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Ex-Railroad Workers File Asbestos Lawsuits [USA] - The papers describe five men who faced the end of their lives with bodies ridden with cancer. They had difficulty breathing because of damaged lungs, some developed dementia, and others were in constant pain from damaged nervous systems. Now four survivors face a similar future. Nine lawsuits filed Tuesday in 3rd District Court allege that Union Pacific Railroad Company is to blame. (Rhina Guidos, Salt Lake Tribune, 9 Apr. 2003)

Less money for mining victims - Cape plc’s South African asbestos victims will get only one-third of the £21-million originally promised them by the British-based multinational. (Justin Arenstein, Mail & Guardian [South Africa], 14 Mar. 2003)

Black workers to receive £45m asbestos settlement [South Africa] - Thousands of black South African workers suffering from asbestos-related diseases yesterday secured multi-million pound compensation deals from two leading mining companies, after six years of legal wrangling in London and Johannesburg. British company Cape has agreed to pay £7.5m in compensation to 7,500 workers, and Gencor, a South African company which took over many Cape operations in 1979, has agreed to set up a trust fund for its workers, worth 448 million rand (£37.5m). Gencor will pay an additional £3.21m to the Cape claimants, who were also exposed to Gencor's operations. (David Black, Guardian, 14 Mar. 2003)

CHEMICALS: U.N. Panel Calls For Further Controls On Asbestos, Pesticides - A panel set up under the Rotterdam Convention on hazardous chemicals called yesterday for tougher trade controls on all forms of asbestos, several deadly pesticides and two highly toxic lead fuel additives. (UN Wire, 11 Mar. 2003)

Asbestos Case Ruling Sides With Workers [USA] - The Supreme Court ruled Monday that some workers who were exposed to cancer-causing asbestos can win money damages in court even though they do not yet have cancer and may never get it...The fear of developing cancer is grounds enough to collect for workers who already have asbestosis, a separate asbestos-related ailment, and can document their health fears, a 5-member majority of the court found. (Associated Press, 10 Mar. 2003)

Workplace Safety - asbestos campaign (Australian Workers Union)

Websites:

Workplace Safety - asbestos campaign (Australian Workers Union)

Cape plc: case in U.K. court regarding the company's conduct in South Africa: 

Other materials:

2003:

Ex-Railroad Workers File Asbestos Lawsuits [USA] - The papers describe five men who faced the end of their lives with bodies ridden with cancer. They had difficulty breathing because of damaged lungs, some developed dementia, and others were in constant pain from damaged nervous systems. Now four survivors face a similar future. Nine lawsuits filed Tuesday in 3rd District Court allege that Union Pacific Railroad Company is to blame. (Rhina Guidos, Salt Lake Tribune, 9 Apr. 2003)

Less money for mining victims - Cape plc’s South African asbestos victims will get only one-third of the £21-million originally promised them by the British-based multinational. (Justin Arenstein, Mail & Guardian [South Africa], 14 Mar. 2003)

Black workers to receive £45m asbestos settlement [South Africa] - Thousands of black South African workers suffering from asbestos-related diseases yesterday secured multi-million pound compensation deals from two leading mining companies, after six years of legal wrangling in London and Johannesburg. British company Cape has agreed to pay £7.5m in compensation to 7,500 workers, and Gencor, a South African company which took over many Cape operations in 1979, has agreed to set up a trust fund for its workers, worth 448 million rand (£37.5m). Gencor will pay an additional £3.21m to the Cape claimants, who were also exposed to Gencor's operations. (David Black, Guardian, 14 Mar. 2003)

CHEMICALS: U.N. Panel Calls For Further Controls On Asbestos, Pesticides - A panel set up under the Rotterdam Convention on hazardous chemicals called yesterday for tougher trade controls on all forms of asbestos, several deadly pesticides and two highly toxic lead fuel additives. (UN Wire, 11 Mar. 2003)

Asbestos Case Ruling Sides With Workers [USA] - The Supreme Court ruled Monday that some workers who were exposed to cancer-causing asbestos can win money damages in court even though they do not yet have cancer and may never get it...The fear of developing cancer is grounds enough to collect for workers who already have asbestosis, a separate asbestos-related ailment, and can document their health fears, a 5-member majority of the court found. (Associated Press, 10 Mar. 2003)

Asbestos Claimants Accept Gencor Offer [South Africa] - Lawyers representing asbestos victims approved a settlement offer from Gencor yesterday...Part of the R460m settlement offer would be set aside for claims against Cape plc (Chantelle Benjamin, Business Day [South Africa], 4 Feb. 2003)

