Asbestos on Ships Still Poses a Mesothelioma Risk to Sailors
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Asbestos on Ships Still Poses a Mesothelioma Risk to Sailors

ByAlex Strauss

A new report warns that sailors are still at risk for malignant mesothelioma because of asbestos on ships – in spite of OSHA regulations. A pair of public health researchers authored the report which appears in the International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health.  Sailors face a number of health risks, including malignant mesothelioma. But the authors of the new report say more studies focus on people who work in shipyards.  They say there is not enough attention on the mesothelioma risk among people who not only work but also live with asbestos on ships.  The Use of Asbestos on Ships Asbestos is a naturally-occurring mineral. It must be mined from the ground and then processed into various products….

New Trust for Navy Veterans with Mesothelioma
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New Trust for Navy Veterans with Mesothelioma

ByAlex Strauss

Starting this month, Navy veterans who contracted mesothelioma by working with certain types of valves and steam control equipment on ships have a new potential source to help pay their medical bills and expenses. CIRCOR, the parent company of Leslie Controls, a major supplier of valves and gaskets to the US Navy from the 1940s until the 1980s, has created a trust fund specifically for Navy veterans with mesothelioma and other asbestos-related diseases.  The $74 million dollar trust fund was part of a Chapter 11 bankruptcy reorganization plan. Mesothelioma is caused by exposure to the fibrous mineral, asbestos. Asbestos is a known carcinogen that has been linked not only to mesothelioma but also to lung cancer, asbestosis, and a host of other…

Navy Did Not Protect All Veterans from Mesothelioma
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Navy Did Not Protect All Veterans from Mesothelioma

ByAlex Strauss

Calling it one of the “most knowledgeable organizations in the world regarding the health hazards of asbestos,” a San Francisco-based chemical risk assessment company says that the U.S. Navy was ahead of the curve in attempting to protect veterans and civilians from mesothelioma in the 1960’s.  Ships of that era were heavily laden with asbestos, making Navy veterans among the most common victims of mesothelioma, the most serious of the diseases caused by asbestos exposure. But according to Kara Franke and Dennis Paustenbach who examined dozens of published and unpublished documents on asbestos knowledge from 1900 to 1970, the Navy understood the health hazards of asbestos as early as the 1930’s. Although they continued to require its use on ships, the Navy…