The former secretary at a leading metropolitan hospital has warned that asbestos is a danger to all hospital workers across the country, not just construction and maintenance staff.

Russell Mills, who has worked in an office most of his life as an administrator at Sydney's Concord hospital, does not expect to live into next year because he has the asbestos cancer mesothelioma.

When his doctor told him he had the cancer, he was astonished.

"I was floored," he told 7.30.

"I had no idea that that could be a possibility for somebody who largely spent his time in offices doing managerial things."

But 7.30 has identified numerous hospital workers, including a speech pathologist, a radiographer and a microbiologist who have also developed the cancer from their exposure to asbestos in the hospitals where they worked.

Brisbane radiographer John van Drunen was a member of the kayaking team for the Netherlands in the Mexico Olympics in 1968, before emigrating to Australia.

A fit man, his only exposure to asbestos was from sorting the hospital X-rays, which were stored underground at the Princess Alexandra Hospital.

The files were kept in a windowless area called the "dungeon", according to his lawyer Sean Ryan.

"It was in that area that a lot of exposed pipes lagged with asbestos were located, often in a deteriorated state, and often he brushed up against those pipes," Mr Ryan said.

"And that's primarily where his asbestos exposure occurred."

Mr van Drunen died of mesothelioma five years ago.

In Adelaide, Joe Dennie sprayed a mix of asbestos fibres and glue onto building frames and ceilings for fire-proofing. Among the hospitals he worked on was the children's hospital.

Mr Dennie now has the asbestos cancer mesothelioma.

"It's airborne, and you are there, you breathe it in," he told 7.30.

"There's a good chance it will hook on and stay there."

Asbestos exposure in hospitals a worldwide trend

Peter Tighe, chief executive of the Federal Government's Asbestos Safety and Eradication Agency, said it is a trend for overseas hospital workers too.

"This is not unique to Australia. We've seen the same sort of instances in the UK with doctors and health professionals coming down with asbestos-related issues," he said.

Former administrator Russell Mills wants a national push to eradicate asbestos from hospitals. ( ABC: 7.30 )

"They are people who are radiologists, health workers, who are moving from one building to the next in the hospital's underground tunnels, where the hot water pipes have often been lagged with asbestos."

Mr Mills would like to see a concerted national push to eradicate asbestos from Australian hospitals and he has a message for anyone who thinks this is "just a scare campaign".

"They should come and spend a day in my life," Mr Mills said.

"The life of an administrator who thought he was just going to be doing managerial work in a hospital.

"Never dreamt that he was going to get asbestos. And then gets mesothelioma.

"Spend a day in my shoes and see whether or not it's just a big beat up. This is not beat up, it's a major issue."

Disclosure: Reporter Matt Peacock has been engaged to chair a conference in Melbourne next week sponsored by the Asbestos Safety and Eradication Agency.