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Asbestos: A Cautionary Tale from South Africa

By Alan Haburchak

Republish: EasyPublish™ Published: 15Dec2007 Word count: 499 Viewed: 396 time(s) Get Free Content For Your Site

The British multinational company Cape PLC mined asbestos in South Africa, and moved into South Africa after deciding that the costs for labor and asbestos disease compensation were too much in the UK. The result was 7,500 sick and dying workers. It took a five-year legal battle, but finally a meager settlement was reached. Each injured worker got only a few thousand dollars to compensate for the loss of their health -- and in some cases, the loss of their lives.

Clearly, globalization threatens the advances labor has made in employment protections. At the same time, it brings new meaning to labor's belief that "an injury to one is an injury to all."

Asbestos in the United States: Claims and the Trust Fund

The South Africa story brings into sharp focus the reality that asbestos is the new scourge of the modern workplace. For decades, the legal profession has been working hand-in-hand with labor to protect and compensate workers. The enormity of this legal battle is staggering. More than 600,000 people have filed claims for compensation for asbestos-related injuries in the U.S. And business has had to pay out more than $54 billion because of its negligence. Some experts predict that as many as 2.4 million additional asbestos claims will be filed, and business will have to pay an additional $210 billion to compensate workers for asbestos injuries.

To address this catastrophe, Congress has been working on creating an asbestos trust fund to pay claims from injured workers. Such a trust fund would ease the flood of asbestos lawsuits in the court system. But legislation has stalled on the issue of how much money should be available in the fund. The highest figure mentioned has been $145 billion.

Asbestos is one of the major hazards workers have faced. The devastating effects of asbestos have been understood for quite some time. More than 30 years ago, the late physician and scientist Dr. Irving Selikoff described the lethal dust of asbestos as "a hidden time bomb."

"The seeds of cancer," he said, "are planted in the workplace ... and by the time an agent is discovered and under control, millions of workers may have been exposed." Dr. Selikoff wisely pointed out that it will take cooperation from government agencies, industry, unions, and environmental groups to reduce the risks. Perhaps those in the legal profession should be added to the list. There is no doubt that because of the legal profession's insistence that industry take responsibility for its actions, asbestos is no longer used in product manufacturing and in construction. Because of litigation, a safer workplace exists for employees who must deal with asbestos. Companies are finding that they're going to have to do the right thing by their workers -- or they are going to pay a heavy price.

If you have been exposed to asbestos and have suffered injury, you may have a legal case and are advised to contact a lawyer specializing in asbestos-related cases.

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