An Australian woman, who wishes to remain unnamed, has been diagnosed with malignant mesothelioma after exposure to asbestos in a state pre-school facility. This lady was employed as a pre-school teacher’s aid during in the 1980’s at Shailer Park State Pre-school in Queensland. Although the facility was in fine working order in the early eighties, class sizes doubled rapidly, necessitating expansions to be made to the school. It was during this construction that asbestos was exposed to those present in the school.

Asbestos is the cause of several serious health conditions. Lung cancer, asbestosis and mesothelioma can all develop from the fibers of asbestos. Mesothelioma is a rare cancer with no known cures. Mesothelioma treatment ranges from aggressive surgery, radiation therapies and chemotherapy to palliative care which focuses on pain management and quality of life for the patient.

Like most other mesothelioma cases, the Australian woman’s mesothelioma case has been diagnosed as terminal. Although her exposure to asbestos was decades ago, this cancer has a long latency period, often between twenty and fifty years. Many patients have no idea they were ever exposed to asbestos until they are diagnosed with mesothelioma and have a reason to begin looking into their pasts to find possibilities of exposure.

Trent Johnson, associate at Maurice Blackburn Lawyers, said, “Education facilities in Shailer Park were at a premium in the early 1980s and just a year after the original preschool was built, it needed to double its size to meet demand. Normal classes were conducted while the preschool extensions were under construction and everyone who was at the site during the building works in early to mid-1983 would have been exposed to the asbestos dust.”

Although a worker’s comp claim was filed, Johnson encouraged anyone associated with Shailer Park Pre-school during the time of construction to register with the firm in the event of a class action lawsuit. Evidence collected through the firm’s database would make it easier to file claims in future.

Many people may have been exposed to asbestos at the pre-school, but the woman recently diagnosed with mesothelioma is showing the ill effects. She was awaiting the outcome of the worker’s comp case before decide whether to file against Queensland’s government for compensation to cover personal past and future damages.

Johnson said, “Not everyone who’s exposed to asbestos will come down with an illness … but if we had a large number of people suffering from asbestos-related illnesses, anything is possible.”

(Mesothelioma Watch, 22/12/2010)