THOUGH former shipbuilder Peter Walker did not handle asbestos, he worked alongside men lagging ships' boilers and pipes with it, an inquest heard on Friday.
The exposure to the material was sufficient to lead to an asbestos-related disease that was to claim the life of Mr Walker (64) of Meadow View, Haxton, Netheravon years later.
An inquest at Salisbury heard that at the time, in the 1950s and 60s, the dangers of asbestos were not recognised.
Wiltshire coroner David Masters heard from a fellow apprentice at the same shipyard in County Durham that laggers would mix dry asbestos and spray it on boilers.
He was told that dust was blown about and the men took their breaks among it.
Mr Walker later moved to the Salisbury area where he worked for the Ministry of Defence and was not exposed to asbestos.
He died from malignant mesotheleoma, described by the coroner as "a pernicious disease, so sadly incurable".
The coroner recorded a verdict of death by an industrial disease.
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