17:00 - 19:30, International Conference Hall
Plenary Session 3
Empowerment of Victims and Their Families
Chairs: Natori Yuji and Annie Debaud-Mony
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Yuuji Natori, Fuyushi Nagakura, Kazunori Uekusa, Toshio Hirano, Katuyasu Iida and Masako Uchida
Mesothelioma - Pneumoconiosis - Asbestos Center, Japan
ABSTRACT:
In 1998, 'Ban Asbestos Network Japan' was founded to improve the Government policies about asbestos. However, it couldn't help victims of asbestos nationwide due to a lack of staffs.
Then, 'Mesothelioma - Pneumoconiosis - Asbestos Center' was established in 2003.
This 'Asbestos Center' starts supporting and assisting victims for their demands such as, medical treatments and compensations. 'Asbestos Center' also manages 'Japan Association of Mesothelioma and Asbestos-Related Disease Victims and their Families' which was founded in 2004.
From September in 2003 to August in 2004, 325 telephone calls were counted.
They were from north part and to southern part of Japan.
One third was about protections from sprayed asbestos and asbestos-contaminated construction materials. Another one third was about health check after exposed asbestos like asbestosis.
And last one third of 113 calls was from patients and their families of mesothelioma and asbestos-related lung cancer.
36 people asked for medical treatments and 77 people wanted workers' accident compensation insurance.
About those 77 sufferers, 15 people were already authorized, 22 victims applied for it and the 17 people are preparing for application.
In the rest of 23 victims, some were found different diagnosis from mesothelioma and lung cancer.
Others stopped applications because of several reasons.
Also, there were victims exposed in the environment and we start examination of the situation and reasons.