Posted on July 26, 2014

On July 24^th, 2014, the European Court for Human Rights (ECHR) has condemned the Maltese government for exposing shipyard workers to asbestos at its docks during the last decades of the previous century.

Malta argued in court that the workers had accepted the occupational dangers of working with asbestos, pointing out that they were provided with such protective clothing and masks as seemed sufficient at the time. Also, that the mere fact that the workers used protective clothing and masks was enough to fulfil the employers’ duty of information that their work was obviously of a dangerous nature; and that the danger money they had received on top of their salaries in compensation of continuous occupational asbestos exposure made the present liability claims unjustified. Unsurprisingly, the ECHR made short shift of these arguments, which are hardly fitting in this age and remind of the terrible English labour law in Victorian times.

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Strage Eternit, il magnate Schmidheiny accusato di omicidio volontari  

Eternit Slaughter. The Tycoon Schmidheiny is  Charged With Willful Murder

Chiusa l’indagine bis sugli stabilimenti del gruppo svizzero: l’imputazione riguarda 213 morti di mesotelioma. Il difensore: “Accusa pesante, ma infondata”

The investigative phase for the second trial on the plants belonging to the Swiss group: 213 mesothelioma deaths. The defendant’s lawyer:’ A very heavy but groundless accusation.

di FEDERICA CRAVERO

Omicidio volontario anche per Stephan Schmidheiny, il magnate elvetico rimasto l’unico a rispondere dell’infinita strage da amianto della Eternit. La notizia circolava da un anno, quando il pm Raffaele Guariniello aveva pensato di contestare al milionario svizzero la stessa accusa formulata per l’amministratore delegato della ThyssenKrupp Harald Espenhahn. Ora il magistrato torinese, assieme al sostituto procuratore Gianfranco Colace, ha firmato l’avviso di chiusura delle indagini dell’inchiesta cosiddetta “Eternit bis”, che sarà notificato tanto all’imputato che alle famiglie delle 213 vittime colpite da mesotelioma pleurico.

Willful murder for S Schmidheiny,  the Swiss tycoon, the only defendant left in the long lasting Eternit asbestos massacre. News of the indictment had been circulating for a year, since Public Prosecutor Raffaele Guariniello had started  considering the same charge which had been brought against Harald Espenhahn, the ThyssenKrupp CEO. The Turin Public Prosecutor (PP) with Deputy Prosecutor Gainfranco Colace, has closed the investigative phase of the so called Eternit bis case  which the defendant and the families of the 213 pleural mesothelioma victims will be informed of.

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Posted on June 16, 2014

Since this clock started ticking, 110,000 Americans have died from asbestos-caused diseases.  That’s the human cost of inaction.  Join the Asbestos Disease Awareness Organization (ADAO) and let Congress know that we have had enough. The deaths need to stop.

Email, post, and/or tweet with your social networks, U.S. Representatives and Senators — I want action now – stop #asbestos imports and ban asbestos @WhiteHouse http://bit.ly/1lzp6kP

We only know some of the Mesothelioma Warriors’ names that are missing from these headstones, yet their tragic, preventable deaths are unknown to many Americans. Asbestos disease is underreported and the voices of the victims go unheard. ADAO’s clock starts 4,018 days ago, when my husband Alan was diagnosed with mesothelioma. He is one of hundreds of thousands of men and women who have died due to exposure to asbestos.

In 4,018 days, has anything been done to protect Americans? No. Nothing.

Since 2003, the USA has consumed an estimated 21,000 metric tons of asbestos to meet so-called “manufacturing needs.” For more information, read and share ADAO’s infographic. Take action with ADAO, day after day, month after month, until we bring an end to this tragedy. Check back for updates of our asbestos facts and figures every month.

The ticking clock will remain on the ADAO home page until something is done to stop asbestos disease. Enough is enough.

Linda Reinstein, GBAN Co-Founder

Posted on June 23, 2014

Early June I attended an Asbestos Workshop/Summit in Sydney, NSW to help with a plan to save the Asbestos Safety and Eradication Agency (ASEA) who currently oversee the asbestos safety, eradication and regulations in Canberra, Australian Capital Territory, Australia for both Government and private businesses and householders.  The Workshop/Summit was well attended by Unions, Cancer Council and Asbestos Support groups.   It was agreed to target the media/newspapers with specific asbestos stories relevant to saving ASEA from closure by our current Federal Government.

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Globe and Mail: “ The Canadian asbestos epidemic that Ottawa is ignoring”

From the very first page of  Globe and Mail: “ The Canadian asbestos epidemic that Ottawa is ignoring”, we knew this series was something dramatically different from any other coverage about the asbestos tragedy we’ve seen before. Immediately, it is the voice of the victim, John Nolan, that we hear. And there is his face, just looking out at us. Unforgettable. Unlike anything we’ve seen in the US media. We are so grateful for Mr. Nolan and Mr. Lyle Cassidy’s willingness to share their stories with the world.

