Lyniece Bolitho had an idyllic childhood growing up in Wittenoom at the foot of the Hamersley Ranges in Western Australia.

Until the men in her family started dying.

"My father died when I was 14 and it pretty much hit home then what was going on," Ms Bolitho said.

Lyniece Bolitho has lost several family members and friends to mesothelioma and asbestosis ( ABC: Mark Bennett )

"We all knew it was from asbestos, then I started losing uncles and then my grandads."

Ms Bolitho, who now lives in Albany on WA's south coast, said her family left the asbestos mining town after news broke that the blue asbestos that was the town's life blood, was causing lethal lung disease in the men who mined it.

This weekend she joined about 200 other Wittenoom survivors and supporters for the unveiling of a plaque to honour the 4,000 West Australians who have died from asbestos-related diseases.

"I consider myself to be one of the lucky ones," Ms Bolitho said.

"I have pleural plaques, if you have any length of time exposed to asbestos you will have pleural plaques.

"I cannot go on long walks without having lots of puffing."

She said she could not get life insurance and if she was to take a compensation payout she would not be entitled to any more money if she later developed a terminal disease such as mesothelioma.

Memorial unveiled

The memorial was organised by the Asbestos Diseases Society and Unions WA and the plaque is on a wall in Solidarity Park opposite Parliament House.

The plaque honours the 4,000 West Australians who have died of asbestos-related diseases. ( ABC News: Cecile O'Connor )

Asbestos Diseases Society of Australia chief operating officer Melita Markey said WA had the highest incidence of malignant mesothelioma cancer in the world.

Lyniece Bolitho joined other Wittenoom survivors at the memorial. ( ABC News: Cecile O'Connor )

"Sadly this impact is projected to continue long into the foreseeable future with so many asbestos products still in use in our homes and in our workplaces."

She said she hoped the memorial would become became a place of peace for families and also a lasting reminder of why workplaces needed to be independently monitored for safety.

Ron Leggett was the principal of the Wittenoom school after the mine closed.

He and his wife Joy have seen friends die from asbestos diseases as well as many of his former students.

Joy and Ron Leggett lived in Wittenoom after he was sent to teach there. ( ABC News: Cecile O'Connor )

"They had known about asbestos for 20 to 40 years before we were sent there — it's a shocking cover-up by a lot of people," Mrs Leggett said.

"There are so many Aboriginal people who lived around there and people would say they're malingering, they weren't malingering, they had asbestosis and died," she said.