The widow of a welder from Dumbarton who died of asbestos-related cancer said she lost count of other victims she met who knew they were dying.
The claim came as figures show West Dunbartonshire has one of the worst disease rates in the UK.
Worrying new figures from the Health and Safety Executive show the region is second highest for men and fourth for women.
They also revealed a six percent national increase in mesothelioma deaths.
A total of 295 men died in West Dunbartonshire due to the cancer between 1981 and 2020.
The region has also seen 41 women lose their lives over the 40-year period, with the figures showing it is among the worst affected in the UK, behind Barrow-in-Furness with 411 deaths.
Mesothelioma is a form of cancer that takes many years to develop following the inhalation of asbestos fibres but is usually rapidly fatal following symptom onset.
One of the 295 men who died was Clydeside welder William Baird, from Dumbarton, who lost his life in September 1996 after developing the cancer.
His widow Joan continued to fight for justice for asbestos victims and her late husband as a dedicated campaigner for Clydebank Asbestos Group.
The organisation supports those who have developed illnesses as a result of workplace exposure to asbestos. Now 85, Joan has retired from the group but is still passionate about those affected by asbestos getting justice.
She said: “Asbestos issues are very close to my heart.
“The new report is not surprising because, in 1999, Clydebank and West Dunbartonshire was the European capital for asbestos-related diseases.
“The Clydebank Jubilee Hospital was built on the grounds of Turner Brothers’ Asbestos factory. You had a massive workforce breathing in asbestos. You have a very high number of cases in this area.
“I couldn’t count the number of men I have sat beside who knew they were dying.
“It tears the heart out of you. It was a purpose for me to help out how I could because I don’t like injustice.
“In today’s political field, you are seeing injustices all the time, and it gets my goat because we don’t know who is being honest today. Who can we trust?
“We are fighting for a very difficult world, but the fight for victims of asbestos will go on.”
Annual deaths in the UK increased steeply over the last 50 years, with many deaths attributed to past occupational asbestos exposures because of the widespread industrial use of the substance.
West Dunbartonshire MP Martin Docherty-Hughes said the figures are a reminder of the “painful legacy” of the impact of asbestos on shipbuilding communities in the West of Scotland.
Earlier this year, MPs called for a 40-year deadline to remove all remaining asbestos from public and commercial buildings within the UK.
He said: “Too many families in West Dunbartonshire and across Scotland have had to suffer.
“Asbestos may have been banned in the UK since 1999, but it continues to be the cause of thousands of deaths every year across the country.
“These latest figures are a reminder of the painful legacy of asbestos in shipbuilding communities like ours.
“Rates of mesothelioma in Clydebank and West Dunbartonshire are amongst the highest in the world and the leading cause of work-related death in Scotland.
“As Clydebank Asbestos Group (CAG) approaches its 30th anniversary, I’m grateful for the work they do to support local families affected by asbestos-related diseases.
“I’ll continue working with CAG and others in parliament to raise awareness of the dangers of asbestos.”
The report on ‘Mesothelioma Mortality in Great Britain’ reveals there were more than 2,500 deaths from asbestos-related illness in 2020 across the UK.
