Asbestos Testing Denied to Victims
Article Added July 21st, 2006 - Print This Story - Bookmark This Story
Months after rescuers were exposed to asbestos in Australia, asbestos screening still has not taken place. Because of bureaucratic wrangling, 250 people have gone without testing that may save their lives.
More than 6000 people, including emergency rescuers, firefighters, police and their families, were told in March that they may have been exposed to asbestos during a training exercise. Though family members were not present at the training, people who took part in the training could have brought deadly asbestos fibers home to their loved ones. After crawling through a decrepit building to emulate fire rescue, those present at the site were told the area contains asbestos.
The government of NSW, Australia had offered to test people for asbestos exposure at no cost. It has now been found that those people who wanted to be tested were given a run around, and requests had been postponed or denied. Those asbestos-related disease are hard to detect in the early stages, personnel exposed at the training site have a better chance of surviving if they receive periodic lung testing, which is being denied to them. At this point in time, not one person affected has been tested; while paperwork is shuffled, the government is trying to figure out which department will be responsible for the testing. Meanwhile, thousands that could be affected with mesothelioma or asbestosis may be in the first stages of death.
Article Added July 21st, 2006 - Print This Story - Bookmark This Story
- Ron Eddins, Founding Partner
View archived Asbestos and Mesothelioma articles below:
