A year ago a South Korean woman, Rachel Lee, who was
diagnosed with mesothelioma joined an international delegation to Canada to
urge Quebec provincial officials to stop subsidizing and exporting asbestos, a
known carcinogen, to Asian countries.
International health officials have predicted that cases of
mesothelioma will increase in Asian countries over the next couple of decades.
And though asbestos use is regulated in Canada and in the U.S., it is being
exported to India and other countries where worker protections are not as
stringent. According to the World Health Organization, close to 107,000 people
worldwide die of mesothelioma on an annual basis.
In the U.S. civil lawsuits against companies that produce
asbestos-containing products are prevalent. Mesothelioma attorneys have been able to seek and win large
financial settlements for victims of this disease.
In December of 2010, Lee met with Clement Cignac, Quebec’s
minister of natural resources and wildlife, asking him to commit to stopping
subsidies to the Jeffery Mine.
In 2009, South Korea banned the import of asbestos but prior
to the two-thirds of the asbestos imports came from Canada.
Lee died from her mesothelioma on December 21st,
2011. Activists then sent a letter to Quebec officials reminding them of Lee’s
dying wish. It is also the wish of mesothelioma attorneys and health professionals.
Mesothelioma patients suffer immensely and with the
assistance of a mesothelioma lawyer
these people can seek compensatory damages from the companies responsible for
their disease.
