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What's New at the White Lung Association?


Individuals Injured by Asbestos Exposure Oppose Specter's Trust Fund Legislation

BNA DAILY REPORT FOR EXECUTIVES
Tuesday, April 26, 2005

Representatives of people who are seriously ill from asbestos exposure April 25 told a senior staffer for Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Arlen Specter (R-Pa.) that they do not support a bill (S. 852) that would create a $140 billion trust fund to compensate workers exposed to asbestos.

"No one wants this bill. No one," said Linda Reinstein, executive director of the Asbestos Disease Awareness Association, founded by individuals with asbestos-related lung disease and their family members. Referring to the "asbestos victims" she represents, she said "most people want their day in court. They want to face the defendants." Reinstein's husband was diagnosed two years ago with mesothelioma, a lethal form of lung cancer linked directly to asbestos exposure.

The closed-door meeting among organizations representing the ill individuals and committee staff came a day before a Senate Judiciary Committee hearing on the bill, which is scheduled for committee action April 28. It is unclear whether Specter has the votes to pass the bill out of committee, although it has the support of Committee Ranking Democrat Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.).

Several groups that oppose the legislation, including the AFL-CIO, have said they hope the committee markup will be cancelled because it does not have the votes to pass. But Reinstein told reporters she was given the impression that the markup would go forward.

The bill would establish a privately funded, no-fault trust fund to compensate workers exposed to asbestos based on the severity of their conditions. With the establishment of the trust fund, the draft legislation then would bar all lawsuits alleging injury from asbestos exposure unless the fund runs out of money. Businesses and insurers would pay into the fund for an estimated 30 years.

In addition to Leahy, the bill has the support several committee members, including Sens. Diane Feinstein (D-Calif.), Orrin Hatch (R-Utah), and Mike DeWine (R-Ohio). But the "gang of five" most conservative members of the committee-Sens. John Cornyn (R-Texas), Jon Kyl (R-Ariz.), Tom Coburn (R-Okla.), Sam Brown-back (R-Kansas), and Jeff Sessions (R-Ala.)-have not yet signed on to the bill.

'One Hour and 10 Points.'

Reinstein said the organizations representing the ill individuals were able only to touch on their multiple concerns with Specter's bill. "We had one hour and 10 points," she said. "We opened a door."

Reinstein said her group has met with Specter's staff before, but not since he assumed the chairmanship of the Judiciary Committee. She also said her group has had meetings with at least 50 senators or their staffers in the past year about the asbestos bill.

Drexel University Public Health Professor Arthur Frank said the bill's medical criteria that would determine who would be given awards "is unfair to victims." For example, he said, some workers with lung cancer would have to demonstrate at least a decade of occupational exposure to asbestos, even though scientific evidence indicates that a person's risk of lung cancer doubles with each month of exposure.

ADAO Legislative Director Paul Zygielbaum said the award levels in the bill are too low for people who are ill from asbestos exposure. The top award under the bill, at $1.1 million, would barely cover the cost of the medical bills, he said. Zygielbaum, who has mesothelioma, said his most recent surgery cost in excess of $300,000. He said he would likely undergo the same treatment, at the same cost, several times "before I die in two years."

Ellen Patton, who represented the Committee to Protect Mesothelioma Victims at the meeting, said she would get no compensation for her illness under the bill because she was exposed to asbestos as a child in her home, not as a worker.

Reinstein expressed frustration at statements from lawmakers who support the bill and who say the measure is needed to provide compensation for people who are sick because of asbestos exposure and whose cases are caught up in endless litigation. "We are not being heard. We do not want this bill," she said. When asked whether the groups would prefer Specter's bill or no bill, she replied, "No bill. This is not the bill for us."

Other groups opposing the bill that were at the meeting included the Environmental Working Group, the White Lung Association, New York Committee for Occupational Safety and Health, and 9/11 Environmental Action, a group focused on assistance for New York City residents who were exposed to asbestos and other harmful substances as a result of the Sept. 11,2001, terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center.

 

 


Front Page, Week Of:

3/28/05: April 1, 2005 to Serve as First National Asbestos Awareness Day

4/16/05: Spectre to Introduce U.S. Asbestos Bill This Week

Jim Fite's Alerts:

Asbestos Victim's Superfund Compensation Program

Asbestos Watch March 14, 2005 (Maryland chapter of the White Lung Association meetings)

Directorate of Safety, Health, and Environment (open letter)

(more...)


Joe Oliver's Alerts:

Copies of Asbestos Watch are available from 2005. Each month's edition is over a hundred pages of information of interest to asbestos victims and the general public. The cost is $35.00 each and they can be ordered from:

The White Lung Association
P.O. Box 1485
Baltimore, MD 21203.

