The dockyard was Joe D'Agostino's life. He was the first there and the last to leave until it cost him his life when he died of lung cancer at the age of 64 caused by carcinogenic asbestos fibres.

Sitting side by side, his wife Monica and daughter Marisa spoke about how they saw the man they loved lose weight and disappear before their very eyes in just six months.

"He was a big man, well built and very healthy. But, in 1994, he suddenly lost his appetite and lost a lot of weight. It was obvious that Joe was very sick," his wife said.

Mr D'Agostino was a boiler maker at the dockyards and was one of hundreds affected by asbestosis while working on different American ships at the yards.

The deadly substance is a mineral fibre that was used in different building construction materials for insulation and as a fire-retardant. The fibres are too small to be visible but if inhaled can remain and accumulate in the lungs.

The substance can cause lung cancer, mesothelioma, which is a cancer of the chest and abdominal linings, and asbestosis, irreversible lung scarring that can be fatal. Symptoms of these diseases do not show up until many years after exposure.

In Mr D'Agostino's case, in April 1994, he went to hospital for an X-ray and was told that he had a chest infection and needed an operation.

"They opened his chest and closed him up without touching anything. When he woke up after the operation, they told us that it was too late to do anything. He had cancer caused by asbestos," his daughter said.

He died six months later in hospital surrounded by his family.

His daughter refused to allow the doctors to carry out an autopsy. "He went through all that pain and suffering. They opened him up and closed him again. I wanted him to rest in peace."

The dockyard was his life, Mrs D'Agostino said.

"He started when he was 17 years and worked there for about 47 years. Even when he retired, he would still go to visit his colleagues. In fact, I used to ask him why he didn't take his bed there," she said.

Yesterday, she and her daughter had an opportunity to meet some of his former colleagues and their relatives at an information meeting called by the General Workers' Union for those with similar claims of asbestos-induced cancer.

The meeting, attended by about 45 people, provided the opportunity for them to clarify questions about their compensation claims against US companies that supplied the ships with the deadly material. They were addressed by American lawyer Mitchell Cohen.

Some families, including the D'Agostinos, might not be entitled to compensation because they failed to file the claim within a certain period of time after the death of their loved ones. But there is hope for others.

A young woman started sobbing and told Mr Cohen that her father had been diagnosed with chest and abdominal cancer just yesterday.

Another, accompanied by her daughter, broke down asking Mr Cohen what she could do about her deceased husband's claim. "It is not for the money but for the justice of it all," she said.

The lawyer, who is experienced in handling such claims, said he knew what she was going through because his father also suffered from asbestosis. "These companies don't care about people like you. All they care about is making money," he said.

Almost all American asbestos companies filed for bankruptcy because it was cheaper to do so rather than pay compensation claims, he explained. However, the relatives could still be entitled to compensation.

In 1998, the D'Agostino family tried to file a claim with a UK law firm. However, they could not afford to pay the legal fees and so dropped the case.

"Even though we can't do anything, we want people to know the truth and it's important to raise awareness about the situation. We don't want the money. It will not give me my husband back or my children their father but, at least, we get what is due," she said.