Asbestos diseases: between 50,000 to 100,000 expected in the next 20 years death

Due to occupational exposure to asbestos, 60,000 to 100,000 deaths are expected in 20 to 25 years, according to the report of a fact-finding mission of the Senate chaired by Jean-Marie Vanlerenberghe (UDF, No- de-Calais), created to prepare the balance sheet and the consequences of asbestos contamination.
Cancers associated with asbestos
Asbestos, a material consisting of extremely thin fibers, banned in France since 1997, is responsible for minor illnesses but also serious malignant diseases. Benign pathologies consist of pleural plaques, pleural thickening and asbestosis, diffuse fibrosis and progressive lung that affects the ability-usually appear ten to twenty years after the start of the exhibition. No medical treatment exists for these diseases.

Malignant diseases include mesothelioma, cancer of the pleura which asbestos is the only known risk factor and lung cancers, the leading cause of mortality among people exposed to asbestos, which is indistinguishable from bronchial cancer -lung from other sources such as tobacco. The latency period between exposure to asbestos and development of mesothelioma symptoms is rarely less than twenty years. There appears to be no threshold value of exposure in relation to the risk of occurrence.

However, for lung cancer, there is a relationship between the intensity of exposure to asbestos and the risk of cancer. According to the National Institute of Health and Medical Research (INSERM), between 1,800 and 4,000 lung cancer per year are attributable to asbestos.

"Among the many deaths expected by 2025, two-thirds are caused by lung cancer and one-third by pleural mesothelioma," said Dr. Ellen Imbernon, head of the health department and the work of the Institute of Health (VS) during his hearing before the Senate mission.

Between 1965 and 1995, 35,000 deaths caused by asbestos
The forecasts made by scientists are particularly grim: 60,000 to 100,000 deaths are expected in 20 to 25 years to come to France. Between 1965 and 1995, 35,000 deaths have been attributed to asbestos in our country. "Given the fatal outcome of asbestos-related malignancies, scientists believe the future outbreak inevitable and irreversible," the report said.

The International Labour Organisation (ILO) estimates that 100,000 people die every year worldwide due to the extensive use that has been made or is still made of this material. Indeed, only 40 countries-including 25 members of the European Union, have banned asbestos.

Until its ban in late 1997, asbestos was widely used in France and is still part of our daily environment. InVS estimated at 27.6% of the current percentage of retired men who were exposed to asbestos during their working lives. Some people are still exposed to the material, according to the report, including construction workers, employees of asbestos companies, including three-quarters do not comply with safety requirements.

The health risks of asbestos known as 1965
"Because of the delay in enacting the precautionary ban and policymakers in France, the curve due to exposure, including cancer and pleural mesothelioma malignant diseases is still rising, while the This is down in the United States where companies have taken steps to prevent twenty years earlier, "it is written in the introduction to the report of the Senate.

"We knew enough to manage the asbestos risk in 1965," the authors wrote in their report pointing including "ambiguous role of the INRS [National Institute for Industrial Environment and Risks]", the "silence of the occupational health and labor inspection "and that of the State," 'anesthetized' by the asbestos lobby "which used the" myth of [his] use controlled ". The authors point out that the liability of employers for gross negligence is now routinely recognized by the courts and the state responsibility was affirmed in 2004 by the State Council.

"The health crisis of asbestos is part of a wider problem of the use of hazardous materials, whether substitutes [of asbestos] as refractory ceramic fibers, including dangerous now seems proved, but also thousands of chemicals used in the industry, "the report said. The community project, REACH (Registration, Evaluation and Authorisation of Chemicals), "blocked the industrial lobby, including German" proposes to regulate such use.

Improve support for victims
The proposals in the report of the mission of the Senate shall include information on the compensation of victims of asbestos (Fiva) Fund, which provides full compensation for damages suffered by the victims recognized, the aim being to provide a alternative faster and easier to legal action. Between 27 and 37 billion euros should be spent in the next twenty years to support victims of asbestos.

The mission Senate Information also request information that employees may have been exposed to asbestos should be improved in their careers, "so they are more likely to apply for a medical follow-up post -professional. "

They propose to ban refractory ceramic fibers "unless proven lack of alternatives and after prior authorization, strengthen control of their use in the production process."