Published Thursday, 09 February 2012
Arthur Rafferty was one of thousands of men taking bags of the deadly material off ships and onto the shore.
"No-one ever told us about the dangers of this, we never got as much as a paper mask," he told UTV.
"It was a dangerous job, we reported that to our union a couple of times about the dangers of it and the dust, but our union did absolutely nothing about it."
At Belfast's Mater Hospital in 2002, Mr Rafferty was diagnosed with asbestosis, a lung disease which can result in cancer. His doctor told him there was nothing that could be done.
"That in itself knocked me out because I was a professional boxer," he explained, "I never drank, I never smoked, I always kept myself fit."
Following the diagnosis, Mr Rafferty decided to sue his former employers. However, five years later, doctors told Mr Rafferty that he did not have asbestosis, but would one day develop the disease.
A judge then explained to him that a compensation case against his employers could not be pursued.
As he had been treated for asbestosis for five years, Mr Rafferty decided to visit a specialist in Liverppol to seek a second opinion on his medical situation.
"He point blankly said yes you do have asbestosis and you do have bronchitis.
"Yet these radiologists here in Belfast, three of them one from the Mater, one from the City and one from the Royal, couldn't find anything," said Mr Rafferty.
The final diagnosis meant Mr Rafferty could once again begin his legal fight. On Thursday he received an undisclosed sum of money from his former employers, on winning his case.
"Even two barristers in the court that had been following my case and I don't know them from Adam, they came up to me and shook my hand. He said that was a David and a Goliath," Mr Rafferty explained.
But the legal action is not over yet, as Mr Rafferty plans to take a case against doctors in the Belfast Trust whom he alleges are responsible for his misdiagnoses.