- WASHINGTON (Reuters) -- Ten-thousand
Americans die each year from asbestos-related diseases and the number appears
to be increasing in a growing public health crisis, a report by an environmental
research group said on Thursday.
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- The analysis by the Washington-based Environmental Working
Group projects that more than 100,000 people in the United States will
die of four asbestos-related diseases -- mesothelioma, asbestosis, lung
cancer and gastrointestinal cancer -- over the next 10 years.
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- The EWG report called for an immediate ban on asbestos,
federal asbestos health screening and a "fair measure of assistance"
for victims of asbestos exposure.
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- Republican Sen. Orrin Hatch of Utah called on Wednesday
for a two- or three-day marathon session later this month to finish legislation
that would replace asbestos lawsuits with a victims' fund supported by
asbestos companies and insurers.
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- But report author Richard Wiles criticized the U.S. Senate
proposal as "grossly insufficient."
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- "This is not an issue of bankruptcy (for asbestos
firms). This is a public health issue," Wiles said.
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- The nonprofit research organization said it based its
analysis on 25 years worth of U.S. government data on asbestos mortality
and examined the toll from just two causes of asbestos deaths -- mesothelioma
and asbestosis.
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- The report said that while most of the deaths were among
workers who were exposed to the fire-proofing mineral decades ago, more
than 1 million people are currently exposed to asbestos on the job and
millions more are exposed to asbestos in the environment.
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- Asbestos was widely used for fireproofing and insulation
until the 1970s. Scientists have concluded that inhaled asbestos fibers
are linked to cancer and other diseases.
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- "We're at the beginning of a tidal wave of asbestos
diseases and mortality that needs to be brought to the attention of the
public, federal policymakers and health officials," Wiles said in
an interview.
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- A bill sponsored by Hatch to create an asbestos victims
fund was passed last summer by the Senate Judiciary Committee he chairs
but was not voted on by the full Senate. "We need to stop the talking
and start voting," Hatch said.
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- Senate Republican leader Bill Frist said last week he
intended to bring asbestos legislation to a vote by the end of March or
the first week of April.
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- Asbestos companies and insurers proposed a $114 billion
fund to pay victims' claims in talks last year. Labor representatives said
the sum was too low.
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- Dr. Richard Lemen, an occupational and environmental
health consultant and former assistant U.S. Surgeon General, said public
health agencies need to work to dispel the misconception that the fibrous
mineral is no longer a threat.
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- "Asbestos is still with us. We have reduced exposure
and that's a step in the right direction," Lemen said. "We haven't
had an educational campaign and public health campaign to educate people
that it still exists."
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