The case of a former Queensland science teacher who was diagnosed with cancer after working with equipment made from asbestos is not isolated, his lawyers say.
The 69-year-old, who has requested not to be named, taught in a Toowoomba school for over a decade in the 1970s and 80s.
A former science teacher has been diagnosed with mesothelioma. Photo: Jason South
He said he spent each day “inadvertently breathing in the ticking time bomb” because Bunsen burner safety mats, which were made from asbestos, were slowly disintegrating as they were moved around the classrooms.
He was diagnosed with mesothelioma in March this year.
“Prior to my diagnosis I was very fit and healthy,” the father of two and grandfather of four said.
“It came as a huge shock to me and my family to be told I had asbestos cancer after over 35 years as a teacher.”
