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Pioneer who linked dust to cancer dies
by peter lazenby
A SCIENTIST who exposed the link between lung cancer and asbestos has died at 92.
His research in the 1950s played a part in a ground-breaking Leeds court case in the 1990s which won compensation for victims who contracted lung cancer through the activities of a Leeds factory.
Impact
Professor Sir Richard Doll was better known for his research linking lung cancer and heart disease with smoking. But the impact of his asbestos research is still being felt.
He was involved in exposing the effects of the activities of asbestos manufacturer Turner and Newall, whose factory at Armley, Leeds, was at the centre of a tragedy which is still claiming lives today.
Richard Doll was a rebel, both in terms of the pioneering research which brought him into conflict with powerful interests, and of his socialist beliefs.
In the 1950s his research into the effects of tobacco identified smoking as “a major cause of lung cancer.”
In the half-century since, tobacco companies have resisted and even denied the link, but Prof Doll’s work is recognised as contributing to decisions by millions to give up the habit – and to drastic decreases in the numbers of people starting to smoke.
In 1954, 80 per cent of people in Britain smoked. Last year the figure was 26 per cent.
Similarly, his research into the carcinogenic effects of asbestos had an international impact. In 1955 he investigated the effects of asbestos on workers at Turner and Newall’s factory in Rochdale. The company tried to supress his research. At that time its Armley factory was also spewing out asbestos dust.
Asbestos causes mesothelioma, a cancer of the lining of the lung for which there is no treatment, let alone a cure.
Among its Leeds victims was June Hancock, whose mother also died of the disease. Mrs Hancock challenged Turner and Newall in the courts. Her battle for compensation dragged on for almost three years.
But she lived long enough to win her case and set a precedent for hundreds of other victims and their families. She died some months later.
Risks
Mrs Hancock’s solicitor, Adrian Budgen, said: “I had contact with Professor Doll. We uncovered correspondence passing between him and the company...and I spoke to him about it. It all added to the picture of Turner and Newall’s ‘guilty knowledge’.”
Labour MP John Battle, whose Leeds West constituency includes Armley, and who took the Hancock case to Parliament, called Prof Doll “a pioneer for taking asbestos seriously.”
He added: “I went to him during the Armley campaign. He took great personal risks to establish the dangers of asbestos in the face of massive industrial and corporate resistance.”
peter.lazenby@ypn.co.uk
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