The Asbestos Disease Awareness Organization (ADAO) was thrilled to serve as a media resource for this article. We applaud this unflinching, overpowering look at “The Invisible Epidemic” and send our appreciation and good wishes to everyone who worked on the seven-part series, especially Tavia Grant.

Over 50 countries have banned asbestos, but not the US or Canada. Partnering for Prevention raises awareness and helps protect people from exposure to this deadly toxin. Each year, we welcome our partners from Canada and around the world to participate in Global Asbestos Awareness Week.

There is a human cost to inaction. Ten thousand Americans die annually from asbestos diseases and yet imports continue. For more details about the impact in the US, read and share ADAO’s infographic and our Share Your Story collection. How many shattered lives and heartbroken families like Mr. Nolan’s and Mr. Cassidy’s will it take before we end the senseless tragedy caused by asbestos?  Prevention remains the only cure.

Enough is enough.

Linda Reinstein, Global Asbestos Awareness Network (GBAN) Co-Founder

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Series Details:
The Invisible Epidemic – Part I
Exposure is Still Widespread – Part II
The Boom Years – Part III
Six Months to Live – Part IV
Officially Safe in Canada – Part V
What Can Be Done? – Part VI
Stuck in My Body – Part VII

Posted on June 11, 2014

At a meeting with Union Minister of Mines, Steel & Labour today, a delegation of occupational health and child rights groups briefed him on the need to ban asbestos in India.

The minister was informed that more than 50 countries have banned production, use, manufacture and trade of the hazardous mineral fiber, Asbestos. These countries are: Algeria, Czech Republic, Iceland, Malta, Seychelles, Argentina, Denmark, Ireland, Mozambique, Slovakia, Australia, Egypt, Israel, Netherlands, Slovenia, Austria, Estonia, Italy, New Caledonia, South Africa, Bahrain, Finland, Japan, Norway, Spain, Belgium, France, Jordan, Oman, Sweden, Brunei, Gabon, South Korea, Poland, Switzerland, Bulgaria, Germany, Kuwait, Portugal, Turkey, Chile, Greece, Latvia, Qatar, United Kingdom, Croatia, Honduras, Lithuania, Romania, Uruguay, Cyprus, Hungary, Luxembourg and Saudi Arabia. All the 27 countries of European Union have banned it.

The minister’s attention was drawn towards the notification of Union Ministry of Labour and Employment dated January 23, 2012 constituting an Advisory Committee of 13 members to prevent exposure to asbestos by the workers in pursuance of the judgment of Hon’ble Supreme Court.

There are four terms of reference (TOR) of this Advisory Committee. Two of these TORs deal with ‘ILO guidelines’ and ‘fresh resolution passed by ILO”. The reply does not recognize that the ‘fresh resolution passed by ILO’ refers to the above mentioned June 2006 resolution. Continue reading →

ADAO Letter to Yale (English) 

ADAO Letter to Yale (Italian)

News Coverage of Controversy over the Convicted Asbestos Criminal Stephan Schmidheiny’s Honorary Degree from Yale

Special thanks to Chris Meisenkothen and Stoneybrook History Prof. Chris Sellers who created the list.

September 2013:

Yale Daily News – September 8, 2013 – http://yaledailynews.com/magazine/2013/09/08/a-toxic-legacy/

The Hartford Courant – September 27, 2013

Corporate Crime Reporter – September 30, 2013 –http://www.corporatecrimereporter.com/news/200/schmidheinyyale09302013/ Continue reading →

Posted on May 7, 2014 from Facebook

Fernanda Giannasi

A ABREA hoje está em estado de graça, pois a morte do engenheiro da Eternit por mesotelioma de pleura há quase 9 anos (ele nos procurou poucos meses antes de sua sofrida morte) não foi em vão.

O TST hoje condenou a Eternit a pagar à família de nosso colega engenheiro 1 milhão de reais por danos morais, além dos danos materiais. UMA GRANDE VITÓRIA DIANTE DE UMA EMPRESA CRUEL E ARROGANTE QUE INSISTE EM USAR A FIBRA ASSASSINA E CAUSAR TANTO SOFRIMENTO AOS LARES DE MILHARES DE BRASILEIROS E BRASILEIRAS.

Congratulamo-nos com a família do estimado colega engenheiro, o qual homenagearemos publicamente nesta noite quando formos receber no Museu da Língua Portuguesa o Prêmio Destaque de 2014.

A LUTA CONTINUA ATÉ QUE TODAS AS VÍTIMAS DA FIBRA KILLER RECEBAM O QUE LHES É DEVIDO E DE DIREITO. Até a vitória final! Continue reading →