Asbestos is still not completely banned in the United States. It can still be found in a great number of products. WHY?

Asbestos industry documents from as early as 1924 indicate that manufacturers knew there was a danger to workers who inhaled asbestos fibers.

Then in 1953, Dr. Irving Selikoff, a pulmonary specialist, began studying the link between asbestos exposure and lung disease. He noted a much higher percentage of lung disease among workers who inhaled asbestos fibers. Selikoff’s groundbreaking findings about of the occupational danger of asbestos expsoure was published in 1964.

And yet, it wasn’t unitl the mid-1970s that asbestos use was widely banned, and even today, its use is not completely banned.

Selikoff hoped his findings would make the future brighter for workers, protecting them from such devastating illnesses as those suffered by the generations who had come before.  Sadly, Selikoff passed away in 1992, before ever seeing asbestos eliminated in America, or seeing the threat of mesothelioma become a thing of the past.

With such clear evidence of the link between asbestos and mesothelioma, why is this still even a question??

A video produced by WorkSafe BC (the Workers’ Compensation Board of British Columbia), which is dedicated to promoting workplace health and safety for the workers and employees of the province, provides a fascinating glimpse of how asbestos fibers affect the body. British Columbia is the westernmost Canadian province, and WorkSafe BC serves areas including Vancouver Island, Lower Mainland, BC Interior and BC North.

The short video mainly illustrates asbestosis, a severe scarring of the lungs caused by the inhalation of microscopic asbestos fibers. However, these fibers also can cause mesothelioma, a deadly cancer that most often affects the lining of the lungs, but which also can affect the stomach and/or the heart.

According to WorkSafe BC, since the year 2000, more workers in BC have died from asbestos disease than any other workplace injury.

Watch the video!

In what unions in the UK are calling a “hugely important victory,” the High Court ruled insurance policies in place when a worker was exposed to asbestos are liable for asbestos-related illnesses, including mesothelioma, which may develop later, according to a BBC News report. The verdict was delivered in a “test case” that examined six individual cases against insurance companies.

According to the news report, the High Court had to decide which insurance policy should cover mesothelioma and other asbestos related diseases – the one in effect at the time of exposure (a liability insurance held by companies to insure them against claims by employees injured on the job) or the one in effect when a worker becomes sick.

Part of the problem with asbestos-disease related claims is that there is usually a very long latency period for mesothelioma and other asbestos diseases. Sometimes symptoms do not develop for as many as 40 or more years after exposure. As a result, a person does not realize he or she has been injured in the workplace until many years later.

According to the BBC story, this ruling was especially important because many new insurance policies have exemptions against asbestos-related claims.

More than 2,000 people were diagnosed with mesothelioma in the UK last year, and those numbers are expected to grow.

BBC video: Mesothelioma victims’ solicitor Carolann Hepworth reacts to High Court Ruling.

A video produced by “theREALnews.com” reports on a recent development that shocked many people, when Canada refused to ban asbestos as part of a national toxic trade treaty (The Rotterdam Convention).The treaty creates a list of harmful chemicals that companies cannot export without “informed consent” from the receiving country. Chrysotile asbestos was on the list of items to be included as banned as toxic substances. Canada (along with 5 other countries) blocked the inclusion of Chrysotile asbestos. Chrysotile is one of the three main kinds of asbestos mined.Canada has traditionally been one of the largest exporters of asbestos (mainly to third-world countries, like India).At the recent ADAO Asbestos Awareness Day conference, I leanred there is a huge argument in the asbestos industry, where they are trying to say that Chrysotile asbestos isn’t “as dangerous” or dangerous at all, because its shape is different than the other two main forms of mined asbestos, amosite and crocidolite.This video says that Canada’s refusal to ban asbestos is tied to its concern that by acknowledging asbestos’ danger, the government will be responsible for the hundreds of thousands of people in Canada that are now sick with asbestos disease (not to mention people unemployed by mine closures), which is a huge number in areas where these asbestos mines were located, and in the industrial areas where asbestos coated equipment, such as in electrical / power generating plants.This video features Barry Castleman, who spoke at the conference, who is an independent consultant in toxic substances control and author of several books, including most recently, Asbestos: Medical and Legal Aspects.The discussion of what’s going on in Canada was a big part of the conference.This is a great piece.

Wendi found this collection of 1950’s era asbestos industry promotional films. They tout the “amazing” properties of this “miracle mineral”. It’s strong, tough, fireproof, water-resistant, doesn’t rot or decay.

However, what they fail to mention is that there is no safe level of asbestos. It merely takes one microscopic fiber to embed itself in your lungs to create serious and lasting health risks. The incredible health risks associated with asbestos exposure were widely known at the time these films were made.

The 1934 Aetna Insurance’s Attorney’s Textbook of Medicine devotes a full chapter to asbestos exposure, noting that asbestosis was ‘incurable’ and usually results in disability followed by death.

Also, here is a 1949 internal Exxon memo marked ‘Company Confidential’ which documents lung cancer caused by asbestos.

Click on the link below to watch a powerful lecture, created by Dr. Randy Pausch, on the topic of living your childhood dreams. Dr. Pausch created the lecture as a reflection on what would be most important to a person if they had to choose the last talk of their life. What would they most want to share with others?

Randy is a 47-year-old Professor of Computer Science, Human-Computer Interaction, and Design at Carnegie Mellon University (CMU) in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. In September 2006, he was diagnosed with metastatic pancreatic cancer. He pursued a very aggressive cancer treatment that included major surgery and experimental chemotherapy; however in August of 2007 he was told that the cancer had metastasized to his liver and spleen. He then started palliative chemotherapy intended to extend his life as long as possible, which was then estimated to be three to six months. He remains vigorous and active six months later (February 2008.)

Although Randy’s cancer is not mesothelioma or asbestos-related, I thought his message could be inspiring and provide hope, as people diagnosed with mesothelioma are usually not expected to live for long, and most die within two years of their diagnosis.

The Asbestos Disease Awareness Organization (ADAO) is dedicated to serving as the voice of asbestos victims. They aim to save lives by raising awareness about the widespread use of asbestos, which takes 10,000 lives annually in the United States alone.

Click on the video below to watch a short video about ADAO, and visit them online.