Yokohama declaration for fair and equal compensation for all asbestos victims and their families

Our plain-English summary of Yokohama declaration for fair and equal compensation for all asbestos victims and their families, by B. Terracini (International Journal of Occupational and Environmental Health, 2008).

The study

• Author: B. Terracini
• Journal: International Journal of Occupational and Environmental Health
• Published: 2008;14(1):67
• Read it: PubMed · Publisher

In plain English

This one-page item was not a research study. It reprinted a declaration approved at a 2007 Yokohama conference held by Ban Asbestos Network Japan, with an introduction by the author. The introduction said asbestos-related lung cancers are less commonly identified than pleural cancer and asbestosis. It also said relief under a 2006 Japanese scheme for victims not covered by workers' compensation was very low compared with workers' compensation. The declaration reported more than 150 asbestos-related diseases among workers from the Kubota Corporation's former Kanzaki plant in Amagasaki City, and more than 130 neighborhood mesothelioma cases. Its 380 participants, from eleven countries and regions, agreed on four points. Asbestos is an urgent public health issue, not solely an occupational one, needing immediate and coordinated action. Equitable compensation should be provided in every country for all asbestos victims, including those exposed environmentally, and their families. Victims' and relatives' input must be considered in discussions of remedial measures, legislation and compensation procedures. An immediate worldwide ban on asbestos is a top priority. The article gave no sources for its case counts.

We wrote this plain-English summary from the full article with the help of AI, and a second AI model checked each sentence against the article. It is not the authors' wording; the abstract and the article are their own account.

What the study did and found

• Design: Declaration (position statement) adopted at a conference, reprinted with a brief introduction by the author; not a research study
• Who was studied: 380 participants from eleven countries and regions at the 2007 International Asbestos Conference, held November 23-24, 2007 in Yokohama, Japan, by Ban Asbestos Network Japan
• Exposure: Occupational and environmental asbestos exposure in Japan, especially at and around the former Kanzaki plant of the Kubota Corporation in Amagasaki City, Hyogo Prefecture. The introduction notes that blue and brown asbestos were prohibited in Japan from 1995 and other types from October 2004, with some exemptions.
• Main results:
  • The declaration reported more than 150 asbestos-related diseases among workers from the Kanzaki plant
  • The declaration reported more than 130 neighborhood mesothelioma cases identified around the plant
  • The introduction stated that in Japan mesothelioma, asbestos-related lung cancer, asbestosis, diffuse pleural thickening and benign asbestos pleural effusion are recognized as occupational diseases
  • The introduction stated that relief under Japan's 2006 scheme for victims not covered by workers' compensation is very low compared with workers' compensation
  • The introduction stated that asbestos-related lung cancers are less commonly identified than pleural cancer and asbestosis
  • The participants agreed that asbestos is not solely an occupational problem but an urgent public health issue needing immediate and coordinated action by international organizations, national governments and civil society
  • The participants agreed that equitable compensation should be provided in every country for all asbestos victims, including those exposed environmentally, and their families
  • The participants agreed that the input of asbestos victims and their relatives must be considered in all discussions on remedial measures, proposed asbestos legislation and compensation procedures
  • The participants agreed that an immediate worldwide ban on asbestos is a top priority
• The authors' conclusion: The participants declared that they would do their best to obtain these rights for all the asbestos-injured and work together toward an asbestos-free society

Topics

The National Library of Medicine indexes this study under subjects our site covers: Asbestosis, Lung cancer.

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