Asbestos kills, judgment awaits [South Africa] - Herman Kubari is dead...He was the first of 1 600 applicants in a motion in the Johannesburg high court late last year to interdict Gencor, the investment holding company, from unbundling its stake in Impala Platinum and distributing the proceeds to shareholders until sufficient provision had been made for damages actions brought for asbestos-related diseases. (Ronnie Morris, Business Report [South Africa], 30 Jan. 2003)

2002:

Asbestos-related diseases 'rising' [Australia] -...Asbestos-related diseases affect people who have worked in asbestos factories, in the construction industries, on the waterfront, at sea or just doing home renovations. (Kelly Nicholls, AAP, 25 Nov. 2002)

Gencor denies it employed asbestos claimants [South Africa] (Ronnie Morris, Business Report, 25 Nov. 2002)

Gencor opposes class action as 37 seek payment for asbestos-related diseases [South Africa] - SA MINING company, Gencor, has contested the basis for a class action in SA. (Business Day [South Africa], 22 Nov. 2002)

Asbestos victims seek court nod for class action against Gencor [South Africa] - The Johannesburg high court will be asked tomorrow to recognise the right of people suffering from asbestos-related diseases to bring a class action for damages against Gencor, the investment holding company. [refers also to Cape plc] (Ronnie Morris, Business Report [South Africa], 18 Nov. 2002)

Claimants set to pursue Gencor in UK [UK/South Africa] -...Lawyers for the claimants are apparently re-opening the case because Cape plc failed to pay the first tranche of the settlement on the due date. Gencor has denied any liability arising from claims by asbestos miners (Business Day [South Africa], 14 Nov. 2002)

Asbestos litigation overwhelms courts [USA] -...Not enough of the money is getting into the hands of people who have suffered, said Mickey Kilbane, a Cleveland asbestos worker critical of corporate bankruptcies and fat lawyer fees. (Stephen Hudak & John F. Hagan, Plain Dealer [USA], 5 Nov. 2002)

Asbestos victims' lawyers carry costs - UK-based company Cape plc reneged on more than just the settlement agreement it had with 7500 SA [South Africa] victims suffering from asbestos-related disease, says London lawyer for the claimants Richard Meeran. Cape plc failed to pay more than £50000, being the costs of a medical review of the claimants, until forced to do after a judgment was obtained against the company. The £20000 in expenses incurred in setting up a trust fund in SA are still outstanding. (Business Day [South Africa], 28 Oct. 2002)

Gencor mum on asbestos case [South Africa] - Gencor, the mining holding company, said that until it had papers served upon it in South Africa, it had no comment on the decision by the English High Court to include Gencor as a co-defendant in the asbestos case of Cape plc, the UK building materials company. (Justin Brown, Business Day [South Africa], 16 Oct. 2002)

Cape avoids justice again - ACTSA [Action for Southern Africa] campaigners protested today outside the Royal Courts of Justice to express their outrage and disappointment at the collapse of the out-of-court settlement between Cape Plc and the 7,500 South African asbestos claimants, which was made last December. (ACTSA - Action for Southern Africa, 15 Oct. 2002) 

SA asbestos lawyers could face dilemma: Gencor may seek redress from Cape [South Africa] - Lawyers for the 7500 SA victims suffering from asbestos-related diseases will ask the British High Court next week to make Gencor a co-defendant in proceedings against UK-based company Cape plc. (Business Day [South Africa], 8 Oct. 2002)

Justices turn away asbestos fight [USA] - The Supreme Court has refused again to get involved in a dispute over a giant asbestos trial in West Virginia that big corporations claimed could cost them millions. The court in September refused to stop the trial from starting and then said today it would not review arguments from Mobil Corp. and other large companies that the large trial was unconstitutional. (Associated Press, 7 Oct. 2002)

Asbestos claim case takes new twist with Gencor: Workers to challenge company's unbundling [South Africa] - The case brought by 7500 SA mineworkers against UK multinational Cape plc took a new twist last Friday when London lawyers joined forces with SA lawyers to challenge the terms of Gencor's proposed unbundling.  Gencor's shareholders are scheduled to meet on Wednesday on whether or not to approve the proposal which provides R409m for the costs of defending asbestos claims, but no provision to compensate victims. (Business Day [South Africa], 30 Sep. 2002)

