Miners’ Families Call For More Research
Article Added June 13th, 2006 - Print This Story - Bookmark This Story
The families of the James Hardie miners want more research to be done to see if the asbestos exposure their ancestors experienced are behind a new generation of health problems.
It is a scary thought that victims and their immediate family might not be the only ones to feel the effects of asbestos exposure, but that health problems may be genetic and inheritable. That is the concern of descendents of miners that worked in the Baryulgil asbestos mines in New South Wales that operated between 1944 and 1976. The community and their health concerns will be discussed in Sydney this week during the first-ever national conference of Australia’s asbestos victims.
The concern arose after is was discovered that descendents of Aboriginal miners that worked in the Baryugil mines had a number of shared health issues, including kidney and blood disorders, eye diseases and breathing conditions. In one case three grandchildren from three separate miners lost their right eye due to cancer, a situation that does not appear to be coincidence. While there is no research to show that asbestos exposure can be passed down, the residents claim that it is because no one has done any research on the subject. Those that worked in the mines are being compensated but their descendents are being ignored.
Article Added June 13th, 2006 - Print This Story - Bookmark This Story
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