Asbestos Campaign

Addressing workers’ health damage from asbestos In the first high court ruling on a damages suit filed by former construction workers over illnesses caused by exposure to asbestos, the Tokyo High Court last week ordered the government and four building material makers to pay compensation to 62 plaintiffs. In so doing, it overturned a lower…

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By Michael Bartlett, Oct 20, 2017 The chemical plant workers who were most likely to be exposed to airborne asbestos fibers were those in charge of maintaining and repairing equipment with asbestos insulation, as these operations would require cutting through thick layers of asbestos. – By Michael Bartlett

Canada has finally committed to move forward with an asbestos ban by 2018. BY EMILY WALSH, JUL 12 2017 In 2016, Canada finalized plans to fully ban the use and import of asbestos, putting into motion a rule to enact the ban by 2018. For decades, asbestos use has been known to cause devastating illnesses,…

by Matt Mauney, May 17, 2017 The fight to impose tough trade restrictions on chrysotile asbestos — a toxic mineral that causes mesothelioma cancer and other serious health conditions — will have to wait at least another two years.

by TOM GREENWELL, APRIL 13, 2017 More than 100,000 people die from asbestos-related disease each year, but the global asbestos industry continues to thrive. An African diplomatic initiative could be the first step in stopping it

By Robert Jimison, CNN, Mar 3, 2017 The CDC reports that mesothelioma deaths increased from 2,479 in 1999 to 2,597 in 2015 Mesothelioma can develop 20 to 50 years after exposure , expert says (CNN)Researchers at the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention are struggling to understand why younger populations continue to suffer asbestos-related…

Jacy Marmaduke, Feb 17, 2017 The Environmental Protection Agency is considering more restrictions on the use of asbestos, the cancer-causing fiber that’s more common in Fort Collins than you might expect.

by Alex Strauss, Feb 12, 2017 A new analysis of Baltimore shipyard workers in the 1950s and 1960s suggests that exposure to a range of toxic substances raised their risk for lung cancer, malignant mesothelioma, and early death.

10th of February 2017 The ETU has called on the Department of Transport and Main Roads to put a stop to all below ground work on traffic lights and street lights statewide until asbestos discovered in the network is located.

by Gary Cohn, Feb 9, 2017 https://www.mesothelioma.com/blog/authors/gary/asbestos-lies-and-videotape-corporate-spy-poses-as-filmmaker-to-dupe-anti-asbestos-advocates.htm It is an extraordinary story of corporate espionage, intrigue, and betrayal. For four years, a British man working for a prominent corporate intelligence firm infiltrated the global network of anti-asbestos advocates working to ban asbestos in the United States and around the world. By posing as a sympathetic…

by Marta RibeiroBY, Feb. 4, 2017 Although more than 50 countries across the globe have banned the use of asbestos, the U.S. and Canada still allow asbestos to be used when producing certain products—in particular, automobile parts, and construction and insulation products.

Reuters, Dec. 15, 2016 TORONTO – Canada has set a 2018 target to ban asbestos and products containing the fire-resistant material, which is linked to cancer and other illnesses, the government said on Thursday in a move that brings the country in line with much of the developed world.

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BY CLARK MINDOCK @CLARKMINDOCK, 11/29/16, http://www.ibtimes.com/asbestos-still-used-epa-review-10-chemicals-under-new-federal-analysis-toxic-2452422 Anyone who has seen a TV ad for law firms looking to represent asbestos-exposed victims likely knows there are some serious health risks associated with the substance. However, it may come as a surprise that asbestos can be legally used in many modern products. After years of limiting laws,…

Oct 23, 2016, http://www.aawl.org.au/content/new-zealand-latest-country-ban-asbestos At the start of this month, new legislation came into effect in New Zealand effectively banning the importation of asbestos into the country. This is a major victory for the trade union movement in New Zealand who have campaigned hard to ban this hazardous substance. Unfortunately, globally, around 2 million tons…

by Kelly Teed, 17 June 2016, http://www.newstalkzb.co.nz/news/health/asbestos-ban-a-long-time-coming/ The New Zealand Council of Trade Unions says the Government’s ban on most asbestos importation is better late than never.

A wide range of imported goods and materials used in the building industry has been found to contain asbestos, a Federal Senate Inquiry has been told.

You might think that the dangers of asbestos are a thing of the past – but if you live in a house built before 2000, you could be sharing a home with the deadly substance.

Could asbestos from aging water pipes put you and your family at risk for deadly malignant mesothelioma? As pipes containing asbestos break down over time and need repair, there is concern that improper handling could release the toxic fibers into the environment, posing a mesothelioma risk for workers and residents. It is even possible for…

The US Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) internal watchdog has found that the agency’s costly and time-consuming experiments on alternative asbestos control methods (AACM) lacked effective oversight and threatened human health. In a recent report, EPA’s Office of Inspector General (OIG) concluded that the agency didn’t conduct the research under a controlled process to ensure oversight.…

Many cases of a common lung disease that were assumed to be of no known cause are in fact the result of exposure to asbestos, UK scientists believe. Researchers from Imperial College London found a correlation between death rates in England and Wales from the known asbestos-related conditions asbestosis and mesothelioma and from “idiopathic pulmonary…

Whether asbestos found in soil poses a threat to humans depends on a variety of factors, including what type of asbestos it is and how much was found, according to experts and government officials.

The BWI together with IndustriAll Global Union at the International Asbestos Conference in Vienna, attended by representatives from Trade Unions from 41 countries, the International Trade Union Confederation, the International Union of Foodworkers, IUF, the International Labour Organisation, the International Association of Labour Inspection (IALI) and the International Ban Asbestos Secretariat (IBAS), issued the following…

How much do you know about asbestos? We would like to share some information during this special week of awareness. A few facts of interest Every year around three thousand people are diagnosed with mesothelioma, a deadly cancer caused by exposure to asbestos. On average, they are given ten months to live. Put it another…

It started, literally, with a billion-dollar question. The answer came with a scathing judge’s order saying attorneys from several national firms have “disappeared” evidence, misled courts and committed all sort of hijinks, setting the multi-billion-dollar asbestos litigation community aflutter.

Workers involved in the removal of asbestos run the risk of exposure to asbestos fibres. Asbestos is only a risk if there is the potential for people to be exposed to fibres of a specific geometry that may lodge within the lining of their lungs.