Asbestos Lawsuit Stays On Docket [USA] - The Supreme Court refused Monday to block a massive asbestos trial in West Virginia...The trial will combine the cases of some 8,000 people who claim asbestos exposure against 250 companies. (CBS News, 16 Sep. 2002)

Cape Plc fails to pay asbestos claimants [South Africa] - The lawyers of thousands of South Africans suffering from asbestos-related diseases said on Monday they would return to the United Kingdom High Court in an effort to force mining company Cape Plc to pay overdue settlement claims. (South African Press Association, in Business Report [South Africa], 16 Sep. 2002)  

Asbestos case: Bankers could be held liable [South Africa] - The bankers of Cape plc, the company that reached an out-of-court settlement with South African asbestosis victims last year, would be held personally responsible if it was proved they were responsible for reneging on the agreement, the victims' legal counsel said on Tuesday. The directors of the company and its bankers, Barclays and the Royal Bank of Scotland, were formally notified of this on Tuesday (South African Press Association, 10 Sep. 2002)

Asbestos Lawyers Hand Cape a Final Ultimatum to Pay [South Africa] - Lawyers acting on behalf of victims of Cape plc's asbestos operations on Monday handed the multi-national an ultimatum to comply with an out-of-court settlement. (South African Press Association, 2 Sep. 2002)

Asbestos: jobs, profits and sustainable development - A hideous blue spectre hovers behind the cleaner, greener image being promoted on the eve of the World Summit for Sustainable Development (WSSD). It is the spectre of asbestos, a legacy of a greed-driven and uncaring past. (Terry Bell, Labour News Network, 22 Aug. 2002)

Asbestos victims' wait drags on [South Africa] - UK company Cape plc is expected to make payment of its first £11m to the 7500 SA victims of asbestos-related disease on August 20, according to lawyers for the victims. Late last week, however, Cape plc was unable to give a date for payment of the first instalment. The company was originally due to make the payment at the end of June, but this was delayed due to a major financial restructuring exercise. (Business Day [South Africa], 8 Aug. 2002)

Asbestosis victims wait for their millions [South Africa] - Mining company Cape plc is still unable to give a date for the payout of £11-million (about R175-million) in damages due to the 7 500 victims of asbestosis contracted from the company's mines in the Northern Cape. (Peter Fabricius, The Star [South Africa], 5 Aug. 2002)

Thompsons set to help SA's asbestosis victims [South Africa] - Thompsons Solicitors, the UK's largest personal injury practice specialising in representing claimants who have contracted work-related illnesses, has thrown its weight behind SA workers suffering from asbestos-linked diseases...Ntulinoble & Spoor has already registered a large number of claimants and issued 36 summonses...on behalf of workers who had previously worked at African Crysotile Asbestos and what the attorneys described as controlling companies, including Gencor, Msauli Asbestos (Msauli) and Hanova Mining. (Business Day [South Africa], 10 June 2002)

Asbestos firm [Cape] warns of claims risk - A UK-owned building firm, which has agreed to pay £20m to South African miners over asbestos-related claims, has warned it may suffer further payouts if bankers scupper the deal...Any reopening of the legal battle, which involved a landmark judgement by law lords, could escalate Cape's losses related to the claim, the firm warned. (BBC News, 5 June 2002)

36 asbestos claims cite Gencor as a defendant [South Africa] - Summonses on behalf of 36 former asbestos workers were issued in the Johannesburg high court yesterday against four mining companies [African Crysotile Asbestos, Msauli Asbes, Gencor and Hanova Mining]...for damages amounting to R25 million for asbestos-related illnesses. (Ronnie Morris, Business Report [South Africa], 22 May 2002)

Asbestos victims win landmark case [UK] - Three people affected by asbestos cancer have won a groundbreaking case for compensation in the House of Lords...They were appealing against previous rulings by the Court of Appeal and the High Court denying them compensation on the basis that they were exposed to the deadly dust by more than one employer...Most victims of illnesses associated with the deadly dust come from areas linked to heavy industries such as shipbuilding and engineering. (BBC News, 16 May 2002)

Environment Minister confirms presence of asbestos following Greenpeace action - Turkish Minister of Environment, Fevzi Aytekin, has today notified all relevant authorities that Turkey must not allow the French toxic ship for scrap "Sea Beirut" to enter the country...The vessel was illegally exported from France to Turkey to be scrapped at Aliaga, one of Turkey's notorious ship breaking yards, with dangerous toxic waste on board. (Greenpeace, 9 May 2002)

