Press Release
CDC Asbestos Health Alert For Nine Cities
Asbestos Trust Fund Bill Takes
Yet Another Blow In September
WASHINGTON D.C. — September is the harshest month yet for advocates of the asbestos trust fund bill (S.852). Following three major blows, the asbestos trust fund bill is unlikely to see the Senate floor this year. The Gulf hurricanes, Katrina and Rita, have heightened anxiety about the growing federal deficit and raised environmental asbestos concerns; the Bates/White reported that the fund would cost at least $160 billion more than S. 852's $140 billion fund; the CBO analysis confirmed that, even under the best case scenario, the bill lacks funding and adds to the deficit; and now the CDC has released a federal asbestos health alert for nine additional U.S. cities.
These nine cities face potentially fatal asbestos contamination, according to the warnings issued last week by the CDC's Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry (ATSDR). The federal agency reported that workers and residents might have been exposed to deadly asbestos-contaminated vermiculite sent to local processing plants from Libby, Montana, site of the W.R. Grace vermiculite mine.
The nine cities include: Dallas, TX; Ellwood City, PA; Honolulu, HI; Marysville, OH; New Orleans, LA; Newark, CA; New Castle, PA; Portland, OR; and Wilder, KY. ATSDR is conducting a review of 28 sites because they fall into at least one of two categories: the U.S. EPA mandated further action at the site on the basis of current contamination; and/or the site was a facility that processed 100,000 tons or more of vermiculite from the Libby mine. Other sites are found in MD, MI, CO, MA, NJ, AZ, MN, ND, LA, NE, WA, MO, Fl, NY and IL.
The Centers for Disease Control (CDC) responded issuing immediate health warnings for all residents who worked with and around the Libby vermiculite, or lived with a worker who was exposed to it, or lived in the vicinity of a facility that utilized it. ATSDR also advised that people in the listed communities might have used the asbestos-contaminated waste rock in areas around their homes and in their gardens. Consequently, the CDC has asked all such persons to take immediate action. The organization has suggested that those potentially exposed take the following actions: (1) learn more about asbestos exposure; (2) see a doctor with experience in asbestos-related lung disease; and (3) quit smoking and get regular flu and pneumonia shots. The CDC warnings can be found online at www.atsdr.cdc.gov/NEWS/naerhc092305.html.
Susan Vento, Chair of the Committee to Protect Mesothelioma Victims (CPMV), stressed the danger to workers and their families, "These new warnings call attention to one of the greatest health risks currently facing our nation. We need to do all we can to help those people who were exposed to Libby's contaminated vermiculite."
Her husband, former Minnesota Congressman Bruce Vento, died of mesothelioma, the most severe of the asbestos related diseases. In response to the ATSDR's recent warnings, she continued by advising, "These residents face a high risk of contracting extremely harmful diseases as a result of their asbestos exposure. This is why it is vital that the most urgent attention be given to the situation. In addition, the U.S. Senate is considering legislation, S.852, that could very well leave these individuals without any recourse should they develop an asbestos-related disease."
The CDC's alert marks another step in identifying victims of secondary asbestos exposure, which afflicts individuals who live with or near workers exposed to the hazardous material. Asbestos exposure can lead to — among other conditions — mesothelioma, a deadly form of cancer.
Secondary asbestos exposure afflicts individuals who live with or near workers exposed to the hazardous material. Asbestos exposure can lead to — among other conditions — mesothelioma, a deadly form of cancer. If passed, the asbestos trust fund bill, S. 852, will ensure that many victims of secondary exposure will go uncompensated for their medical costs alone. As it stands, the legislation would require them to meet much higher standards than they would in a court of law. However, the legislation would eliminate their right to go to court, and in turn, would require them to seek recovery from a new federal bureaucracy. The legislation also treats victims differently. In these nine cities, S. 852 would place a major burden on anyone in need of compensation, even though their illnesses and injuries may be equally severe to other victims, including those exposed in Libby, Montana, who would have to meet lesser standards to qualify for compensation.
ATSDR is a division of the Department of Health and Human Services. It is the federal agency charged with evaluating human health effects from exposure to hazardous substances. The CDC, also part of the Department of Health and Human Services, is the principal federal agency for protecting the health and safety of all Americans.
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The Committee to Protect Mesothelioma Victims (CPMV) is an organization founded by asbestos victims and their families and friends. CPMV works to raise awareness on national asbestos issues and ensure that victims' rights are properly represented and protected on both a local and national level. For more information, www.asbestostruth.org.
