YES, PEOPLE STILL DEVELOP ASBESTOS DISEASE

Steven E. Crick

Having represented asbestos claimants since 1986, we are often asked, "I thought that was over with. Are people still getting sick from asbestos cancer?" or "Are there still asbestos claims? I thought that all of the companies had filed for bankruptcy." Well, people are still getting sick and dying from asbestos-related cancers. And, no, claims are still being filed in state and federal courts against companies not in bankruptcy and in bankruptcy courts against those who are.

Asbestos is a mineral. Mined from the ground, asbestos is like a fiber or a thread. It can be separated into long, thin strands, some so thin that they can't be seen with the human eye. Since it is a mineral, both strong and durable, asbestos fibers were used to hold ingredients together as a binder in products like brakes, drywall joint cement, ceiling textures, ceiling tiles, roofing asphalt, floor tiles, gaskets and packing. Asbestos fibers were even used by children to make jewelry and clay products. Because asbestos does not burn, the fibers were often used in products that needed to withstand heat, like pipe insulation or fireproofing.

Most product manufacturers stopped using asbestos in their products in the 1970's and 1980's. However, the asbestos that was used in those products can still be found in the buildings where the products were applied. Unless precautions are taken and workers are warned, union members can be exposed to that same asbestos today-and often are. I regularly get calls from union members saying that they were recently exposed to asbestos at work but were not informed of the asbestos until after the exposure took place.

Although most products were made without asbestos 20-30 years ago, you may ask why are people still getting asbestos disease? Asbestos cancer is not like most work-related injuries. Victims don't immediately develop cancer after an exposure. Asbestos-related cancers, like mesothelioma, don't develop until after a "latency" period of usually 15 to even 50 years. Our office routinely represents asbestos victims who were first exposed to asbestos in the 1950's or 1960's but who did not develop cancer until recently. That is the nature of the disease. So, people who were exposed to asbestos in the 1970's, when asbestos was being removed from products, may not develop asbestos-related cancer for another 10 or more years.

Asbestos was used in thousands of products by people all over the country. In many cases, asbestos was still used even though the manufacturer or seller was aware of the hazard yet did not tell their customers or the people using the products. Thousands, if not millions, of men and women have developed varieties of asbestos injuries from pleural plaques on the lungs to asbestosis to lung cancer and mesothelioma, a fatal cancer of the lining of the lung or abdomen. Asbestos was a true national tragedy for working men and women.

For more information, contact Steven E. Crick at Humphrey, Farrington & McClain, P.C., P.O. Box 900, 221 W. Lexington, Suite 400, Independence, MO 64051. Telephone 816-836-5050 or e-mail