A FORMER nuclear power station worker died 21 years after his retirement from a cancer caused by asbestos, an inquest heard.

Donald Pooley worked as a scientific officer in the laboratories at Berkeley Nuclear Power Station but also travelled to other similar power stations around the country.

Gloucestershire Deputy Coroner David Dooley was told Mr Pooley had worked for the Central Electricity Generating Board (CEGB) from 1968 until he retired in 1990.

Mr Pooley, 80, of Tabernacle Road, Wotton-under-Edge, died on July 5, 2011, at his home.

His GP Dr Richard Probert told the hearing at the Seasons conference centre in Cheltenham that Mr Pooley had been mainly well until he started suffering from shortness of breath in November 2008.

He was sent for tests and it was found that he was suffering from mesothelioma - a type of lung cancer always associated with breathing in asbestos dust.

A report prepared by Dr Robin Rudd, an expert in the field, said Mr Pooley had not been exposed to asbestos until 1968 when he started working for the CEGB at Berkeley.

"As part of his work, he installed and removed asbestos blankets from around a test rig which produced a a good deal of dust every time," he said.

"And when permanent asbestos insulation was damaged or had to be removed, it was cut away causing a great deal of dust, and left lying on the floor until it was swept up, which caused more dust.

"There was no protection equipment available at the time because the risks of asbestos were not recognised."

A post mortem examination carried out by Dr Preti Joshi found a tumour at the base of the right lung and the cancer had spread to Mr Pooley's intestine.

Microscopic tests found only a moderate level of asbestos fibres in his lungs but this was still within the levels which were known to cause mesothelioma.

Summing up, Mr Dooley said: "It is clear from his employment history that he did come into contact with asbestos while working for the CEGB at Berkeley Nuclear Power Station and at other sites.

"Mesothelioma is almost always associated with asbestos and I can be satisfied that he came into contact with it at work."

He recorded a verdict of death from an industrial disease.