News Coverage
Area ranks low in asbestos-related deaths
Published March 5, 2004
Up to 49 people died in Genesee County from asbestos-related causes from 1979 to 2001, but the number is low compared to other Michigan counties, according to a new national report.
Research by the Environmental Working Group, a Washington D.C.-based organization, estimated there were 33 to 49 deaths caused by asbestos in the county, based on information from death certificates. The group looked for ailments known to be caused by asbestos.
That places Genesee County eighth in Michigan for asbestos-related deaths; it ranks fifth in population.
Since 1979, at least 1,140 people have died from asbestos in Michigan, the report states.
The findings are part of a heated lobbying effort opposing a bill pending in Congress that would create a pool of money for victims of asbestos-related diseases but limit the rights of victims to file lawsuits.
Trina Clark of Burton is among those who believes she should have the right to sue.
Clark, 38, suffers from cancer in the lining of the abdomen that she said was caused by asbestos exposure. She's not sure how she contracted the disease, but she is part of a national class-action lawsuit against asbestos-related businesses.
She said physicians told her she could expect to live six months to three years, but 2 1/2 years after she was diagnosed she still feels OK. Clark said she periodically goes to the National Institutes of Health in Maryland for checkups.
"I'm very angry. I have to live in fear every day because of (asbestos)," Clark said. "Somebody has to take responsibility for this because they knew it was dangerous."
She said asbestos-related businesses are reluctant to pay alleged victims, hoping that Congress will limit payouts.
The report contends industry executives knew for decades that asbestos was harmful but did nothing.
It wasn't until the late 1960s and '70s that the public learned that asbestos - used in products ranging from automotive brake linings to building insulation - caused cancer and other illnesses.
According to the report, 43,000 people have died in the United States due to exposure to asbestos since 1979, and those numbers will accelerate because asbestos-related diseases often remain latent for decades.
Asbestos is better regulated than in the 1970s, but the Environmental Working Group advocates a ban of asbestos building materials.
The report also urges Congress to defeat the bill that would create a $120-billion trust fund to pay claims to people who have asbestos-related diseases.
Critics say the trust fund is far too small, but industry leaders say there needs to be a system that fairly distributes payments and doesn't hurt the economy.
David Zurvalec, vice president of labor relations for the Michigan Manufacturers Association, said businesses with only limited connections to asbestos are being targeted for lawsuits. In some cases, he said, people file lawsuits when they have only been exposed to asbestos but haven't become sick.
"What happens is people who are seriously ill are not getting the compensation that they hoped they would receive," he said. "This way, people who need the money will get to go to the front of the line."
Zurvalec said because asbestos was such a widely used material, lawsuit payments could damage the economy.
U.S. Rep. Dale Kildee, D-Flint, said he's reluctant to "limit the liability of those who are truly responsible," and for Congress to meddle with the judiciary.
Kildee also brushed aside concerns that asbestos lawsuits are harming the economy.
"I think the problems with the economy are far deeper than the asbestos situation," Kildee said.
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Death statistics
The following are estimates of the number of deaths from 1979 to 2001 caused by asbestos-related diseases.
1. Wayne, 248-391
2. Oakland, 94-151
3. Macomb, 79-116
4. Kent, 43-72
5. Bay, 51-67
6. Saginaw, 42-58
7. Midland, 40-56
8. Genesee, 33-49
32. Shiawassee, 8-12
64. Lapeer, 2-3
* Based on death certificates. The figures are an estimate because the government didn't begin tracking mesothelioma - a cancer of the lungs - until 1999.
Source: Environmental Working Group
On the Net: Environmental Working Group, www.ewg.org