A woman from Custom House died after being exposed to asbestos through her husband’s work clothes and her role as a part time machinist.
On Friday, an inquest at the Waltham Forest Coroner’s Court heard that Dorothy Howlett, of Alnwick Road, died at Newham General Hospital in September 2013, after contracting Malignant Mesothelioma - a rare cancer associated to asbestos exposure.
Dorothy, 85, who had been suffering with ill health for a number of years, was exposed to asbestos while working as a part time machinist at a local factory.
She also spent years washing her husband’s work overalls while he worked at the Royal Albert Docks.
Assistant Coroner Ian Wade said: “Her death occurred because of her exposure to asbestos dust either while she worked two days in a factory or from washing her husband’s work clothes.”
He added that it could take many years for the cancer, which is caused by asbestos, to grow and develop.
It was concluded that the death was caused by industrial disease.
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