The poor prognosis and high cost of treatment for mesothelioma makes legal representation important for some patients. Often, compensation is necessary to cover the various treatments needed for this deadly disease and to help the victim’s family after death. Higher awards generally go to victims and families represented by experienced counsel. Beyond help with medical bills, there is also the issue of justice.

If you were knowingly exposed to asbestos by an employer or some other organization, a successful lawsuit will help guarantee that the offending party will avoid such dangerous behavior in the future. A law firm specializing in mesothelioma will have skilled investigators to prove wrongdoing and will use such information to make certain it does not happen to anyone else.

Consultation with one of our mesothelioma lawyers will cost you nothing unless your case is successful.

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Kora Leah was a foreman at Cape Asbestos in Hebben Bridge, Yorkshire, England. His children remember how they would play with their father when he returned home from work with his clothes still covered with asbestos dust. “I remember my mother shaking his overalls and dust going everywhere,” Maureen McGough, 73, recalled.

She said that the children would sometimes accompany their father to work and play in the piles of asbestos dust.

Their father died of lung cancer in 1958, 10 years after he left Cape Asbestos. Two of his children have died in recent months of mesothelioma. The remaining siblings all have asbestos related diseases now and are at risk of developing mesothelioma.

The National Cancer Institute reports that there is evidence that family members of workers heavily exposed to asbestos face an increased risk of developing mesothelioma.

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Removing the asbestos from the DOE building began back in November and is only now completed. The 1,000 acre site, like many buildings built prior to the end of the 1970s, used large amounts of asbestos for insulation, among other things. As these older buildings age, they become health hazards, sometimes requiring demolition.

“Protecting the health and safety of the personnel at the plant and in the community, as well as the environment, is the first priority in the clean-up process. Safe asbestos removal like this in the X-333 will be a significant part of the activities to come,” said Vince Adams, DEO site coordinator at Portsmouth.

This attention to detail is paramount in guaranteeing the safety of the workers and the future safety of the site after demolition. Taking three months to remove all the insulation in such a large building is necessary in order to prevent asbestos exposure and the mesothelioma that commonly follows.

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ChemRisk researchers Kara Franke and Dennis Paustenbach examined dozens of published and unpublished documents on asbestos knowledge from 1900 to 1970. They found the Navy understood the health hazards of asbestos as early as the 1930’s. Though it required the use of asbestos on ships, the Navy did recommend certain precautions for safe handling of the material.

When asbestos was clearly linked with mesothelioma in the 1960’s, the Navy “attempted to implement procedures that would minimize the opportunity for adverse effects on both servicemen and civilians.”

Unfortunately, it was too little, too late for many servicemen.

It seems to take a long time for both government organizations and businesses to change when health hazards are discovered in their practices. It is regrettable, because so many lives are lost through inaction.

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McQueen was known as the King of Cool, from the way he lived on screen and off. He was a classic American success story, who overcame a poor, broken-home upbringing to become a Hollywood superstar.

McQueen had traced his illness to asbestos exposure first from the Marine Corp, and then from the flame-retardant driving suits he wore so often while racing cars and motorcycles. He died from mesothelioma in 1980 at the age of 50.

The Warren Zevon Tribute Award will be presented to McQueen’s widow, Barbara McQueen, on March 31 I Manhattan Beach, California.

Many notable Americans have died from mesothelioma, including Pro Football Hall of Famer and broadcaster Merlin Olsen, White House Chief of Staff Hamilton Jordan, actor Paul Gleeson, Congressman Bruce Vento, scientist Stephen Gould and Navy Admiral Elmo Zumwalt, Jr.

The majority of mesothelioma sufferers contract the disease from asbestos exposure, decades before the disease is detected. Victims usually have a very short time to live after diagnosis, as there are few treatment options.

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Mesothelioma, a cancer that affects the thin tissue around the internal organs, is most often attributed to asbestos exposure. Professional actors are not commonly exposed to asbestos. Often the ones that develop mesothelioma were exposed through previous jobs.

Australia’s Daily Telegraph says Hopkins was exposed to asbestos as early as the 1960’s while working as an apprentice carpenter. It was his first job out of high school.