Campaign to cut work-related deaths [UK]: Campaigners are calling for every worker in Britain to be given access to an occupational health expert in an attempt to cut the "disgraceful" number of work-related deaths. The TUC says 10,000 employees die each year from occupational diseases such as asbestos poisoning, industrial accidents or heart disease caused by stress. (BBC News, 28 Apr. 2002)

Justice sought for workers suffering from asbestosis [South Africa] [regarding trust fund for victims of Cape plc] (Sanchia Temkin, Business Day [South Africa], 23 Apr. 2002)

Government Asked to Stop Asbestos Mining [India] - A group of medical professionals have urged the government to immediately stop mining and milling of asbestos in India, as it can cause lung cancer in those exposed to it. (Times of India, 17 Apr. 2002)

TUC [UK] welcomes MEPs’ ‘toughest approach yet’ to asbestos -...The European Parliament’s proposed exposure limits would reduce British exposure limits by between half and two thirds, depending on the type of asbestos concerned. (TUC, 17 Apr. 2002)

Sitting Ducks: As polluting asbestos units and illegal mining thrive amid lax laws, lakhs of workers become easy prey for dreaded diseases [India] (Kushal P. S. Yadav, in Down to Earth, Centre for Science and Environment [India], 15 Apr. 2002)

Trade unions call for comprehensive workplace measures:...With 160 million new cases of work-related diseases every year and 1.2 million fatalities (over 3,300 per day), ICFTU General Secretary, Guy Ryder has good reason to call for drastic workplace measures to address occupational conditions as a single largest contributor to the poor state of the world’s health...Asbestos is the single largest occupational culprit (International Confederation of Free Trade Unions, 5 Apr. 2002)

{···français} L'amiante, une véritable épée de Damoclès [France]: Un arrêt de la Cour de cassation bouleverse le régime d'indemnisation des accidents du travail (Le Monde, 26 mars 2002)

TUC hails Euro-Parliament move to protect workers from asbestos: The European Parliament’s Employment and Social Affairs Committee today voted to cut in half the maximum exposure for asbestos proposed by the European Commission in its new Asbestos Directive. (TUC [UK], 19 Mar. 2002)

{···français} Le droit à la santé au travail confirmé [France]: La Cour de cassation vient de rejeter la contestation en appel d'entreprises ayant exposé leurs salariés à l'amiante. Ces entreprises n'en avaient ni averti les salariés, ni pris les mesures de prévention imposées par la réglementation. La faute inexcusable avait donc été retenue contre elles. (CGT - Confédération Générale du Travail, 4 mars 2002)

{···français} L'Industrie de l'amiante jugée inexcusable...Une victoire pour les victimes [France] -...Trente affaires lui avaient été soumises le 17 janvier, impliquant les grands producteurs de produits à base d'amiante, comme Everite ou Eternit, des sidérurgistes, comme le groupe Sollac-Usinor, des entreprises de la métallurgie. (Armelle Thoraval, Libération, 1 mars 2002)

EPA [U.S. Environmental Protection Agency] to add asbestos-tainted Montana town to Superfund list:...W.R. Grace & Co. operated the mine, which is being blamed for nearly 200 deaths and the health problems of hundreds of other area residents. (Christopher Thorne, Associated Press, 28 Feb. 2002)

CHEMICALS: Panel Targets Three Pesticides, Asbestos For Trade Control The Interim Chemical Review Committee, a panel of government-appointed experts, recommended today that three widely used pesticides and all forms of asbestos should be placed on an international list of chemicals subject to trade controls (UN Wire, 21 Feb. 2002)

Asbestos victim sues Everite [South Africa]: A 52-year-old cancer victim and his wife have instigated a legal claim for R7 million against Everite, a company that manufactures asbestos products (South African Press Association, 28 Jan. 2002)

UK asbestos victims could miss payouts: A US company which owes millions to people dying of asbestos poisoning in the UK is likely to scale down compensation payouts. Federal Mogul, which bought out one of the UK's biggest asbestos producers, T&N, has itself gone into administration under the weight of claims from former employees and those who lived close by asbestos factories. (BBC News, 28 Jan. 2002)

Asbestosis victims take Gefco to court in quest for justice [South Africa] (Ronnie Morris, Business Report [South Africa], 15 Jan. 2002)

UK payout for asbestosis victims: British-based multinational Cape plc is expected to pay a first tranche of £21-million (about R336-million) in June to a trust set up to aid sufferers from asbestos-related diseases in South Africa. (Brendan Seery, Independent [South Africa], 12 Jan. 2002)

