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Friday, April 23, 2004
Asbestos legislation falls apart in the Senate
By CHARLES POPE - SEATTLE POST-INTELLIGENCER WASHINGTON CORRESPONDENT
WASHINGTON -- Once-promising legislation to compensate asbestos victims while shielding companies from crippling jury awards collapsed yesterday in the Senate amid charges of election-year gamesmanship.
The $124 billion bill, which was written by Senate Republicans with comment from the asbestos and insurance industries, fell far short of the 60 votes needed to end the debate. The vote was 50-47.
http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/national/170370_asbestos23.html

Update on Asbestos Legislation (10-23-00)
Several actions over the past year have been responsible for a renewed public and legislative interest in the health dangers of asbestos. In a 1999 Supreme Court ruling against a $1.5 billion class action settlement, the justices ruled that the settlement had compromised the rights of the victims and that it was up to Congress to develop legislation to help move the numerous asbestos lawsuits through the court system at a faster pace. The second action was a series of Seattle Post-Intelligencer articles beginning in November 1999 about the Libby, MT, vermiculite mine and the 192 asbestos-related deaths there over the last 40 years. The newspaper articles prompted a public outcry, and two federal investigations into government agencies' failure to warn Libby residents and workers. Small amounts of asbestos from talc were also found in three major brands of crayons this summer. These events may influence the federal government to reevaluate the way they regulate these fibers.
Most Recent Action
In March 1999, Rep. Henry Hyde (R-IL) introduced H.R. 1283, a companion bill to S. 758 that would create a formal procedure for federal asbestos cases. This bill, the Asbestos Compensation Act of 2000, would establish the Office of Asbestos Compensation within the Department of Justice as well as authorize the formation of the Asbestos Compensation Fund that would provide payments to claimants under this act. A Congressional Research Service report on H.R. 1283, available at the National Library for the Environment, contains details about the proposals in the bill.
http://www.agiweb.org/gap/legis106/asbestos.html
By Christopher Tidmore, Political Columnist
January 23, 2006
In the last few decades, nearly 123,158 tons of asbestos has been shipped into Orleans Parish, some only blocks from where school children play. Twenty-six tons arrived in the 200 block of Camp Street just days prior to Hurricane Katrina, an area surrounded by neighborhoods and restaurants frequented by many.
Post-storm rehabilitations of homes, the related large scale demolitions, or even ubiquitous roofing jobs currently underway on Orleans Parish houses are and will expose thousands of people to asbestos in ways unprecedented in urban American history.
Despite these dangers, a new bill now before Congress would prevent someone who gets cancer due to asbestos exposure post-Katrina from getting relief from the Asbestos Trust Fund.
http://www.louisianaweekly.com/weekly/news/articlegate.pl?20060124e