Yesterday Australian ombudsman Bruce Barbour released a report,”Responding to the asbestos Problem: The need for significant reform in NSW,” addressing the distressing asbestos issues in Australia’s New South Wales (NSW).
In the report Barbour predicts annual road-related deaths in NWS in 2008 (totaling 397) would be “dwarfed” by the number of mesothelioma and asbestos-related cancer deaths. By 2020, there could be an estimated 13,000 cases of mesothelioma and 40,000 cases of asbestos-related cancers.
Asbestos was widely used in Australia and many other counties in thousands of products. Unfortunately, asbestos exposure can lead to diseases such as asbestosis, lung cancer, and malignant mesothelioma. And in March 2009 the International Agency for Research on Cancer confirmed that asbestos exposure also causes ovarian cancer.
Additionally, the National Cancer Institute reports some studies have suggested an association between asbestos exposure and gastrointestinal cancer and colorectal cancer, as well as an elevated risk for developing kidney, throat, esophagus and gallbladder cancer.
Barbour says, “Historically it was workers who contracted asbestos-related diseases . . . tradesmen, home renovators. Innocent bystanders are now presenting with asbestos-related diseases and dying.”
One of the major issues addressed in the report is the abandoned Woods Reef open-cut asbestos mine in northern NSW. The abandoned asbestos mine had even turned into a “tourist attraction” with locals offering tours, completely unaware of the hazard involved.
“The extent of asbestos contamination at the site is extraordinary, yet very little remediation has occurred at the site since the mine closed in 1983,” Barbour said.
According to the World Health Organization (WHO), 125 million people encounter white asbestos in the workplace, and the International Labour Organization (ILO) estimates that 100,000 workers die each year from all asbestos-related diseases.
Reports like that of Bruce Barbour’s are increasing in numbers, helping to raise global awareness on the dangers of asbestos exposure. asbestos is not banned in the United States, but more than 50 countries have elected to fully ban or heavily regulate the substance with hopes of saving lives and honoring humanity.
Additional information on mesothelioma may be found through the mesothelioma Center.