WSJ 1750 WSJ: As Asbestos Claims Rise, So Do Worries About Fraud   March 11, 2013
WSJ: Bill Would Require Details on Asbestos Payouts March 12, 2013
WSJ: With Billions at Stake, the Search For Clients Intensifies on TV, Web May 5, 2013
WSJ: Mesothelioma Doctors, Lawyers Join Hunt for Valuable Asbestos Cases  May 5, 2013

Posted on May 14, 2013

Wall Street Letter to the Editor in response to the May 6, 2013, with “Mesothelioma Doctors, Lawyers Join Hunt for Valuable Asbestos Cases”

Dear WSJ Editor, 

As a mesothelioma widow, I was appalled by the WSJ four-part series concluding on May 6, 2013, with “Mesothelioma Doctors, Lawyers Join Hunt for Valuable Asbestos Cases”

The article makes no mention of the culpability of the companies that have knowingly exposed workers to asbestos or of key facts related to asbestos use in the U.S. Although asbestos has been known to cause disease since 1906, the U.S. imported 1,160 tons last year to “meet manufacturing needs.” An estimated 35 million buildings across the nation contain asbestos-contaminated materials. Several U.S. financial institutions and mutual funds currently hold shares in foreign asbestos mining and manufacturing companies.

Since the first article in the series was published on March 11, approximately 1,500 Americans have died from asbestos-related disease. American families, like my own, will continue to suffer until the U.S. exits the toxic asbestos trade.

Linda Reinstein

Co-founder and President, Asbestos Disease Awareness Organization
Redondo Beach, Calif.