Global Asbestos Awareness Week runs from the 1st to 7th April each year. It is a week dedicated to increasing the awareness about the dangers of asbestos and championing measures to prevent asbestos related diseases.
First recorded death due to pulmonary asbestosis
Significantly, March 2024 also marks 100 years since the death of Nellie Kershaw, a young textile worker in Rochdale. Nellie developed pulmonary asbestosis while working at Turner’s asbestos factory. Her death due to ‘asbestos poisoning’, as it was known then, was the first to be recorded as such in medical literature, and the first published account of disease attributed to occupational asbestos exposure. Asbestosis is a debilitating lung disease caused by asbestos fibre inhalation.
Born in 1891, Nellie worked in a cotton mill from the age of twelve. At Turner Brothers Asbestos factory her job was to spin raw asbestos fibres into yarn. Nellie worked there until 1922 until she became too ill to work. She died on the 14th of March 1924 when she was only 33 years old, after working with white asbestos for nearly half her lifetime.
Unrecognised as an occupational disease
Unfortunately, at that time, ‘asbestos poisoning’ was not a recognised occupational disease and Nellie never received any compensation from Turners. She died in poverty, survived by her husband and children. Her family could not pay for a funeral, and Nellie was buried in an unmarked pauper’s grave in Rochdale cemetery.
Dangers of workplace exposure
Nellie Kershaw holds a tragic and significant place in occupational health history. Her heart breaking story serves as a stark reminder of the dangers of workplace exposure and the importance of safety regulations. Despite advancements in regulations and heightened awareness, asbestos-related diseases sadly continue to claim lives.
Remembering Nellie Kershaw
During Global Asbestos Awareness Week we shall be remembering Nellie Kershaw’s sad story and thinking of all the many clients and their families who we have helped claim compensation for asbestos related diseases.
If you have been diagnosed with an asbestos-related condition, we can help. Contact us today by calling 01244 312306 or through our Contact Us page and we will be in touch.
