Today, asbestos and other toxic substances still contaminate apartment buildings and offices throughout Lower Manhattan, and medical experts have found that more than half of the workers who toiled at ground zero have developed persistent upper and lower respiratory tract symptoms.
The fact that millions of homes, office buildings and manufacturing plants throughout the nation contain significant amounts of asbestos insulation means that whenever these edifices are renovated or demolished, the possibility exists for widespread contamination of the surrounding environment with deadly asbestos fibers.
Asbestos disease will be disabling and killing people for decades to come. Indeed, the Environmental Working Group -- a research group in Washington -- estimates that at least 10,000 people in the United States will die each year of asbestos disease over the next 20 years.
Suffice it to say that Bush's attempt to convince us that this public health crisis should be viewed as a litigation crisis is a cruel hoax. So is the $140-billion asbestos compensation fund with which the Republicans in Congress, industry and its insurers propose to satisfy all asbestos claims present and future, while depriving claimants of their constitutional right to a jury trial. The fact is, the $140 billion was not arrived at through consideration of how many people may develop asbestos disease, or how much compensation they may deserve, but by asking industry and its insurers how much they would be willing to pay to eliminate their liability. Because no one knows how many asbestos victims will bring claims, whether the trust fund has any chance of remaining solvent is questionable.
Instead of extending a helping hand to companies that behaved with gross negligence, we should remember the plight of hundreds of thousands of past victims of asbestos disease and consider the suffering and economic burden of hundreds of thousands of their fellow citizens who will develop asbestos disease in the years to come.
As for Congress, it should set about to devise a truly fair asbestos compensation act.
