The Asbestos Disaster - Who Is To Blame - Answering Service Resources

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The Asbestos Disaster - Who Is To Blame

The Asbestos Disaster - Who Is To Blame

The ancient Greeks, Romans and Egyptians were all aware of the health dangers of asbestos. It seems strange that the asbestos industry in many parts of the world chose to ignore the risks.

Even if the ancient wisdom had been lost, insurance companies were refusing to insure asbestos workers, or charging higher premiums for them by the 1920's. 50 Years later some companies in the asbestos industry were still doing nothing to protect their workers.

To be fair, the workers themselves had the same access to information as the companies, so must also take responsibility for their actions in deciding to work in a dangerous industry. In many respects that decision was similar to the decision that many people still take on a daily basis today - to smoke a cigarette. The apparent benefit of taking home a pay check overrode the distant possibility of death for those workers and their families, just as the immediate pleasure of a cigarette does for smokers today.

Having said that I believe that the employers have a duty to ensure that their workers are in as safe an environment as possible, and that they are aware of the risks, so that if they decide to work there, they are making an informed decision. Clearly this did not always happen, and as a result the industry is going through a series of lawsuits, where people who have become ill are suing for compensation. Many companies around the world have already gone bankrupt as a result of this, and the process appears to be continuing. In the US there is legislation proposed to pay compensation from a central fund, but this proposal seems unlikely to succeed because of the level of agreement that will be required on how the money in the fund will be collected.

Both workers and employers in all types of business would do well to reflect on this sorry saga where no-one with the possible exception of a few lawyers, will ever feel that their decision to either work in, or employ people in a dangerous environment, was justified.

The asbestos site makes it easy to find the information you need if you think you may have been exposed to asbestos. To receive your free 35 page support guide visit the asbestos cancer website.

In The News:

Mesothelioma & Asbestos Awareness Center Commend Massachusetts ...
TransWorldNews (press release), GA - Jul 3, 2008
Asbestos has been definitively linked to the development of mesothelioma, a deadly lung cancer that affects the pleural lining of the lungs and has a ...

Why are our schools full of deadly asbestos and why isn't anything ...
Daily Mail, UK - Jun 30, 2008
This is a highly aggressive cancer of the lung lining caused by exposure to asbestos. Mesothelioma is not the same as cancer of the lung; this can also be ...

New clinical trial for patients with asbestos-associated lung cancer
EurekAlert (press release), DC - Jun 26, 2008
From 1940 through 1979, approximately 28 million US workers were exposed to asbestos at work. An estimated 3000 people died of mesothelioma in the late ...
Treatment for asbestos-caused mesothelioma United Press International
Mesothelioma & Asbestos Awareness Center Acknowledges New TransWorldNews (press release)
all 11 news articles

Man died from asbestos exposure
Gloucestershire Gazette, UK - Jul 3, 2008
By By Court Reporter A MAN died from a lung cancer caused by asbestos exposure when he worked for a power company, an inquest has been told. ...

Archive for the ‘Mesothelioma’ Category
Asbestos.com, Florida - Jul 1, 2008
Caregiving arrangements often involve the adult children of those affected, as asbestos-related illnesses, including mesothelioma, can have a latency period ...

Asbestos.com offers free Assistance to Military Veterans
Asbestos.com, Florida - Jul 2, 2008
This exposure has lead to pleural mesothelioma with many veterans, which occurs in the lining of the lungs (a form of lung cancer) and is one of the ...

NW Evening Mail
Asbestos: A killer in the midst
NW Evening Mail, UK - Jun 26, 2008
One in four victims of the fatal asbestos-related cancer mesothelioma is now somebody from the construction trade. “In Barrow we see usually around 15 cases ...
‘What I want to know is, when are they going to get a cure?’ NW Evening Mail
all 4 news articles

The Mesothelioma And Asbestos Awareness Center Hails Supreme
TransWorldNews (press release), GA - Jun 24, 2008
Asbestos exposure has been conclusively linked to the onset of mesothelioma, a deadly form of lung cancer that has a survival rate of less than 1%. ...

LIVENEWS.com.au
New research body targets cure for asbestos illnesses
ABC Online, Australia - Jun 10, 2008
The Asbestos Research Group based at Brisbane's Wesley Hospital will examine the progression of diseases like mesothelioma and the impact of reduced lung ...
Banton widow launches research group Sydney Morning Herald
all 15 news articles

MAN PLANNED TO SUE FIRM OVER ASBESTOS, INQUEST TOLD
Lincolnshire Echo, UK - Jun 25, 2008
Charles Knott (80) died at his home just a month after being diagnosed with mesothelioma, a lung condition brought on by exposure to asbestos. ...

lung mesothelioma asbestos - Google News

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