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Banner photograph © Bill Ravanesi |
Bush's Asbestos 'Reforms' Disregard Epidemic Of Death and Disease06 JAN 2004 | As President Bush heads to Michigan on Friday to try to sell the bailout bill for the asbestos companies, he'll talk about the bankruptcy "crisis," which is on par with Iraqi weapons of mass destruction and the Social Security "crisis." There is no crisis. The firms that have declared bankruptcy haven't laid off workers, cut down executive pay, or stopped turning a profit. [Read More] Halliburton is the latest company to "emerge" from asbestos bankruptcy proceedings. Asbestos is a public-health crisis not a bankruptcy crisis. Federal and industry health records show clearly that Mr. Bush should be talking about the 10,000 Americans who will die this year from asbestos diseases, not the proposed bailout for the companies who bear responsibility for exposing them. At least 1,140 Michigan residents have died from asbestos disease in the past 20 years. The fine print of the President's bail out plan will dramatically cut and in many cases eliminate help for the thousands of Michigan residents who will get sick and die from asbestos in the years ahead. RELATED LINKS Map of Government Data on Asbestos Mortality in Michigan County-Level Government Stats on Asbestos Deaths in Michigan Federal Mogul Case Study: Wheeling & Dealing in Asbestos Liability Government Listed Contamination Site in Dearborn, MI Shipments of asbestos from Libby, MT to locations in Michigan | |