ASBESTOS IN THE NEWS
February 4, 2009 is World Cancer Day

World Cancer Day will help raise international awareness of the current global cancer crisis, made worse by asbestos and the countries that still import and export asbestos.

December 15, 2008 - The World Health Organization has announced on their official Web site that February 4th will again be designated as World Cancer Day, a day when people around the world are encouraged to increase awareness of what the organization calls a “global cancer crisis.”

An increase in population, as well as tobacco use and exposure to other carcinogens, such as asbestos, is to blame for the worldwide increase in new cancer cases.

WHO researchers estimate that 84 million people around the world will die of cancer by 2015. Depending on what country they live in, the majority of these individuals will not receive treatment, and many may not even be formally diagnosed.

In India, the cancer crisis is of special concern, as the number of individuals exposed to carcinogenic asbestos is said to be the highest in the world. India imports an alarming amount of Canadian-mined asbestos every year.

World Cancer Day in the U.S.

Despite the serious health problems linked to asbestos exposure, asbestos is still imported and used in the United States. According to the U.S. Geological Survey, the United States imported and used an estimated 1,820 tons of asbestos in 2007.

Government sources estimate that in the next decade more than 35,000 people nationwide will be diagnosed with the deadliest form of asbestos-related cancer, mesothelioma. This disease is most often the result of industrial workplace exposure to asbestos – and usually contracted through employers’ blatant disregard for the health and safety of their workers.

Time to seek justice!

That’s why people diagnosed with mesothelioma and their family members have strong cases in court. Weitz & Luxenberg has protected the legal rights of workers for 25 years – longer than most law firms in the nation. And in that time its attorneys have won several billion dollars in verdicts and settlements for clients harmed by asbestos.

If you have a mesothelioma injury, please complete the form on this page for a free evaluation of your legal rights. There is no cost to you until we win a settlement or a verdict.