Asbestos News

An asbestos victim support group in the UK recently announced that it would change the locations of its meetings.

Barrow Asbestos-Related Disease Support (BARDS) will now hold its meetings at St Mark’s Church in Barrow, according to the North-West Evening Mail.

"We changed venues to St Mark’s because we needed more space," BARDS secretary Joanne Hadley Lowe told the news source. "There are more rooms that we can use for privacy when speaking with clients. We also like the central location and kitchen facilities for making brews and, as it’s a church, it has a lovely feeling about the place."

BARDS offers asbestos victims and their families a forum where they can talk about the medical, emotional and legal issues that impact their lives.

Exposure to asbestos, which was once used as an insulator and fire retardant, can cause a number of serious illnesses such as lung cancer, asbestosis and malignant mesothelioma, a rare cancer that attacks the lining of the chest, abdomen and many of the body's internal organs.

Many blue-collar workers were exposed the the harmful substance on the job and have developed such diseases as a result.