Hold Companies Accountable for Asbestos Hazards

A proposed bill in the U.S. Senate would prevent victims of asbestos from getting fair compensation, undermine their right to seek justice in the courts, and provide a windfall to major corporations that have lobbied aggressively for the bill.

According to the Environmental Working Group, about 10,000 Americans — most of them older men — die every year from diseases associated with asbestos. Asbestos, a fibrous mineral commonly used in construction until the mid-1970s, causes diseases including lung cancer and mesothelioma, a rare and painful cancer of the membranes that line the abdomen and surrounding organs.

Public Citizen, a public watchdog organization, conducted a review of internal company documents, and found that a number of prominent Fortune 500 companies knew of the dangers of asbestos long before they took any action to abate them. Now these companies are looking to Congress to limit their liability (See “Federal Asbestos Legislation: The Winners Are …”; Public Citizen’s Congress Watch, May 2005).

The proposed Fairness in Asbestos Injury Resolution Act (S. 852) would cap asbestos liabilities through a $140 billion trust fund. The fund would be used to compensate people whose health has been damaged by exposure to asbestos, taking these claims away from juries that have been willing to award significantly higher damages. According to Public Citizen, the companies at risk have spent about $145 million over the past two years lobbying Congress for this bill. Despite the bill’s acronym – FAIR – these companies would be its main beneficiaries.

The Senate bill sends the message that companies can evade the consequences of the marketing and use of substances that harm the public, and it deprives people with asbestos-related diseases of their constitutional right to a trial by jury.

How can you help? Please send the customizable letter below to help ensure that asbestos victims can continue to seek compensation in the courts. Your prompt action can make a difference!

1. Visit http://www.senate.gov to contact your Senator by email. Feel free to copy and paste the appropriate text from the prepared message below.

2. When you have finished, please press the button marked “I took action on asbestos,” so we can keep track of how many people respond to this alert.

Your name or email address:

Sample Email

Re: Fairness in Asbestos Injury Resolution Act (S. 852)

Dear Senator:

I am writing in opposition to S. 852, the Fairness in Asbestos Injury Resolution Act.

About 10,000 Americans die each year from asbestos-related diseases. As a socially responsible investor, I am concerned that by setting up a trust fund to compensate victims of asbestos exposure, this bill sends the message that companies can evade the consequences of the marketing and use of substances that harm the public. It also deprives people with asbestos-related diseases of their constitutional right to a trial by jury — the bill makes it impossible for asbestos victims to seek compensation in the courts.

Furthermore, the Congressional Budget Office and others believe that the $140 billion projected for the trust fund may be inadequate to provide fair compensation to the many victims of asbestos.

I urge you to oppose the passage of S. 852. Please let me know what actions you propose to take on this issue.

Yours sincerely,

[name]