British woman dies of mesothelioma at 28
Leigh Carlisle, reportedly the youngest person in England to be diagnosed with mesothelioma, has died of the disease at the age of 28. It is believed that Leigh may have been exposed to asbestos—the cause of the uncommon, but fatal cancer—in her classrooms at school in Oldham. In Britain, 200 school workers have died from or are afflicted with fatal asbestos diseases as a result of the widespread use of asbestos in schools there. Turner & Newall, a major asbestos manufacturer in England, actually lobbied the Department of Education and Science during the 1960s to continue using asbestos in school construction, despite the known health risks. In 1967, the asbestos product maker convinced the Department not to mandate a reduction of the use of all forms of asbestos in schools, but to require instead only that students in laboratories not be permitted to use the dangerous substance. An outright ban on asbestos would have had what Turner & Newall described as “enormous economic consequences.”
For the full story, go to Rochdale Online.
