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.

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.”

On July 1, 2008, a husband and wife in Texas filed an asbestos related lawsuit against 16 companies. The lawsuit claims that the companies conspired to mine and sell asbestos products in addition to suppressing the information from employees. The husband was diagnosed with mesothelioma as a result of asbestos exposure.

According to the lawsuit, the companies were aware of the danger that was posed to employees and conspired to misrepresent the dangers of the product. The couple also asserts that the companies were aware that the products that were manufactured would be sold without inspection.

The couple is seeking compensation for the emotional and physical consequences of asbestos exposure.

Mesothelioma cancer attorneys are working to help those who have developed serious illnesses due to asbestos exposure.

RLR Investments, LLC was ordered to pay a $227,700 fine due to violating Ohio’s Environmental Protections Agency (EPA) standards regarding asbestos.

The fine was the largest asbestos related civil penalty collected in Ohio.

The case documented violations that occurred in 2003 during a renovation of a Days Inn Hotel. The documented violations included a failure to notify the Ohio EPA of asbestos removal and failure to properly removal all asbestos materials during the renovation.

Asbestos is known to cause serious, life-long illnesses such as asbestosis and mesothelioma. Upon inhalation, asbestos causes inflammation of the lining of the lungs. After a long period of time, the inflammation and scarring causes significant damage to the lungs.

Asbestos cancer attorneys are working to help those who are suffering from serious illness due to asbestos exposure.