A new report prepared by the Institute of Cancer Research and the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine examines the occupational, domestic and environmental mesothelioma risks in Britain. The findings are not good news.
The study was conducted for the Health and Safety Executive, an organization whose mission is to prevent death, injury and ill health in Great Britain’s workplaces. The HSE says this is the largest global study of its kind, including more than 600 patients with mesothelioma and 1,400 healthy people, interviewed to examine the rates of mesothelioma among different occupations in the UK.
Statistics resulting from the study include the following:
One in 17 British carpenters born in the 1940s will die of mesothelioma
Plumbers, electricians and decorators born in the 1940s who worked in their trade for more than 10 years before they were 30 have a risk of 1 in 50 of dying of mesothelioma
The risk for other construction workers born in this generation is 1 in 125.
For every case of mesothelioma, asbestos also causes about 1 case of lung cancer; the risk of asbestos-related lung cancer for carpenters in this age group is 1 in 10.
In other industries, about two thirds of British men and one quarter of British women worked in jobs with potential asbestos exposure.
Among the general UK population, even those who did not experience occupational exposure still have a 1 in 1,000 risk of mesothelioma, indicating unrecognized environmental asbestos exposure, due to its widespread use in the 1960s and 1970s.
The report estimates there are more than 2,100 people diagnosed with mesothelioma in the UK every year, with about 5 times as many cases in men as in women.
Read the full report.
Tuesday 31 March 2009
Monday 30 March 2009
Spodden Valley Scandal Part 2
The Video Clip Of The Spodden Valley Scandal Part 1 is further down this page
Friday 6 March 2009
Asbestos timebomb:Outrage of dying cancer victims forced to wait for their payouts
By Andrew Penman and Nick Sommerlad 5/03/2009
Daily Mirror campaign
By Andrew Penman and Nick Sommerlad 5/03/2009
Daily Mirror campaign
These two insurance fat cats were happy to pocket the premiums.
But now faced with the enormous bill for asbestos disease payouts they are among a number of company bosses who are desperate to avoid coughing up.
Ian Willett, director of Municipal Mutual Insurance, and Ramani Ayer, chairman of the Hartford Financial Services Group, have saved their companies huge sums by dodging costs from the rising death toll.
They belong to an insurance industry which wants compensation to be triggered when a worker contracts asbestos disease - not when they first inhaled the fibres.
The trouble is, if claimants worked with asbestos in the 60s but only now are diagnosed with a related cancer, then it is highly likely their employers are no longer trading.
And a company that does not exist any more will not still have insurance cover - so no insurance company would pay up.
Four months ago, the High Court ruled against them in what became known as the "trigger" case.
Mr Justice Burton said that whoever insured the company at the time its workers were exposed to asbestos must pay compensation, even if the company itself has long since disappeared.
But the victory was short-lived as a string of insurance companies are appealing against the decision.
It means while lawyers prepare for another protracted court battle, more victims will be diagnosed with asbestosr-elated diseases and suffer terrible deaths.
Alan Ritchie of construction union UCATT blasted: "Every week 40 people die of mesothelioma. It is sickening that the insurance industry wants to block their compensation."
Just one of the insurers behind the trigger case court fight is Willett's Municipal Mutual Insurance.
Willett, who last year netted a £294,000 salary plus £43,000 in bonus and benefits, said Municipal Mutual was a special case because its clients were mainly local councils and, unlike companies, councils do not go out of business. He argued that the issue of there being no current insurance cover does not apply.
But there are unpaid victims because Municipal Mutual has not being paying asbestos compensation for six years.
Willett said that because of the time that has passed since it last issued employer liability insurance, victims diagnosed with asbestos cancer after 2003 "are not our responsibility".
In the case of Municipal Mutual, he estimates that £85million is at stake.
It could go to help asbestos victims and their grieving families.
But if the insurers win the next round in the legal battle, it will stay in the pockets of the councils and private investors who own the business.
Willett admitted during the last year's High Court hearing his bonus depended on the outcome of the case.
And he revealed that he had been paid extra in the past for saving his company money in asbestos payouts - and that potentially he would get paid more for winning the so-called "trigger" case.
Another big player in the High Court battle is Excess Insurance Company, owned by Ayer's Hartford Financial Services Group. It estimates in its latest accounts a provision for outstanding asbestos claims of £383million.
And it is not as if it cannot afford them.
It has a £9billion surplus and £8.5billion in cash and investments.
Ayer boasts on the company's website: "The Hartford is financially strong and well capitalised." He is doing nicely too - having recently made £1million on share options.
When we asked The Hartford why it was persisting in fighting the insurance battle, a spokesman said: "We don't have anything to provide at this point."
Municipal Mutual, Excess, plus Builders Accident Insurance and Independent Insurance appear determined not to pay up despite losing round one of the court battle. Ian McFall of Thompsons solicitors said: "One effect of the trigger defence is to frustrate and delay the process of obtaining compensation for people who are dying from mesothelioma and for the families of those who have died.
"It creates black holes in insurance cover.
