WE NEED TO HAVE SOME NUCLEAR ANSWERS
12 January 2004

Plymouth coroner Nigel Meadows has launched an investigation into whether radiation leaks at Devonport Dockyard could have led to the cancer death of a 53-year-old city man.

Mr Meadows fears there could be a connection between the man's death and his more than 20 years working alongside nuclear submarines.

He has asked the MoD to reveal all details of nuclear incidents at the yard, and is calling for former dockyard workers to come forward if they fear they may have been made ill through working with radiation or if they have any information about potential radiation accidents.

Mr Meadows is writing to the Ministry of Defence, and defence minister Adam Ingram to see if a link can be established between the nuclear activity at the dockyard and cancer.

The launch of the probe comes as Mr Meadows opened an inquest into the death of dockyard worker Graham Kennington, who died of multiple myeloma, a form of bone marrow cancer, last month.

Mr Kennington's children, Rob and Tracey, believe the cause of their father's death was radiation he may have been exposed to during the 21 years he was employed in the dockyard.

They are now planning to continue with legal action their father started against the MoD, and say they want answers about his death on December 16.

Tracey Kennington, aged 30, who lives in Dudley Road, Plympton, said she and her brother Rob, aged 22, want to know if the MoD is liable for their father's death and if something can be done to prevent other dockyard workers dying from cancer.

They say that although Mr Kennington worked in South Yard, away from any nuclear activity, he must have been exposed to radiation, which led to him being diagnosed with multiple myeloma at the end of 1997.

They believe other people who worked in the dockyard may have similar illnesses and are now backing Mr Meadows' bid to establish the truth.

Tracey said: "We want other people to come forward and help. It is in the public interest, and if it is happening in the dockyard, they need to do something about it."

Mr Meadows opened and adjourned the inquest into Mr Kennington's death on December 31, and says he will not be in a position to resume the inquest 'for some months' until he has gathered enough evidence, including the information from the MoD. He said: "I will be writing to the Ministry of Defence requesting a copy of Mr Kennington's work history together with any reported incidents of potential exposure to determine whether or not there is any causal connection between his employment and the development of the disease . . . He may have some colleagues that worked with him who may potentially be suffering from cancers but whether or not that is are simply coincidental and isolated is a matter that I'm trying to establish. I will be expecting co-operation from the MoD and I have absolutely no reason to believe that it will not be provided."

Mr Meadows said there was no proof yet that there was a link between exposure to radiation in the dockyard and cancer, but he felt it was an issue that had to be investigated, and he said on the 'balance of probabilities' there was a 'potential' connection.

He is now hoping other former dockyard workers who have developed cancer would come forward, as well as those workers who have any knowledge of nuclear leaks or accidents. He said: "I cannot say at this stage that there is any connection but it has to be investigated and I would encourage any member of the public who has relevant knowledge or information to contact my office. . . There might be other people who have suffered problems that we're not aware of." He added: "If there is any evidence that exposure could have been caused and we have one or more people develop a condition, that substantially supports the theory that there might be a connection between the exposure and disease. . .If there were potential exposure incidents and we have someone who develops the disease it obviously supports, on balance of probability, a potential connection. . . The thrust of it is he has died of this cancer and he had this occupation. I have no evidence at the moment that it's related but it could be."

Mr Meadows said if the MoD admitted nuclear accidents had taken place at the dockyard, the records would be made public at Mr Kennington's inquest, and that as coroner he believes they should not remain secret because of national security.

Those people who may have information which could help Mr Meadows in his investigation, should write to him at 3, The Crescent, Plymouth, PL1 3AB.

Mr Kennington, who lived in Plymouth all his life, joined the dockyard in March 1974 and worked as a fitter and turner in the nuclear submarines weapons workshops in South Yard until taking voluntary redundancy in December 1994.

He then worked in the dockyard for subcontractor DML Manpower Services from February 1995 to October of the same year, before leaving the job and joining JCE Europe in Lee Mill in 1996.

In October 1997, Mr Kennington left the job due to sickness, and on New Year's Eve that year had an operation at Derriford Hospital to remove a tumour at the top of his spine.

It was while having tests for the tumour, that he was diagnosed with multiple myeloma.

Mr Kennington, who lived in Wythburn Gardens, Estover for 22 years, spent six weeks in Derriford Hospital last year, as well as a further four weeks in the Rowans Unit, and then spent the last four days of his life in St Luke's Hospice.

Today Tracey and Rob today paid tribute to their 'brilliant' Dad, on the day they say goodbye to him at his funeral.

Tracey, said: "He was a real family man. He was the type of person that did anything for his friends, and he was quite a quiet man; he didn't like fuss. He was a brilliant Dad. . . He never complained about any of it. With all the treatment he went through, he went through hell, but he never complained. He coped really well."

Rob, an electrician, added: "No matter what, he was always smiling even with all the cancer. He just carried on. He had a good sense of humour."

For Tracey and Rob, Mr Kennington's death was the latest in a long line of traumas the siblings suffered last year. In May, Mr Kennington's wife, Sandra, who he had been married to for 32 years, died, after losing her battle with ovarian cancer. And as well as losing their mum, Tracey and Rob also lost two of their grandparents in a matter of months. They firmly believe exposure to radiation caused Mr Kennington's multiple myeloma, and said their father was always keen to stay away from any sort of nuclear activity in the dockyard, as he 'didn't trust it'.

Rob, who lives in Wythburn Gardens, said: "We weren't aware that he was exposed to any risk. He always steered clear of the nuclear parts."

Tracey added: "All the literature to do with multiple myeloma says the main cause of it is radiation exposure. I cannot see anywhere else he would have got it from. We believe that was the cause."

Now Tracey and Rob are determined to get answers from the MoD about Mr Kennington's death and try to prevent the same thing happening to others.

They say Mr Kennington believed there was a link between radiation exposure and the cancer, and had sought legal advice a few years ago.

His children now want to continue campaigning to get justice for their father and are planning to sue the MoD.

Rob said: "Something has got to be done. The way it is going at the moment, it will kill off half the population. . . . They need proper control measures. We want the MoD to admit that there is a link between radiation and cancer, and then do something about it. DML need to put other precautions in place and make their workers more aware of the risks."

Rob also feels the controversial proposals to dismantle decommissioned nuclear submarines in the city will increase the danger to workers. He added: "It will put more and more people at risk. We have got a nuclear site right on the edge of our city and people need to wise up about the risks."

Tracey said: "I wouldn't care if we didn't get any money but to see what Dad went through was awful. I'm not trying to scare people but how many people that he worked with could have it? .. It would be terrible to think that if he was a bus driver or worked in a supermarket, he would still be here. 53 is no age and we're not that old ourselves to lose both parents."

Tracey and Rob are now trying to get in touch with Mr Kennington's colleagues to see if any of them have developed cancer after working in the dockyard.

Tracey said: "I just want justice for Dad. You don't expect to die from something just by going to work and we honestly believe he got it from there." Original Article

REPLIES TO INQUEST BID
by I-CHENG CHAN
19 January 2004

Plymouth coroner Nigel Meadows has received 10 letters in response to an investigation into whether radiation played a part in the death of a 53-year-old Devonport Dockyard worker. Mr Meadows launched the probe last week following the death of former dockyard worker Graham Kennington, who died of multiple myeloma, a form of bone marrow cancer, on December 16. Mr Kennington, from Estover, was diagnosed with the disease at the end of 1997.

The father-of-two had been employed at the dockyard for more than 20 years after joining in March 1974 and working as a fitter and turner in South Yard, an area in which no work on, or storage of, nuclear materials takes place.

Mr Meadows opened and adjourned the inquest into Mr Kennington's death on December 31 and said he would not be in a position to resume the inquest 'for some months' until he had gathered enough evidence, including information from the Ministry of Defence.

The coroner has written to the Ministry of Defence and DML to see whether or not there is a link between nuclear activity at the dockyard and cancer.

The letters he has received from members of the public offering information relevant to the investigation followed an appeal to former dockyard workers to come forward if they feared they may have been ill through working with or near radiation.

Today Mr Meadows stressed there was no proof yet that Mr Kennington had any exposure to radiation or that radiation played any part in his developing cancer.

He said: "My inquiries will endeavour to establish whether or not there were any potential incidents of exposure as well as whether or not the deceased could have been exposed to radiation in order to establish on the balance of probabilities whether there was any causal link or connection between any such incident of exposure (if it did occur) and the death."

The MoD and DML have both said they will assist the coroner with his investigations. Both stressed safety was paramount in nuclear activities within the dockyard and that these were rigorously inspected and monitored by government agencies.

Anyone with information that may assist Mr Meadows is asked to write to him at 3, The Crescent, Plymouth, PL1 3AB