If the Environmental Protection Agency succeeds in relaxing the rules on asbestos safety, those who suffer from asbestos exposure and mesothelioma will find it more difficult to be compensated by the companies that harmed them.
In their disregard for worker safety, automotive, construction, mining, and chemical industries are pressuring the EPA to change how the risk of exposure from six types of asbestos regulated by the government are calculated. To fuel this change, the EPA is focusing specifically on studies that suggest that chrysotile asbestos (the most common type of asbestos) does not cause mesothelioma, an asbestos-caused fatal cancer. Lawyers defending the corporations say that this change would increase the chances of convincing juries that the asbestos they used wasn’t dangerous.
It is also believed that the Bush White House is a motivator of the EPA’s change in position in a last-minute rush to diminish the government’s regulation of hazardous substances before leaving power. President Bush has fought against worker’s rights in their ability to sue asbestos companies throughout his two terms.
Kiss Kiss Bang Bang divx Bobby release Exposure to asbestos is the single known cause of pleural mesothelioma, a fatal type of cancer that attacks the lungs and presently does not have a cure.
Sen. Patty Murray, an advocate for worker protection, has said, “For eight years, this administration has failed to make any significant progress in improving the health and safety of our nation’s workers. Now, in its waning days, it appears that they are actually trying to increase barriers to workplace safety.”
Tags: Asbestos, asbestos exposure, cancer, lawyers, Mesothelioma, pleural mesothelioma