Asbestos News
Asbestos-related lung cancer victim fighting for life in New Zealand
A 73-year-old New Zealand native is battling for his life after contracting lung cancer due to asbestos exposure that he believes occurred while he worked as a plumber during the 1950s and 1960s.The Dargaville News reports that Jim Williamson believes most of his colleagues that worked around asbestos have died as a result of some form of lung disease. Exposure to the carcinogenic substance has been proven to cause malignant mesothelioma and asbestosis, two such illnesses.
Asbestos-related diseases kill approximately 107,000 people around the world each year, according to the World Health Organization.
"Back in those days the dangers about asbestos and many other things were not known and we used to mix up the stuff and then spread it on heating boilers in several Northland hospitals and never thought anything of it," Williamson told the news source.
While Williamson has undergone a significant amount of radiation therapy, he told the news source that the cancer has begun to spread to other parts of his body as well, including his brain.
6/1/11
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