Mesothelioma Asbestos: One-Time ‘Magic’ Mineral Now a Worldwide Health Menace as Human Toll from Exposure Reaches Epidemic Proportions
Date Published: December 7, 2005
By Steve DiJoseph on newsinferno.com
On Monday, major settlements of asbestos-related death and injury claims were announced in Japan and Australia. The United States has been the center of mesothelioma asbestos-related litigation for several years and at present, Congress is attempting to reach an accord with respect to a trust fund that would finance the resolution of asbestos claims over the next several decades by shielding the corporations responsible for the problem by implementing what many see as nothing more than a corporate bailout of the asbestos industry.
Simply stated, asbestos is as deadly a natural time-bomb as the world has ever known. Yet, it continues to be mined and exported from advanced countries like Canada and Russia to developing nations where more death and disease will eventually follow.
Asbestos producing countries have repeatedly blocked the addition of chrysotile (white) asbestos to the UN list of highly dangerous substances that cannot be exported to developing countries without their knowledge and agreement.