Hopkins appeared in 16 movies, including Age Of Consent and Gallipoli. He was also a television actor who appeared in more than 160 episodes of Australian TV series.

He died at 67 while receiving hospice care in a Sydney hospital.

According to Australia’s National Health and Medical Research Council (NHMRC), Australia and the UK have the highest rates of mesothelioma in the world. There have been at least 4,700 mesothelioma deaths in Australia since records started in the 1980’s, and 25,000 Australians are predicted to die of mesothelioma over the next 40 years.

Mesothelioma has claimed the lives of several American actors as well, including Steve McQueen in 1979, Paul Gleason in 2006 and Merlin Olsen in 2010.

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The declaration, which will be presented to President Obama and Prime Minister Harper in February 2012, states that more than 10,000 Americans and 1,000 Canadians die every year of asbestos-related diseases, including asbestosis, lung cancer and mesothelioma. Despite these numbers, the U.S. and Canadian governments allow the use of the deadly mineral in some products and Canada still mines and exports it.

U.S. Geological statistics confirm that the United States imported an estimated 820 metric tons of asbestos in the first 7 months of 2010, and approximately 90% of that came from Canada.

Linda Reinstein, co-founder of the Asbestos Disease Awareness Organization said in a press release, “It is truly unbelievable that the Unites States Continues to defy decades of science confirming asbestos is a human carcinogen.”

Reinstein pointed out that as the holidays approach, families in the estimated 35 million homes in America with asbestos tainted insulation will be crawling around in their attics.

We can hope that perhaps this time our leaders will take notice of the devastating effects this deadly mineral has on our citizens.

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Officials believe the asbestos originated from Libby, Montana, before coming to the manufacturing facility operating in the community for nearly four decades. Libby is the site of over 400 deaths attributed to asbestos exposure.

The mine located in Libby that provided North Little Rock’s vermiculite was known to have mixing occur between the vermiculite and asbestos.

The community worries that some of the deaths of members who seemed healthy may have been caused by asbestos exposure.

“People have died. People that were once healthy and then you look up and all of a sudden, they’re gone. We know things happen, we have bad health but sometimes things are unexplainable,” said community member Bernadette Conley.

The EPA will be conducting tests and obtaining samples to determine if the park and community area are in danger from leftover asbestos contamination. If the organization finds contamination in the soil, removal plans will be formulated to clean up the area.

Were you unknowingly exposed to asbestos in your community?

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The report was published by the European Respiratory Journal. The report could explain why some people exposed to asbestos develop the deadly disease and some do not.

The long-running study examined 2,466 males over a 20-year period, from 1987 to 2006. According to the results of the study, the risk of developing pleural mesothelioma was lower for individuals who were first exposed to asbestos after the age of 20. Intensity and duration of exposure were adjusted for in the study.

The effect of the duration of exposure decreased when the age of first exposure increased. The study concluded that the later the age a person is exposed to asbestos, the less effect the exposure may have.

The data for the study was collected by researchers from separate reports conducted by the French network of cancer registries and the French National Mesothelioma Surveillance Program.

The finding that earlier asbestos exposure could lead to higher incidences of mesothelioma is a powerful reason to ensure that children are never exposed to the deadly material.

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There are two sides to the argument for asbestos production in Canada. The mining, production, exportation and overall use of the material have been historically supported by the Canadian government. It has provided favorable legislation and economic incentives in the manufacture of the material. Opponents like those in the scientific and medical community have continuously pushed back against the incentives and worked for heavier regulation.

There are some exceptions in the government, such as Parliament member Pat Martin, who has fought the asbestos industry for years. “Canada remains one of the largest producers and exporters of asbestos in the world and spends millions of dollars subsidizing the asbestos industry and curbing international efforts to curb its use,” Martin said.

Canada sells most of its asbestos to poorer countries with less strict safety regulations. Currently, the country provides around five percent of the world’s asbestos.

Whether Canada will continue to export its asbestos, and the diseases like mesothelioma that go along with it, remains to be seen.

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