The insurance industry knows this."
That is why the Mirror is calling for a new fund to be set up - paid for by the insurance industry - to provide compensation for all uninsured workers.
The Association of British Insurers runs a tracing scheme for workers who cannot trace the insurance policies but less than half were successful last year.
Meanwhile, uninsured workers are left to claim state handouts that are less than one third the amount they could claim on insurance. The All-Party Parliamentary Group on Occupational Safety and Health recently said the "voluntary approach is failing" and called on the Government to take urgent action and set up a fund of last resort.
The Motor Insurance Bureau already provides compensation for victims of uninsured drivers.
A new Employers Liability Insurance Bureau would provide fair and equal compensation for all workers - and would not cost the taxpayer a penny.
The ABI opposes the plan as it claims it could encourage bosses to break the law and not insure workers and because they do not want today's firms to pay for failures of the past.
But now faced with the enormous bill for asbestos disease payouts they are among a number of company bosses who are desperate to avoid coughing up.
Ian Willett, director of Municipal Mutual Insurance, and Ramani Ayer, chairman of the Hartford Financial Services Group, have saved their companies huge sums by dodging costs from the rising death toll.
They belong to an insurance industry which wants compensation to be triggered when a worker contracts asbestos disease - not when they first inhaled the fibres.
The trouble is, if claimants worked with asbestos in the 60s but only now are diagnosed with a related cancer, then it is highly likely their employers are no longer trading.
And a company that does not exist any more will not still have insurance cover - so no insurance company would pay up.
Four months ago, the High Court ruled against them in what became known as the "trigger" case.
Mr Justice Burton said that whoever insured the company at the time its workers were exposed to asbestos must pay compensation, even if the company itself has long since disappeared.
But the victory was short-lived as a string of insurance companies are appealing against the decision.
It means while lawyers prepare for another protracted court battle, more victims will be diagnosed with asbestosr-elated diseases and suffer terrible deaths.
Alan Ritchie of construction union UCATT blasted: "Every week 40 people die of mesothelioma. It is sickening that the insurance industry wants to block their compensation."
Just one of the insurers behind the trigger case court fight is Willett's Municipal Mutual Insurance.
Willett, who last year netted a £294,000 salary plus £43,000 in bonus and benefits, said Municipal Mutual was a special case because its clients were mainly local councils and, unlike companies, councils do not go out of business. He argued that the issue of there being no current insurance cover does not apply.
But there are unpaid victims because Municipal Mutual has not being paying asbestos compensation for six years.
Willett said that because of the time that has passed since it last issued employer liability insurance, victims diagnosed with asbestos cancer after 2003 "are not our responsibility".
In the case of Municipal Mutual, he estimates that £85million is at stake.
It could go to help asbestos victims and their grieving families.
But if the insurers win the next round in the legal battle, it will stay in the pockets of the councils and private investors who own the business.
Willett admitted during the last year's High Court hearing his bonus depended on the outcome of the case.
And he revealed that he had been paid extra in the past for saving his company money in asbestos payouts - and that potentially he would get paid more for winning the so-called "trigger" case.
Another big player in the High Court battle is Excess Insurance Company, owned by Ayer's Hartford Financial Services Group. It estimates in its latest accounts a provision for outstanding asbestos claims of £383million.
And it is not as if it cannot afford them.
It has a £9billion surplus and £8.5billion in cash and investments.
Ayer boasts on the company's website: "The Hartford is financially strong and well capitalised." He is doing nicely too - having recently made £1million on share options.
When we asked The Hartford why it was persisting in fighting the insurance battle, a spokesman said: "We don't have anything to provide at this point."
Municipal Mutual, Excess, plus Builders Accident Insurance and Independent Insurance appear determined not to pay up despite losing round one of the court battle. Ian McFall of Thompsons solicitors said: "One effect of the trigger defence is to frustrate and delay the process of obtaining compensation for people who are dying from mesothelioma and for the families of those who have died.
"It creates black holes in insurance cover.
The insurance industry knows this."
That is why the Mirror is calling for a new fund to be set up - paid for by the insurance industry - to provide compensation for all uninsured workers.
The Association of British Insurers runs a tracing scheme for workers who cannot trace the insurance policies but less than half were successful last year.
Meanwhile, uninsured workers are left to claim state handouts that are less than one third the amount they could claim on insurance. The All-Party Parliamentary Group on Occupational Safety and Health recently said the "voluntary approach is failing" and called on the Government to take urgent action and set up a fund of last resort.
The Motor Insurance Bureau already provides compensation for victims of uninsured drivers.
A new Employers Liability Insurance Bureau would provide fair and equal compensation for all workers - and would not cost the taxpayer a penny.
The ABI opposes the plan as it claims it could encourage bosses to break the law and not insure workers and because they do not want today's firms to pay for failures of the past.
RAMANI AYER THE HARTFORD
Job Chairman
Perks £1million profit on share options
IAN WILLETMUNICIPAL MUTUAL
Job Director
Perks £43,000 bonus on top of £294,000 salary
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