Asbestos World Watch

In TASMANIA, AUSTRALIA, workers unions are seeking to make working and living conditions safer in Tasmania by petitioning the government to rid all buildings of asbestos. Exposure to asbestos fibers and particles has been linked to the deadly cancer, mesothelioma. Asbestos-related diseases including mesothelioma have resulted in the deaths of thousands of Tasmanian workers over the years.

The Secretary of Unions Tasmania, Simon Cocker, has asked the government for an immediate audit of all public buildings, requirements for full disclosure of asbestos presence prior to putting a home on the market, and 11 other requests outlined in a letter addressed to the Premier. This letter is a part of Unions Tasmania’s Zero Occupational Cancer Campaign.

Response to the letter has been immediate. The WorkCover Board has formed a subcommittee to study the issue. They will then outline options to the board which can be undertaken by the legislature. The WorkCover Board will then base its recommendations to the Premier on these suggestions.

In the UNITED KINGDOM, a 28 year old woman, Leigh Carlisle, is thought to be the youngest victim of malignant mesothelioma yet reported in the country. Mesothelioma is a lung cancer caused by inhalation of asbestos fibers, dust, or particles.

Since it takes at least 10 to 20 years before symptoms of asbestos exposure manifest themselves, it is likely that the woman was exposed in childhood. The question being pursued by lawyers for her estate is where she received the asbestos exposure. Possibilities include her school or the Hubron factory yard she passed daily. The yard was the site of cutting of asbestos sheets, and inhalation of the dust could have occurred. Requests for information about possible asbestos in the schools she attended are pending.

It is estimated that asbestos exposure will result in the deaths of 90,000 Britons from mesothelioma and another 90,000 from other asbestos caused lung diseases. 13,000 schools are reported to still have asbestos in the buildings. To date, asbestos has claimed the lives of or lead to asbestos-related diseases in 200 school workers throughout the country.

Sources:

“ Britain ’s youngest Asbestos victim dies at 28: Did she contract it at school?”, London Daily Mail, 31 August 2008

“Call to arms on asbestos”, The ( Hobart , Tasmania , Australia ) Mercury , 31 August 2008

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