Australia to compensate F-111 crews

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Australia to compensate F-111 crews; Exposure to toxic fumes
Tweet Topic Started: Aug 22 2005, 03:31 PM (617 Views)
datu	Aug 22 2005, 03:31 PM Post #1
Member Posts: 338 Group: Regulars Member #415 Joined: March 28, 2005	Australia Will Compensate F-111 Workers for Toxic Fumes By AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE, SYDNEY Australia announced Aug. 19 an unprecedented multi-million-dollar payout to hundreds of Air Force workers exposed to toxic chemicals when they were ordered to clean fuel tanks on F-111 warplanes. Defense Minister Robert Hill said tax-free payments totaling 21 million dollars ($16 million U.S.) would be made to between 400 and 700 Air Force maintenance crew and contractors who worked on the U.S.-made aircraft between 1975 and 1999. The payout was decided after an investigation found that Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) personnel suffered memory loss, fatigue, anxiety and other neurological conditions as a result of exposure to toxic chemicals and solvents while cleaning and resealing F-111 fuel tanks at an air base near Brisbane. The lump-sum payments of between 10,000 and 40,000 dollars would be unconditional and made depending on individuals’ levels of exposure to the chemicals, not on actual health problems, Hill said. The payments will be in addition to any compensation the former personnel could seek for health problems under workers’ compensation programs, he said. Hill said it was the first time the government had made such unconditional, or ex-gratia payments to former military personnel. “We decided … that the circumstances were extraordinary and that we would add to that right to compensation by making an ex-gratia payment,” he said. “It reflects the medical complexities of the issues and the nature of suffering that some people have had.” http://defensenews.com/story.php?F=1045509&C=asiapac
	"*Fck it, Dude. Let's go bowling**." ---The Big Lebowski


saver111	Aug 23 2005, 01:20 PM Post #2
PDFF Moderator Posts: 10,625 Group: PDFF Mod Group Member #408 Joined: March 23, 2005	Nice move on the Aussies, hope that kind of treatment would be a precedent for our cases here: Asbestosis ‘victims’ to file damage suit By Evelyn Macairan The Philippine Star 08/23/2005 A non-government organization (NGO) is set to seek punitive damages from 24 American companies which used to operate at the former Subic naval base for allegedly providing hazardous workplaces to their Filipino workers who are now suffering from cancer. The Alliance for Bases Clean-up International (ABC Inc.) said it would demand about $100,000 each for the former Subic workers who are now reportedly suffering from early stages of asbestosis to malignant mesothelioma or cancer. Asbestosis causes irreparable damage to the lungs, chest cavity, cardiovascular system and other parts of the body. Teofilo Juatco, ABC Inc. secretary general and chairman of the People’s Task Force for Bases Clean-up, said there are over 8,000 workers who had been in contact with asbestos in the former US naval facility since the 1970s. Of the number, he said 1,500 are now suffering from lung-related ailments. "An average of three to five persons die almost every month. So far, 165 people have died," he said. Juatco said many of the victims underwent medical check-up at the Lung Center of the Philippines and the Makati Medical Center. So far, only more than 300 of those afflicted have undergone X-ray exams, while 457 others are awaiting similar tests and CT scan. Juatco said they are closely working with their American lawyer, Benjamin Cassidy, based in Honolulu, Hawaii for the legal action they would take against the 24 American companies. "Right now, we are planning to file the case in the next two months, after we have prepared all the evidence. (Cassidy) will be back in the country (next month)," he said. ABC Inc. refused to identify the companies which would be named respondents in the individual cases — not class suit — that would be filed. Juatco said Cassidy would file the case in the District Court of Hawaii or Philadelphia. Majority of those afflicted, according to Juatco, worked as pipe fitters and in boiler rooms, exposing them to asbestos powder that entered their lungs, in the former Subic naval base. It was only in 1986 when they were reportedly given protective gear such as paper masks, which were inadequate to protect them against asbestos powder. One of those afflicted, Ronnie Ferreras, 61, a shop machinist for 25 years at the Subic ship repair facility, said he has been suffering from chest pains, vertigo and drastic weight loss since the 1990s. http://www.philstar.com/philstar/news200508239901.htm BTW, those affected in the Vietnam War's Agent Orange is appealling their case. That's one great environmental disaster the U.S. should pay for. Another one are the soldiers of GWI, affected by weapons laced with depleted uranium used.
	Justice for Daniel Lorenz Jacinto HELP END PIRACY NOW!: http://www.itfseafarers.org/petition.cfm


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