A NUMBER of officers who served in a car ferry chartered by the B & I Line six years ago are claiming they were exposed to quantities of brown asbestos dust, the High Court was told yesterday.
Mr Justice Johnson began hearing an action against the company by Mr Sean O'Byrne (44), Aranleigh Road, Rathfarnham, Dublin. He has since left the company and is an officer in a Dublin Corporation sludge vessel.
He served in the German built Norrona, which was chartered to the company for some months in 1989/90. It is claimed the plaintiffs were exposed to asbestos dust while brown asbestos was being removed from the vessel.
Mr O'Byrne claims he was exposed to a risk of injury of which the company knew or ought reasonably to have known. It is also claimed the company failed to seal off the area in question while asbestos was being removed. The claims are denied.
Mr Alan Mahon SC, for Mr O'Byrne, said that in February 1990, men came on board and began removing asbestos from various parts of the ship. Materials removed were deposited in an open skip at the entry to the car deck.
The work was done over a week to 10 days. The skips were removed from the ship at Pembroke, Wales. Mr O'Byrne and his colleagues were alarmed because the men removing the material were dressed in protective clothing.
The amount of exposure was considerable, even though it was over a matter of a few days. The exposure was continuous over a number of hours.
In evidence, Mr O'Byrne said when he joined the Norrona at Rosslare in 1989 he noticed a lot of panelling was cracked. He was aware most ships built at the same time as the Norrona could have had asbestos material. At the end of October, they were told the material had been checked and was an asbestos substitute.
In February, while storm damage was being repaired, he saw workers wearing protective clothing removing tons of material. Work was being carried out on a 24 hour basis while the ship was in service. There was dust everywhere. There was dust lying on the deck. It was on their clothing and hair and they had to brush it off. A piece of the material was analysed and it was confirmed to be brown asbestos.
Mr O'Byrne said he was devastated. He went to his GP and later a specialist. He was referred to Prof John Prichard - who died a few days ago and had at least four x rays and a catscan. Results to date showed nothing of concern and he was told his lungs were clear. He had great anxiety for the future and what happened caused him many sleepless nights. His wife had died of cancer two years ago.
Under cross examination, Mr O'Byrne said that if the roster said he was on duty two days during that period, he accepted it. Prof Prichard had said he was in excellent health and had suffered no immediate effects.
The hearing is continuing.