Asbestos

Barbara Hadley

Description

Asbestos is not just a problem of the past, nor is there an identifiable point in the future by which we can stop worrying about its legacy. In various countries around the world asbestos production and consumption continues unabated, storing up problems for the future. In countries that have banned the use of asbestos, such as the UK, the continued presence of this material in buildings public and private will have consequences for decades to come.Asbestos: the Future Risk is a special report that pulls together the historical background as to how this mineral came to be so widely used; the medical view of asbestos related diseases and their treatment; the current patterns of consumption that indicate where future claims may come from; and current practice for dealing with asbestos in the built environment, exposure to which has spread asbestos-related diseases to people outside those occupations that worked directly with asbestos.Asbestos: the Future Risk provides an all-round update on the present state of knowledge and sets out the challenges faced by claimants, governments, private companies, public authorities, lawyers and insurers.

Sujets

• Droit et juridique
• International law

Informations

• Publié par: Iskaboo Publishing Ltd
• Date de parution: 10 août 2015
• Nombre de lectures: 0
• EAN13: 9780957559523
• Langue: English
• Poids de l'ouvrage: 8 Mo

Extrait

by Barbara Hadley and Tom Rennell



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“


Asbestos diseases and asbestos cancers claim hundreds of thousands of lives each year. They are not legal inconveniences, political obstacles or financial statement entries. They are death and suffering incarnate
Dr Michael R Harbut, National Center for Vermiculite and Asbestos-Related Cancers, Detroit



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introduction



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Published by
Iskaboo Publishing Ltd
22c Lady Margaret Road
London NW5 2XS
United Kingdom
ISBN 978-0-9575595-0-9
Copyright © Iskaboo Publishing Ltd 2013
All rights reserved
Edited by Derek Austin
Designed by Victoria Wren
Printed by Premier Print




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contents




> Timeline 6
> Introduction 8
The hidden killer
> What is asbestos? 9
A brief history of asbestos
> Asbestos production and consumption 15
Canada
> Asbestos related diseases 21
Structure of the human lungs
Calcified pleural plaques
Diffuse pleural thickening
Asbestosis
Cancer
Lung cancer
Mesothelioma
New research
> Chrysotile versus amphibole 31
The pro-asbestos lobby
Asbestos substitutes
> History of asbestos regulations 37
The Helsinki criteria
Understanding fibre measurements
> Global mesothelioma study 45
Study methodology
Results
Conclusions
Life expectancy
> Exposure to asbestos 53
Asbestos in UK buildings
Take home mesothelioma
Prevention measures
World Trade Center
Earthquakes
> Ship breaking 61
The Hong Kong Convention
New regulations
> Schools 65
Risk to children
> Asia – the coming crisis 71
> India 77
Asbestos cement sheeting
Industry structure
Health and safety
The move to ban asbestos
Increasing public opposition
Government/industry
> US asbestos litigation 85
Civil litigation
Fair Act
Turner & Newall
> Trusts 93
Johns Manville
Trust shortfalls
Eligibility
> UK asbestos litigation 103
Key cases and judgments
Divisible and non-divisible diseases
> Criminal prosecutions 109
> Establishing corporate liability 113
Claims research
Acquisitions
Creating a corporate history
> Trends in claims and compensation 119
France
Italy
The Netherlands
Switzerland
UK
> Reserving for asbestos claims 133
> Organisations and resources 139
> Appendix 1 Uses of asbestos 1850 – 1990 141
> Appendix 2 World asbestos consumption 144
> Appendix 3 Occupations at risk 149





