Critics Say Proposed Wisconsin Bill Would Unnecessarily Hold Up Asbestos Lawsuits

Madison, Wisconsin - Opponents of a proposed Wisconsin bill say that if the legislation passes, lawsuits for asbestos and other injury victims could be drawn out until the victim dies, a situation that angers many in a state where diseases like asbestos-caused mesothelioma are still on the rise.
According to an article in the Capital Times of Madison, Wisconsin, the proposed bill, introduced by State Rep. Andre Jacque, R-DePere, will supposedly prevent attorneys from “double-dipping” on jury awards. Trial lawyers say, however, that it’s just a way to delay cases, possibly for years.
“It basically addresses the fact that you have trial attorneys, plaintiffs’ counsel, that in zealously advocating for their clients are trying to seek additional awards beyond what fair compensation might be, as a result, in some cases depleting trust funds that should be available to compensate other victims,” said Jacque in a statement to the press.

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Canadians Say British Columbia Often Ignores Asbestos Safety

Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada - Proponents of a ban on asbestos, as well as individuals simply concerned about public safety, say that British Columbia’s Work-SafeBC isn’t being tough enough on repeat offenders who are consistently charged with violations of asbestos handling laws.
An article in the Vancouver Sun points out that in the last three years, the agency has issued nearly 2,500 orders against construction companies that violate regulations that are put in place to protect their employees (and others) from asbestos exposure. Data shows that 59 penalties and nearly a half-million dollars in fines were imposed on the law-breakers, yet repeat offenses continue. That’s because, many say, the province – beyond warnings and fines - just isn’t tough enough on those who break the rules.

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South Australian Town a Lingering Asbestos Wasteland

Terowie, Australia - A small town in South Australia says they’ve been an asbestos wasteland for long enough and are appealing to the government to remove the debris they say is having a negative effect on the health of everyone who lives there.
A story aired by the Australian Broadcast Company outlines the plight of the town of Terowie, where there sits a legal asbestos dump that’s been festering for decades, say residents. The site is owned by the South Australian government, they note, but there’s no fence around it and not even any warning signs.
Unfortunately, a playground and school sit downwind from the dump, and residents say particles from friable asbestos in the dump often blow in the direction of where children are playing.
One resident, who’s lived in Terowie for 2 years, describes the mess.
“I walked down to the southern rail yards and saw just the massive asbestos down there,” said Dave Perron. “It blew me away that it had been there for so long and nobody had bothered to clean it up. The ground is just covered with broken up fragments of asbestos. It extends for well over 200 meters from the bottom of the southern platform to up at the cemetery.”
Locals say that Terowie wasn’t always a “forgotten town”. It was once a thriving railway stop, they explain, and served as a staging area for Allied Forces during World War II. It was visited by Douglas MacArthur, they state, proudly.
But when the train station was closed and then demolished in the early 1970s and the asbestos wreckage left behind, the town’s popularity waned and no one ever bothered to come back and remove the debris. Asbestos roof shingles and sheeting and other small pieces of the material remain at the dumpsite and can be found along a popular walking trail, says Perron.
“I have young grandchildren who want to come over here and explore the buildings, the old train station and the old train line,” he said. “To do that they have to walk on this asbestos. I won't allow them here because I don't want my grandchildren in 30 years time to be diagnosed with mesothelioma.”
Some individuals who’ve lived in the town for years are already suffering from asbestosis and other respiratory problems. Those people have vowed to fight until the South Australian government commences a clean-up project. So far, they’ve made little progress.

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U Penn Scientists Say They've Created an "Immunity Passport" for Cancer Treatment

Philadelphia, Pennsylvania - This weekend, scientists at the University of Pennsylvania announced that they’ve made what they believe could be a huge breakthrough in cancer treatment and screening with the creation of an “immunity passport” that allows the body to accept foreign objects normally used for imaging or during treatment.
According to a story aired by CBS News Philadelphia, the researchers created the “passport” to get past the immune cells in the body that work naturally to remove objects that don’t belong there. University of Pennsylvania Chemical bimolecular professor Dennis Discher, one of the individuals involved in the research, referred to the passport as a way “to get past the immune cells that act like customs officers, border immigration that sort of want to remove things that are foreign from things in the body.”

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Apartment Dwellers Fear Fall-Out from Removal of Asbestos Materials

Yarmouth, Massachusetts - A group of tenants who rent units at an affordable housing complex in Yarmouth, Massachusetts were surprised and upset when they received letters last month stating that the vinyl flooring in their kitchens and bathrooms would be replaced shortly and that they could expect “debris”. That’s because many of the tenants feared what was underneath the flooring – asbestos.
According to an article in The Register, tenant Beth Harris, who lives in the Swan Pond Village Apartments, was aware that there was asbestos underneath the vinyl tiles and questioned the need to replace the floors, which Harris says are in perfectly good condition. Other tenants who received the same letter, Harris says, were totally unaware of the presence of asbestos. Those others, she notes, include disabled persons and small children.

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World Health Organization Denies Influence of Russian Asbestos Industry

The International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC), the research arm of the World Health Organization (WHO), is denying allegations by the Lancet medical journal that they have come under the influence of the Russian asbestos industry.
In a February 2 article in the prestigious peer-reviewed journal, the writer questioned whether the IARC has fallen prey to “corporate capture” by the asbestos industry in Russia, even though WHO has been behind a consistent push to end the use of the material worldwide. The article goes on to suggest that the agency might be behind the campaign to keep chrysotile – “white” – asbestos off a list of hazardous substances. The IARC denies the allegations.
In a statement to the Toronto Star, representatives from both agencies called the Lancet article “erroneous.”
“The Lancet report is poorly researched and contains a number of false allegations and unfounded inferences,” the statement said. “The Agency has extensive experience of conducting important research whilst protecting itself from undue influence from a variety of stakeholders with vested interests.”
In the past, Canada has been at the forefront of the campaign to protect the export of chrysotile, primarily because it was once the top exporter of this particular type of asbestos. Now it seems Russia has replaced Canada in that role.
Currently, chrysotile asbestos is the only form of the mineral that’s not included on the UN Rotterdam Convention, a list of controlled hazardous substances. The issue of the inclusion of white asbestos is about to arise again in April, when member states meet to address the list. The decision to include any material on the list must be unanimous and, thus far, Canada has been the dissenting vote. But the asbestos industry in Canada is now defunct, leaving Russia as the world’s largest export of the material. So, it’s natural for that country to assume the position once put forth by Canada, explains the authors.
The continuous blocking of chrysotile from the hazardous substance list has angered many, including some Canadians. “Russia is the world’s leading exporter of asbestos by far and it is the centre of propaganda and corrupt science on asbestos,” said Kathleen Ruff, a senior human rights adviser at the Rideau Institute in Ottawa who was quoted in the Lancet article, expressing her concerns about the issue.
The article notes that concerns about the IARC’s collusion with the Russian asbestos industry were first raised in November, when the agency accepted an invitation to attend a conference in Kiev, Ukraine.
Asbestos is a known carcinogen and researchers have stated that all types of the mineral, including chrysotile, are dangerous and can cause mesothelioma and other serious diseases.

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