An investigation conducted over a period of six months and sponsored by the Environmental Working Group (EWG) revealed an alarming situation. In the United States of America the rates of asbestos induced diseases and mortalities has continuously risen over the past decades and some experts speak of an asbestos epidemic. Asbestos remediation is a step into the right direction, but will not resolve the problem just by itself. The fact of the matter is, around 10,000 Americans die each year because of asbestos exposure. And to put that number into context: that's 2,500 more than die from skin cancer. The majority of those individuals are workers whose exposure dates decades back ago. Asbestos use has been regulated by the government; however, the material is not entirely banned. More than 1,000,000 workers are currently still exposed to asbestos on their jobs. And millions more are exposed in the environment.

There is a fundamental problem. As long as asbestos containing materials continue to be used in households and millions of public buildings, where they were liberally installed for over 50 years, people will continue to be at a high health risk which can result in severe injuries such as mesothelioma, lung cancer, kidney cancer, etc, and may eventually lead to death.

But undoubtedly, there is also another side to the story. Supporters of the asbestos tort reform make an argument that excessive and often unsubstantiated asbestos litigation causes not only bankruptcy of major corporations, but also significant damage to our economy.
And there is a counter-argument that emphasizes the exact opposite. When the study reviewed statements made by corporations with asbestos liability, it was said that asbestos bankruptcies were perceived as 'good news' with only 'little impact' on daily operations. Indeed, a lot of corporations that declared bankruptcy at some point in the past, are now highly profitable and competitive.
But how is that even possible? Unlike regular bankruptcies, asbestos bankruptcies are not liquidations. Instead, they can be compared to a reorganization of the companies’ assets which subsequently provides protection from future asbestos claims brought forward by the victims and their families due to the unsafe working conditions of many asbestos manufacturers.

Asbestos exposure has turned into a public health issue and can be compared to an epidemic. When we extrapolate the numbers, 100,000 people will die over the next ten years in the United States alone. And thousands of others will have to deal with the pain and suffering induced by asbestos diseases. In retrospect, we are also talking about another example of corporate misconduct. Because the fact of the matter is: many companies were perfectly willing to lie or mislead their employees and regulators.
And even though the hazard and health risks associated with exposure to asbestos was well known, nobody was willing to step forward in order to protect the worker's rights. Only when a few asbestos victims and their families decided to sue their former employers and bring their cases before the courts, the real problem began to surface.
As the courts awarded the claimants with monetary compensations and issued punitive damages to the defendants, the public’s awareness of the asbestos problem started to increase slowly.

Asbestos Trust Funds are subject to debate

The U.S. Congress is planning to help asbestos victims to protect their rights. In doing so, it is contemplated to install a national asbestos trust fund. At first glance, this seems to make a lot of sense as such a trust fund would practically eliminate the need for litigation for the most part. However, many victims and lawyers criticize the model, as it would basically let the companies bail out of there responsibility. But after all, considering the magnitude of the asbestos problem, a national trust fund might be the only way to address the situation adequately. However, the proposal will have to be revised at it is insufficient in its current state. The fund foresees a cap at $110 billion dollars. What seems to be a huge amount of money a first glance, need to be seen in the right context. A study conducted in 2003 indicated, that this amount would have to be tripled to accommodate all the claims from asbestos victims that are being anticipated to be filed over the next 50 years.

Is asbestos remediation the solution to the problem?

Whatever ultimately the solution is going to be, the following principles must be abided by:

- Each victim of asbestos must be entitled to receive a fair compensation for his injury, and the compensation must be not be denied, delayed or made overly complicated.

- The installed funds must remain active for 50 years or longer, since asbestos is still used to this day and millions of people are still being exposed to it.

- Regular national health screenings governed by the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health need to ensure that everyone who suffered from an asbestos injury will receive adequate help. The goal is to screen everyone who has a history of working with asbestos.

- The victims will keep their rights to take legal steps at any point in time.

- A nation-wide ban of asbestos must be introduced. As we now have access to alternatives to asbestos, there is no need to hold back a rigorous ban for asbestos products and utilization anymore.

- Asbestos remediation needs stricter guidelines and supervision by environmental authorities. Unfortunately, new data revealed many instances of fraudulent and unsafe asbestos remediation, which call for a more regulated processes and scrutiny by the authorities in charge.