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timeline


Timeline


1871 UK opens first asbestos factory.
1876 Canada opens first commercial asbestos mines.
1880 UK begins commercial asbestos imports from Canada.
1897 The Workman’s Compensation Act is passed but makes no reference to asbestos.
1898 Report by Lucy Deane notes health effects from asbestos on factory workers.
1899 Ferodo a leading producer of brake bands is established.
1900 Ludwig Hatschek patents asbestos cement later branding it ‘Eternit’.
1901 HW Johns Manufacturing and Manville Covering Co merge to form HW Johns-Manville Company.
1904 First asbestos cement boards produced in US.
1906 Murray publishes report on asbestos worker with fibrosis of the lungs; in France Auribalt releases report on asbestos related deaths in textiles factories; first asbestos brake linings.
1912 American Association for Labor Legislation mentions asbestos related disease.
1918 Insurance companies in UK and US refuse to insure asbestos workers due to poor working conditions.
1920 Turner and Newell Ltd is established, later to become the world’s leading producer of asbestos products.
1924 Death of Nellie Kershaw recorded by Dr Cooke, the first recorded death linked with asbestos.
1925 Report by Olivier coins the terms ‘asbestosis’.
1929 The International Asbestos AG or SAIAC is formed; first lawsuit brought against asbestos manufacturers.
1930 Government commissioned report by Mereweather & Price recognises pulmonary asbestosis and that asbestos can cause fatal disease.
1931 Introduction of Asbestos Industries Regulations in UK.
1935 Lynch & Smith in the US and Gloyne in UK identify possible relationship between asbestos exposure and lung cancer.
1938 In Germany doctors begin referring to lung cancer as an oc- cupational disease of asbestos workers.
1943 Mining begins in Wittenoom, Australia.
1944 Spraying asbestos on deckheads and bulkheads began in British naval ships.
1946 UK Workmen’s Compensation Scheme is replaced with the Industrial Injuries Scheme (comes into effect in 1948).
1955 Doll finds that asbestos workers face a notably higher risk of lung cancer.
1960 Wagner, Sleggs, and Marchand publish first paper indicating a relationship between mesothelioma and asbestos exposure.
1963 British Navy stops asbestos spraying of ships.
1964 Dr Irving Selikoff discovers link between mesothelioma and amosite asbestos.
1965 British Journal of Industrial Medicine establishes that people who lived in the neighbourhoods of asbestos factories and mines, but did not work in them, have contracted mesothe- lioma.
1967 Voluntary industry ban in the UK of crocidolite.
1969 UK Asbestos Regulation Act of 1969 sets safety limit at 2 fibres/ml.
1972 Denmark bans the use of asbestos for insulation.
1974 UK Health and Safety at Work Act .
1976 Sweden adopts guidelines recommending a ban on crocidolite (legislation to enforce the crocidolite ban was implemented in 1982).
1979 Simpson Report recommends lower safety limits.
1980 Denmark bans the use of asbestos with exemptions for some asbestos cement products.
1980 Israel introduced a series of restrictions on the use of asbestos from the 1980s which eventually amounted to a de facto ban on the use of asbestos.
1982 Sweden enforces from 1 July the first of a series of bans on


various uses of asbestos (including chrysotile).
1983 Asbestos Licensing Regulations are enacted in the UK.
1983 Iceland introduces ban (with exceptions) on all types of asbes- tos (updated in 1996).
1984 UK safety limits reduced to 0.5/ml for crocidolite and 0.2 for amosite.
1984 Norway introduces ban (with exceptions) on all types of asbes- tos (revised 1991).
1984 Israel introduces its first ban on the use of asbestos including amosite, chrysotile, crocidolite, anthophyllite, tremolite, actino- lite, and any mixture that contains one or more of these fibres in Work Safety Regulations; as a result of additional restrictions introduced by the 1990s, a de facto ban exists (2010).
1985 UK bans imports of crocidolite and amosite.
1985 Denmark extends its asbestos ban to include additional asbestos-cement products with further restrictions introduced on asbestos-cement products (such as ventilation pipes and roofing) in 1986, 1987 and 1988.
1986 Control of Asbestos Regulations brings together previous regulations to cover complete prohibition of asbestos in the UK.
1987 Control of Asbestos at Work Regulations further tighten UK safety limits.
1988 Hungary bans amphiboles.
1989 Switzerland bans crocidolite, amosite and chrysotile (some exceptions).
1989 Singapore bans raw asbestos by the Poisons Act.
1990 Austria introduces ban on chrysotile (some exceptions).
1991 The Netherlands introduces the first of a series of bans (with exceptions) on various uses of chrysotile.
1992 Finland introduces ban (with exceptions) on chrysotile (came into force 1993).
1992 Italy introduces ban on chrysotile (some exceptions until 1994).
1993 Germany introduces ban (with minor exemptions) on chrysotile, amosite and crocidolite having been banned previously. The sole derogation remaining is for chrysotile-containing diaphragms for chlorine-alkali electrolysis in already existing installations. These will be banned as of 2011.
1993 Croatia bans crocidolite and amosite.
1994 Mesothelioma is included in the WHO mortality database.
1994 Brunei implements administrative rules on asbestos.
1995 Turner and Newell Ltd sells last asbestos business.
1995 Japan bans crocidolite and amosite.
1995 Kuwait bans all types of asbestos by Resolution No. (26) for the Year of 1995 issued by the Minister of Commerce & Industry.
1996 France introduces ban (with exceptions) on chrysotile.
1996 Slovenia bans production of asbestos-cement products.
1996 Bahrain bans asbestos by Ministerial Order No. / 1996: for banning the importing, manufacturing, and circulaton of asbes- tos materials and products containing asbestos.
1997 Poland bans asbestos.
1997 Monaco prohibits the use of asbestos in all building