Archive for May, 2008
British Columbia Honors Asbestos Victims
One hundred and thirty nine British Columbia workers who lost their lives because of workplace injury in 2007 were remembered in a province-wide day of mourning April 28. In Vancouver, a day of mourning ceremony is to be held at Hastings Park at 10 a.m., where 139 markers, representing each of the workers who died, will line a path to the park’s workers’ memorial. This particular event is sponsored by WorkSafeBC, the B.C. Federation of Labor and the Business Council of B.C.
Asbestos Fears Close California Recreational Area
Concerns about naturally occurring asbestos have caused the federal Bureau of Land Management to close the Clear Creek Management Area in Northern California. The parkland draws hundreds of off-road enthusiasts, hikers and campers on weekends. The unimproved area is an opportunity to explore the area’s old mining roads, rare flora and fauna, and rugged scenery. At fifty square miles, Clear Creek has been a paradise for off-road enthusiasts and dirt bike riders.
About half the Clear Creek Management Area was closed last Friday after the Environmental Protection Agency issued a report saying asbestos in the area posed a serious cancer risk to those who work, hike, camp, hunt, collect gems and ride dirt bikes.
10 Percent of Australian Carpenters Likely Mesothelioma Victims
One-in-10 Australian carpenters born before 1950 will die of mesothelioma, according to results of a British study released in Australia in April. They will be among 30,000 Australians who will die from mesothelioma between 2000 and 2050.
Cancer research specialist Professor Julian Peto made the findings during research into the lifetime occupations of 600 mesothelioma patients and an analysis of international trends in mesothelioma mortality. Dr. Peto said the cause of mesothelioma was not restricted to the deadly blue asbestos, also known as crocidolite, but to brown asbestos (amosite) which was used in building products in Australia and Britain until the 1980s.
