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Mesothelioma Law Firm Asks...
Is the global asbestos trade taking any notice of the risks of mesothelioma?
According to a report from the World Health Organisation, 125 million people encounter white asbestos in the workplace and around 100,000 die from asbestos-related diseases each year. Perhaps the least well known, but the most lethal of these is mesothelioma.
Mesothelioma is a form of cancer that usually manifests itself on the lining of the lungs. Initial symptoms may include shortness of breath and pronounced weight loss, although the condition can take between 20 to 50 years to manifest. The prognosis for a sufferer with mesothelioma is very poor, although certain, aggressive therapies have recently been found to extend a sufferer’s life expectancy by a matter of just a few months.
The major risk factor attributed to the development of mesothelioma is from working with asbestos. The period of exposure can also be comparatively short. Cases have been documented in which the sufferers were only exposed for between one and three months. As a result of the indisputable link between white asbestos and mesothelioma, over 50 countries have either banned it or restricted its use. However, some countries, including Brazil, China, India and Russia, are still using it without standard regulations. Russia is the site of one of the largest asbestos mining operations in the world, producing around one million tonnes per year. While the USA has not banned its use, its use is strictly regulated and any products carrying less than 1% of asbestos are considered to be asbestos-free.
The ‘gestation period’ of mesothelioma is what makes it difficult to spot. Commercial asbestos mining organisations in Western Australia examined the correlation of workers and the cases of mesothelioma over a 20-year period. Although no deaths were reported from mesothelioma in the first ten years, 85 workers died 20 years after the mine had closed. Nine years later, 539 workers had died from mesothelioma.
A report by the BBC suggests that the worst is yet to come. The use of asbestos declined rapidly after the late 1970s. However, given that mesothelioma can remain dormant for up to 50 years, experts are predicting a sharp rise in the number of deaths from the condition as we approach the year 2020.
While the global asbestos trade seems willing to gamble with its workers lives, employers who use the toxic material may be in for a shock. Across the world, sufferers and their families are launching legal battles to claim compensation. In the UK alone, various groups have been set up to demand restitution, although they have faced legal wrangles at every turn. Most specifically, the UK law states that a claim must be launched three years after diagnosis or three years after the sufferer’s death. However, because of the time it takes to manifest, many victims are unaware that they have mesothelioma and, after their deaths, their families, too, remain ignorant of the disease and its causes.
Yet mesothelioma is starting to garner press attention, especially in the light of predictions that the death rate has yet to reach its peak. As a result, new laws are being considered to make it easier for sufferers and their families to launch claims. When this happens, the global asbestos industry will have to finally take notice of the risks involved in mining and producing asbestos.
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