South African Asbestos Victims Settle With Cape: British-based multinational to pay €33.8m/$30.2m (ICEM - International Federation of Chemical, Energy, Mine and General Workers' Unions, 8 Jan. 2002)

2001:

Cape to compensate South Africa asbestos miners: Building materials firm Cape Plc reached a conditional deal last week to pay 21 million pounds ($30 million) to South African miners who blame it for asbestos-related diseases they contracted in the 1970s. (Rex Merrifield, Reuters, 24 Dec. 2001)

Blow to asbestos claimants: Britain's Court of Appeal ruled on Tuesday that people suffering from asbestos-related diseases will not receive compensation if they were exposed to the mineral fibres by more than one employer. But the ruling does not affect the claims by South Africans against Cape PLC. (News24.com [South Africa], 13 Dec. 2001)

Chilean 'blaze man' dies: A hospital in Chile has said a man who set himself ablaze in front of the presidential palace in an apparent protest over the misuse of asbestos has died...News organizations said they'd received faxes signed by Mr Mino in which the sender said the protest was calling attention to the cases of hundreds of people who had become ill through contact with asbestos. The letter blamed a Chilean construction company for the illnesses of workers and their families, as well as those of residents who live near one of the company's installations. (BBC News, 1 Dec. 2001)

Asbestos victims widen quest for compensation [South Africa/UK]: THE victims in SA's biggest asbestos claim have shown SA mining company Gefco and insurance firm General Accident SA that they intend to widen their focus in their quest for compensation. Although talks are continuing to settle the matter with Cape plc, the victims are looking to the two companies to acknowledge responsibility for the past and offer compensation. (Business Day [South Africa], 23 Nov. 2001)

House aims to put cap on asbestos liability [USA]: Pennsylvania's House of Representatives approved legislation Tuesday that limits the asbestos liability of the Philadelphia-based Crown Cork & Seal Co., which employs 1,000 Pennsylvanians, including about 267 in Fayette County. State House Republican leader John Perzel of Philadelphia claimed the company could go bankrupt because of asbestos lawsuits. (Dennis Barbagello, Pittsburgh Tribune-Review, 21 Nov. 2001)

Cape plc Opens Talks With South African Asbestos Victims: First breakthrough in compensation campaign? - Cape mined asbestos in South Africa for almost a century. "Children were employed, unprotected, in the most hazardous tasks of sorting asbestos with their bare hands and trampling it with their bare feet," recalled ICEM General Secretary Fred Higgs in letters last month to Montpellier and other major shareholders. "Due to the atrocious conditions at the mines and mills, thousands of South Africans developed the fatal asbestos cancer, mesothelioma, and the debilitating disease of asbestosis." (International Federation of Chemical, Energy, Mine and General Workers' Unions [ICEM],  6 Nov. 2001)

South African asbestos settlement talks begin: At a hearing at the Royal Courts of Justice this morning, it was agreed that lawyers from both parties will now have fourteen days to “engage in constructive dialogue”, while the case is suspended. (ACTSA [Action for Southern Africa], 5 Nov. 2001)

Trial date set, as Cape [British asbestos company Cape PLC] hints at settlement (ACTSA [Action for South Africa], 22 May 2001)

Cape [British asbestos company Cape PLC] shamed at AGM [annual general meeting] (ACTSA [Action for South Africa], 10 May 2001)

Asbestos bigger killer than roads [in UK] (Jim Pickard, Financial Times, 28 Apr. 2001)

CGNU [Norwich Union] AGM [annual general meeting] targeted by asbestos protestors (ACTSA [Action for South Africa], 24 Apr. 2001)

Apartheid's Killer Legacy [regarding the conduct of British asbestos company Cape PLC in South Africa] (ACTSA [Action for South Africa], Apr. 2001)

NGOs welcome WTO greenlight to French ban on asbestos but remain skeptical about the WTO dispute settlement process (Greenpeace, 14 Mar. 2001)

2000:

A History of the Deadly Dust: An Interview with Barry Castleman (Multinational Monitor, Sep. 2000)

A Breath of Fresh Air: WTO Ruling Upholds France's Asbestos Ban, Rejects Canadian Challenge (Laurie Kazen-Allen, Multinational Monitor, Sep. 2000)

Choking Off the Right to Sue: GAF's Campaign to Restrict Asbestos Victims' Rights (Charlie Cray, Multinational Monitor, Sep. 2000)