Study blaming Navy ships for asbestos deaths

[CPEO Moderator <cpeo@cpeo.org>]

California
SAN DIEGO UNION-TRIBUNE
Study blaming Navy ships for asbestos deaths
By Dana Wilkie
March 15, 2004

WASHINGTON ? San Diego County has had the eighth-highest number of
asbestos-related deaths in the country, according to a new report by an
environmental group.

The report, which ranks Los Angeles County as No. 1 in asbestos-linked
deaths nationally, comes at a time when President Bush is trying to rein
in lawsuits that seek huge damage awards for asbestos-related diseases.

Analysts at the Environmental Working Group, which released the study
earlier this month, primarily blame old Navy ships for the high number
of deaths in San Diego. San Diego has a number of private shipyards that
modify, maintain and repair Navy ships.

Fred Lash, a spokesman for the Naval Sea Systems Command, said the
command is "developing the appropriate responses" to the study.

Asbestos is a fibrous material used as insulation and fireproofing.
Older vessels owned by the Navy and the Maritime Administration used
large amounts of asbestos, primarily for insulation. When inhaled,
asbestos fibers can cause breathing problems, including asbestosis,
which causes the lungs to harden, and mesothelioma, a fatal cancer of
the lung lining.

The Asbestos Alliance, which represents the industry, called the report
"inaccurate and misleading," and noted that it was paid for in part by
the Association of Trial Lawyers of America, which is battling efforts
in Congress to limit class-action lawsuits by asbestos victims.

_From 1979 to 2001, there were as many as 526 deaths in San Diego County
related to asbestos, reported the group, whose data comes from death
certificates filed with the National Center for Health Statistics at the
federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. In Los Angeles
County, there were as many as 1,227 such deaths.

While it is impossible to say how all the victims were exposed to
asbestos, a group spokesman said the likely culprits in Southern
California were Navy shipyards and Los Angeles manufacturing plants that
made insulation out of asbestos materials.

This article can be viewed at:
http://www.signonsandiego.com/news/metro/20040315-9999-news_1m15asbesto.html

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
CPEO: A DECADE OF SUCCESS.  Your generous support will ensure that our
important work on military and environmental issues will continue.
Please consider one of our donation options.  Thank you.
http://www.groundspring.org/donate/index.cfm?ID=2086-0|721-0