How in the world did he get exposed to Asbestos?
On one of his freighting sorties to Sleepy Eye with Charles.
Everyone on the planet has had sufficient exposure to asbestos to be a potential victim of mestothelioma. If you are over 50, then the odds are that you were exposed to much larger doses in your youth than people are today. When I was growing up, Asbestos was in everything that was fireproof such as theater curtains, toasters, hair dryers, welding blankets, ceiling tiles, cement, floor tiles, drywall, pipes, pipe fittings, etc.
Merlin was 69 years old. He grew up with a generation of people who had regular exposure to asbestos in their own homes, their schools, their buildings, their work, their kitchens. It only takes a couple of fibers of asbestos in your lungs to trigger the development of mesothelioma. Everyone is a potential victim. Even you.
Asbestos is not the sole cause of Mesothelioma. My 13-month-old cousin died from it years ago. No asbestos anywhere in his little world, and none where Mom and Dad worked.