All orders are prepaid with checks to the White Lung Association. Now available Feb, March and April.

Leonard Makowski's Alerts:

The White Lung Association stands in opposition to The Specter Bill (S.852)


WLA Alerts & News

S.1115: Bill to amend the Toxic Substances Control Act to reduce the health risks posed by asbestos-containing products - This bill is supported by the WLA.

Meet Mr. Asbestos

Proceedings of the Asbestos Symposium for the Asian Countries - now available for purchase.

Australia Bans Asbestos!

(more...)

News:

Senate Judiciary Committee returns to Mark-Up on May 11th: Proposed asbestos trust fund legislation will further penalize victims of asbestos-caused diseases

Asbestos Victims Gain Ground in D.C. Senate Bill 852 (FAIR Act), Asbestos Trust Fund Legislation

(more...)


World Trade Center Health:

In May 2003, the Global Environment & Technology Foundation developed the "Asbestos Strategies" report.

British Asbestos Newsletter:

The latest issue is Spring 2005

(more...)

News from India:

The latest issue is March 15, 2003

(more...)

Features:

December 17, 2000 is Asbestos Hazard Awareness Day

(more...)

Current Projects:

Asbestos Museum

 

Articles & Publications:

Occupational Respiratory Diseases: Asbestos Associated Disease -- Reprinted from: Maxcy-Rosenau Public Health and Preventative Medicine 11th ed. (John M. Last, Ed.) 1980, Appleton-Century-Crofts

Asbestos Victims Deserve Compensation Not Betrayal: position release by the Board of Directors, White Lung Association

(more...)

Links:

(more...)


In Memoria:

Paul Safchuck May 21, 2003

Dr. William Nicholson Dies at 70

Ray Sentes Brave Fighter For Asbestos Victims

 


Front Page, Week Of:

4/16/05: Spectre to Introduce U.S. Asbestos Bill This Week

5/22/05: Individuals Injured by Asbestos Exposure Oppose Specter's Trust Fund Legislation

10/16/05: Victim's Organizations Form Asbestos Victims Coalition in Opposition to Asbestos Trust Fund Legislation

11/17/05: White Lung Mourns Jose Jesus Pessora

12/18/05: Frist Introducing Asbestos Bill in January

12/04/06: Asbestos Watch Newsletter: Help Celebrate the 27th Anniversary of the WHITE LUNG ASSOCIATION

Jim Fite's Alerts:

Asbestos Victim's Superfund Compensation Program

Asbestos Watch March 14, 2005 (Maryland chapter of the White Lung Association meetings)

Directorate of Safety, Health, and Environment (open letter)

(more...)


Joe Oliver's Alerts:

Joe Oliver, National Board Member and former President of the White Lung Association, has issued a call to all persons to help gather evidence on the conspiracy by asbestos trade organizations to suppress the knowledge about the hazards of asbestos exposure.

If you know anything about this horrific history or have documents which can be used to further prove their heinous crimes, please contact Joe Oliver, WLA, POB 1483, Balt. MD 21203.

Leonard Makowski's Alerts:

The White Lung Association stands in opposition to The Specter Bill (S.852)


WLA Alerts & News

S.1115: Bill to amend the Toxic Substances Control Act to reduce the health risks posed by asbestos-containing products - This bill is supported by the WLA.

Meet Mr. Asbestos

Proceedings of the Asbestos Symposium for the Asian Countries - now available for purchase.

Australia Bans Asbestos!

(more...)

News:

Senator Specter Breaks Promise to Mesothelioma Patient and Research Community

Senate Judiciary Committee returns to Mark-Up on May 11th: Proposed asbestos trust fund legislation will further penalize victims of asbestos-caused diseases

(more...)


World Trade Center Health:

In May 2003, the Global Environment & Technology Foundation developed the "Asbestos Strategies" report.

British Asbestos Newsletter:

The latest issue is Spring 2005

(more...)

News from India:

The latest issue is January 4, 2007

(more...)

Features:

December 17, 2000 is Asbestos Hazard Awareness Day

(more...)

Current Projects:

Asbestos Museum

 

Articles & Publications:

Occupational Respiratory Diseases: Asbestos Associated Disease -- Reprinted from: Maxcy-Rosenau Public Health and Preventative Medicine 11th ed. (John M. Last, Ed.) 1980, Appleton-Century-Crofts

Asbestos Victims Deserve Compensation Not Betrayal: position release by the Board of Directors, White Lung Association

(more...)

Links:


In Memoria:

Paul Safchuck May 21, 2003

Dr. William Nicholson Dies at 70

Ray Sentes Brave Fighter For Asbestos Victims


For more information please contact info whitelung org.