The Industrial Injuries Advisory Council (IIAC) rejected adding asbestos-related laryngeal cancer to the list of prescribed industrial diseases. It noted: “After reviewing the evidence, the council concluded that while there may be some evidence of an increased risk in certain sub-groups of workers, overall there was insufficient evidence to recommend changes to the list of prescribed diseases for which people can claim Industrial Injuries Disablement Benefit.”
It’s not enough that the asbestos industry is using lies and spin to push is deadly product. Now it is resorting to threats and the courts to harass its critics.
A top asbestos campaigner in France is facing libel action from an industry lobby group. Unions have vowed to support François Desriaux, a driving force behind the French asbestos victim support group Andeva. This autumn he is scheduled to appear in the Paris regional lower criminal court to answer libel charges brought against him by the Montreal-based Chrysotile Institute. The organisation is claiming ‘public criminal libel of a private individual’. It says the institute is described on the Andeva website as ‘a body highly active in propaganda and subornation’ [inducing others to commit an illegal act].
Europe’s trade union confederation ETUC has called for a blanket ban on paint strippers that contain dichloromethane. The union made its position clear as the European Parliament’s (EP) Environment Committee prepares to publish its opinion on a Commission proposal to restrict the sale and use of products containing the chemical. The ban was subsequently introduced. In 2014 the UK Health and Safety Executive became the only EU regulator to ask for a derogation from some of its requirements.
A major US firm that denied outright having used notorious industry spin doctors to block regulatory action on highly dangerous beryllium was lying, evidence suggests. Earlier this year, David Michaels and Celeste Monforton of the Project on Scientific Knowledge and Public Policy (SKAPP) published a paper, ‘Beryllium’s public relations problem: Protecting workers when there is no safe exposure level,’ criticising beryllium giant Brush Wellman for its efforts to prevent workplace safety agency OSHA and the US Department of Energy from lowering exposure limits for the highly toxic metal, linked to problems including cancer and debilitating lung and other diseases.
The Industrial Injuries Advisory Council decide there was insufficient evidence to recommend prescription for testicular cancer in fire fighters, despite the findings of a UN agency suggesting it should have qualified. According to IIAC: “A review by the International Agency for Research on Cancer indicated that risks of testicular cancer in male fire fighters were doubled. Following its review of the evidence, the council concluded that while there was evidence of an increased risk of testicular cancer in fire fighters, there was insufficient evidence that risks are clearly doubled. The council therefore could not recommend changes to the list of prescribed diseases for which people can claim Industrial Injuries Disablement Benefit.”
The UK government has attempted to undermine a proposed new European exposure limit to protect workers from a chemical linked to allergies and cancer. Commenting on new standards agreed by the European Commission’s Advisory Committee for Safety and Health at Work, the European Trade Union Confederation’s (ETUC) research arm, ETUI-REHS, reported: “The German and British governments actively supported the formaldehyde industry’s campaign, while the other governments were divided.” In 1997, Hazards magazine revealed the Health and Safety Executive had leapt to the defence of the MDF industry after unions called for a ban on formaldehyde-containing MDF boards. Since then unions in Australia and the US have pressed for low- and no-formaldehyde boards.
A High Court ruling has confirmed the lung cancer and asbestos link. Although it has long been accepted asbestos causes lung cancer, proving the link in court has been difficult because, unlike mesothelioma, the condition can be caused by a wide range of other factors, including smoking.
John Shortell (executor of the estate of John Joseph Shortell deceased and litigation friend of Eileen Shortell) v BICAL construction Ltd (sued as successor to BIC Construction Ltd), in the High Court of Justice (Queen’s Bench Division), Liverpool District Registry, Case No: 7LV30059, 28 April – 1 May 2008. Risks 357.
Carbon nanotubes might be as harmful as asbestos if inhaled, according to a study. A paper in the scientific journal Nature Nanotechnology reports that animal studies indicate that these long and very thin carbon molecules could cause mesothelioma, a cancer previously associated almost exclusively with asbestos exposure.
A continually-updated, annotated bibliography of occupational cancer research produced by Hazards magazine, the Alliance for Cancer Prevention and the International Trade Union Confederation (ITUC).
