A new government scheme in the UK came into effect on October 1st and will pay a lump sum to all mesothelioma sufferers, irrespective of occupational exposure. However, some asbestos victims are shocked and appalled to discover that some asbestosis sufferers and some mesothelioma sufferers will lose compensation in order to fund the scheme.

Alan Robinson, who suffers from asbestosis and was exposed to asbestos at Rochdale, England’s Turner & Newall factory, said: “I stand to receive about £8,000 from a T&N Fund instead of the £50,000 I should have got. The government is going to recover £4,334 and I will be left with £3,666 from the Fund. Had I concluded my claim a few months ago I would have had nearly £12,000 in compensation. That’s been cut by a third. I fully support a lump sum payment to all mesothelioma sufferers, that is a right thing to do, but it is wrong to fund the new scheme by hitting asbestos victims like me.”

The Asbestos Victims Support Groups Forum believes that government recovery is not an unintended consequence of the new Act. Chairman Tony Whitston said: "It is deliberate policy and asbestos victims and the Forum are calling on government to amend the legislation so that asbestos victims do not end up funding the new scheme.

“The government never made it clear when it received so many plaudits for introducing the new scheme that it would use compensation from some asbestosis victims and some mesothelioma sufferers who worked for T&N to fund the new scheme. We are calling on government to take immediate steps to stop funding the new scheme by reducing further small amounts of compensation received by asbestos victims.”

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On June 24th, Brandy Kieschnick, the daughter of deceased DuPont employee, Walter Dunn, filed a lawsuit against E.I. DuPont De Nemours and Co. and several other companies, including Viacom, Union Carbide and MetLife.

According to the plaintiff, Dunn worked as an inspector and pipe-fitter for DuPont and other companies for a "period of many years," where he was allegedly exposed to asbestos fibers. Dunn was exposed to asbestos "while working in powerhouses, refineries, commercial buildings, steel mills and plants," the suit says, adding that he "inhaled great quantities of asbestos fibers."

As an alleged result of being exposed to asbestos, Walter Dunn died on June 23, 2006.

On top of exemplary damages, the plaintiff is suing for her father's physical pain, mental anguish, lost wages, loss of earning capacity, physical impairment, and medical expenses.

According to the latest report by the American Lung Association, death rates due to lung disease are currently increasing while death rates due to other leading causes of death such as heart disease, cancer and stroke are declining. It is expected that by the year 2020, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) will become the third leading cause of death. According to Bernadette Toomey, President and CEO of the American Lung Association, “Every year, about 400,000 Americans die from lung disease. With our report, Lung Disease Data, we hope to provide valuable information on lung disease to the public, especially to people who become ill and their family members who are caring for them.”

The American Lung Association categorizes lung disease as one of the following:

· Obstructive lung diseases such as asthma and COPD which includes chronic bronchitis and emphysema. These all affect a person's airways and limit or block the flow of air in or out of the lungs.

· Infectious illnesses such as pneumonia, influenza, respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) and tuberculosis (TB). Bacteria or viruses cause these diseases that can also affect the membrane (or pleura) that surround the lungs.

· Lung cancer. A disease characterized by uncontrolled growth and spread of abnormal cells.

· Respiratory failure, pulmonary edema, pulmonary embolism and pulmonary hypertension. These conditions are caused by problems with the normal gas exchange and blood flow in the lungs.

· Pulmonary fibrosis and sarcoidosis.

· Occupational diseases, such as mesothelioma and asbestosis, caused by exposure to hazardous substances.

The American Lung Association strongly believes that if cigarette smoking, preventable premature childbirth, disregard for workers' safety and violation of clean-air laws were to end today, a future largely free of the most lethal forms of lung disease would be possible.

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The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has honored a Hamden, CT man for his effort in protecting children against asbestos.

Ron Skomro, supervisor of the state Department of Public Health's Asbestos Program, worked with suppliers to stop the sale of art clay in the state that contains asbestos-containing talc. At the beginning of the decade, several art suppliers were using talc in their products; items such as crayons, doodled with and chewed on by children everywhere, used asbestos in their formula. Skomoro's work represents the latest step in a long struggle to remove asbestos-containing products from the market.

Skomoro began his efforts after high levels of asbestos were discovered in a school's art room and traced to clay use. Talc is included in clay to lower the temperature at which it needs to be heated, and some forms of talc are naturally contaminated with asbestos. Skomoro lobbied until the Art and Creative Materials Institute mandated that member manufacturers reformulate their products to remove asbestos.

The EPA gave Skomro its 2008 Environmental Merit Award at a ceremony in Boston.

The Mesothelioma Resource Center--MesoRC--was founded to fill a void for mesothelioma patients who needed a comprehensive and inclusive place to find information, support, and advice.   The success of the site has prompted an expansion; MesoRC now includes resources for non-cancerous asbestos-related diseases.

The site aims to extend its sense of community and connectivity beyond mesothelioma patients to people affected by asbestosis, interstitial fibrosis, and pleural disease. These rare, debilitating diseases are often underfunded; in expanding MesoRC to address these conditions, the Law Offices of James Sokolove hope to provide an understandable and thorough resource for a population of patients that remain under-served. “The early success of MesoRC showed us that the site was making a significant difference for mesothelioma patients who literally had nowhere to turn, and we knew that victims of these other rare diseases could also benefit from an online resource center. As a firm, our mission is about finding innovative, customer-focused ways to serve our clients’ needs, and expanding MesoRC to help more people is one way we’re doing that," said Mike Skoler, CEO of LOJS.

Read the full press release here.