Asbestos Fund Inadequate For Size Of Potential Problem

Tampa Tribune
Published May 8, 2005

Because asbestos lawsuits have flooded the courts and overwhelmed the financial resources of companies and insurers, Congress is right to set up a special fund to handle these health claims out of court. But the fund being considered by the Senate is a bad deal for many people injured by asbestos fibers, including Tampa residents who lived near a plant that processed the cancer-causing material. The $140 billion fund, provided by asbestos-using companies and their insurers, may not be large enough for all legitimate claims, raising the possibility that taxpayers will have to pay for damages. About the only people who could file claims would be workers with five years of occupational exposure and their families. Consumers of asbestos products couldn't file claims. Nor could neighbors possibly harmed by airborne emissions. Also excluded would be smokers. They would lose the right to file a lawsuit, even if they are diagnosed with an asbestos-caused illness. An exception is made for Libby, Montana. All residents of that asbestos mining area could seek compensation. Health problems there have been notoriously high. But it is unfair to allow claims to some people and not to others diagnosed with the same serious problems caused by the same careless handling of the same poison. The bill would exclude those who lived near a plant in Tampa where W.R. Grace made Vermiculite. The company processed asbestos-tainted ore at 3401 E. Third Ave. until the early 1990s, according to the U.S. Agency for Toxic Substances. Vermiculite was used as insulation and as fertilizer. The bill also would force many ill workers who have already settled claims to reapply for compensation from the fund. According to lawyers, there will be a 500,000-case backlog the day the fund opens. Critics claim the proposed fund could create delays of two years, which is longer than seriously ill asbestos sufferers will live. If Congress can't do better than that, it should just toss the problem back to the state and federal courts.