Bill Would Shield Corporations for Past Asbestos Exposure of Maine Residents

Washington, D.C. (April 6, 2016) – No other state in the country has a higher annual death rate from diseases triggered by asbestos exposure than Maine, according to a recent analysis by Environmental Working Group Action Fund.

Fully 10.1 deaths out of every 100,000 in the state are from asbestos diseases, including mesothelioma, asbestosis and certain lung cancers – more than double the nationwide rate is 4.9.

Unfortunately, a bill moving through the legislature would severely slow down, if not stop the ability of current and future victims of asbestos disease in Maine from seeking compensation in court.

The bill, L.D. 1181 sponsored by state Representative John Martin (D-Eagle Creek) is modeled after a legislative proposal written by the Right Wing bill mill, the American Legislative Exchange Council, or ALEC.

The proposal, backed by industry and the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, would block victims and their families from holding corporations that were the cause of the asbestos exposure accountable in civil litigation if the company in question was bought or otherwise absorbed by another entity.  The state House of Representatives could vote on the measure as early as tomorrow, April 7th.

The company that would benefit the most from this legislation should it become law is the multinational metal packaging corporation, Crown, Cork and Seal.  The corporation does not use asbestos in any of its current line of products, but bought a company in 1963 – Mundet Cork – which produced many products, including insulation that contained asbestos and knowingly exposed many of its workers and customers to the deadly dust.

“Mainers suffer the highest rate of asbestos-related deaths in the nation, period,” said Alex Formuzis, VP for strategic campaigns at EWG Action Fund. “But the legislature is considering a bill that would let some of the responsible companies off the hook, while doing nothing to help those who are suffering from asbestos disease. This bill would strip away from the families and their loved ones suffering from asbestos disease any attempt at justice by immunizing the corporations responsible for their exposure and illnesses.”

“Maine’s elected leaders should be advancing legislation that would help, not further victimize, those in the state who are sick and dying from being exposed to asbestos,” added Formuzis.

Similar legislation introduced in Minnesota to bailout out Crown, Cork and Seal, among other companies with asbestos liability, was stopped in 2012 when the state’s governor, Mark Dayton, vetoed the measure. However, the proposal did become law in Pennsylvania where Crown Holdings is head quartered.

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  EWG Action Fund is a 501(c)(4) organization that is a separate sister organization of the Environmental Working Group. The mission of EWG Action Fund is to protect health and the environment by educating the public and lobbying on a wide range of environmental issues. Donations to EWG Action Fund are not tax-deductible.