniversary of the making of The Beatles movie Magical Mystery Tour.

Their psychedelic journey was filmed in Cornwall, mostly at Newquay.

David Stafford attempts to retrace their steps and talks to some of the people who were there at the time.

And he talks to David Redfern, the now well-known photographer who got his big break snapping The Beatles on Plymouth Hoe.

He visits the bridge where the tour bus may have broken down, and even unearths the original egg man… possibly.

Follow the Rhino birth!

Rhino - watch this space for news of her baby!

BBC South West is breaking new ground and giving you the opportunity to witness a black Rhino birth.

Watch the BBC Devon Rhino web cam

This is the first time that a Rhino birth has ever been filmed and we've dug out the Springwatch cameras and installed them at Paignton Zoo to bring this amazing event direct to your home.

Sita, the pregnant Rhino, is being filmed 24 hours a day in anticipation of the big day.

Zoo keepers are watching her closely as this is the first time a Rhino calf has been born at the Zoo.

You can watch the action on the web and tune in to Inside Out to get the whole story.

Fact File

* Black Rhino are critically endangered. There are now thought to be less than 3,100 black Rhino living in the wild in East and Southern Africa.

* Rhinos can live for up to 45 years in zoos.

* Paignton Zoo supports practical Rhino conservation work in Zimbabwe and Malawi. Conservation work in Zoos is also playing a key role in the survival of the species.

* The parents-to-be are Kingo and Sita.

* Kingo (male) is 23-years- old and has already fathered four calves. He weighs in at 1.8 tonnes and came to Paignton Zoo in 2003 from Port Lympe Zoo in Kent.

* Sita is 16 years old, weighs 1.3 tonnes and is a first time mum. She came from Berlin Zoo in 2002. Sita will stay with her calf until it is able to look after itself but black rhinos are solitary animals so Kingo lives in an adjacent paddock.

* Kingo and Sita are part of the coordinated European Endangered species Programme (EEP) for black rhino.

* If all goes well this will be the first black rhino to be born at Paignton Zoo. At birth the calf could weigh around 40kg.

* The cameras being used were first developed for the Channel 4 series Big Brother and have since been used for the BBC's Springwatch and Autumnwatch series. They can pan and tilt at 360 degrees, and use infra red to film in the dark so whatever happens we won't miss a thing.

Watch the webcam

Watch all the action from Sita's paddock on the BBC Devon webcam.

You might even see her giving birth!

Links relating to this story:

• BBC Devon Web cam and Rhino feature
• Paignton Zoos

The BBC is not responsible for the content of external websites