Asbestos Deaths Up 2,000% In US Between 1968 and 2000 - CDC

[hatrack]

ATLANTA - "Deaths from asbestos exposure have surged in the United States and are set to keep rising in the next decade as more workers succumb to the lung disease caused by the industrial mineral, federal health experts warned yesterday.

The number of Americans who died of asbestosis, which is caused by inhalation of asbestos particles, jumped to 1,493 in 2000 from 77 in 1968, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
The incurable disease, marked by shortness of breath and persistent cough and linked to a higher risk of cancer, is now a bigger killer than silicosis and black lung and the deadliest of all work-related respiratory illnesses.

The Atlanta-based CDC warned that the death toll would likely continue rising because of the lag - often as much as 45 years - between initial exposure to asbestos fibers and death. "What we're dealing with is a legacy of the past," said Michael Attfield, an epidemiologist in the CDC's National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health and one of the study's authors.

Prized for its heat-resistant and insulation properties, asbestos was mined for use in U.S. shipyards and construction sites after World War II. Its use declined sharply in the 1980s after warnings about health risks."

EDIT

http://www.planetark.org/dailynewsstory.cfm/newsid/26202/story.htm

[JaxDem]

1. Asbestos deaths up

My husband who is retired USN has asbestos and is part of a class action lawsuit. Many of his shipmates have it as well and a few have died.

In the fall of 2002 Harbison-Walker Refractories Co. & Halliburton filed Chapter 11 Bankruptcy protection. To date not a penny has been paid out. Puzzling, but to be expected from Cheney & co. I'd personally like to drop the "F" bomb on him.

[marlakay]

2. My dad too

My dad died of lung cancer from it. He worked at mare island navy base for years. I miss him alot, he was my best friend. People have said things about edwards for being a lawyer making money. But he helped people wronged by things like this.

[Name removed]

3. Deleted message

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[kestrel91316]

4. My prediction:

a major asbestosis epidemic in folks who were in NYC after the 9/11 attack, peaking in 2045. The air was full of it...............the WTC structures were full of it and what do you think all that DUST and crap in the air was? People are already disabled permanently from respiratory problems (esp cops and fire dept), and it's just the tip of the iceberg. The really good thing is that between global climate catastrophe and peak oil, we will mostly be dead by then anyway. I am not feeling very optimistic about life on earth anymore. Time to go eat worms.................

[CHIMO]

5. Unfortunately probably true

From what I know it takes about 30 years. If one smokes then it is a larger probability.
When I saw the dust in NY from the collapse of the buildings, that is what I thought. Asbestos was used everywhere for insulation and fire protection.