Asbestos Company Contacted By MPs to Pay £10m for Cancer Research

A new approach is made towards collecting funds for the research of cancer. To be precise, a leading asbestos company was approached recently by some active MPs to raise fund for the research of mesothelioma, a deadly cancer which develops after a person gets exposed to asbestos for years.

In order to have a detailed research on the above, the biggest manufacturer of asbestos was approached in a hope to collect at least £10m towards mesothelioma research.

The parent company of Cape was actually approached by the all party group in regards to the health and occupational safety. 

According to the documents released after having a tedious court battle revealed that it was Cape that originally provided some misleading reassurances related to the dangers of asbestos.

Later, MPs also stated that all the documents basically revealed that Cape intentionally compromised the regulatory response of the government as they shared the sampling data quite selectively on the carcinogenic material. 

The company was found to be lobbying for somewhat higher permitted dust limits and even watered down product warnings given.

Finally, the company had to release the documents which it earlier resisted. It simply took the case to the Supreme Court. 

Asbestos Company Contacted By MPs to Pay £10m for Cancer Research

It was learnt that Asbestos Victims Support Group (AVSG) has been consistently campaigning for the company so as to make a fund of £10m. This fund will come as a donation towards the research of mesothelioma.

This is what was written to Ran Oren, Altrad’s chief executive. In their letter, the APPG urged him to meet this growing demand. 

The group even pointed out that asbestos can be so dangerous that even a small amount of exposure could result mesothelioma or other related cancers.

They further stressed that no type of asbestos is innocent and all types have the ability to cause the deadliest of cancers. And so, there should be a detailed research on this.

Ian Lavery who chaired the Labour, the APPG chair, along with some other members of the group said, “Knowing the links between the products made by your company, the role of Cape in knowingly putting more people in danger, and the devastating consequences, we appeal to your company to make this donation. Mesothelioma is always terminal, and Britain has the highest rates of anywhere in the world." they said.

They further said, “Your company has played a major role in exposing people to the toxic substance, meanwhile profiting at their expense. Your contribution to medical research may go some way to recompense victims of asbestos disease.” they said.

As per the letter, it showed that as per the reports published last year, the net assets of ape Intermediate Holdings Limited were £151.5m in 2021.

On the other hand Altrad clearly made a net profit of  €169m (£148m). It clearly states the company always had enough resources to easily pay an amount of £10m.

On the other hand, this is what the spokesperson of Cape had to say, “Cape understands the unfortunate legacy which asbestos has on people’s health. It will be reaching out to the AVSG to establish how it and other stakeholders can support victims of asbestos-related illness beyond the support already provided through its victim compensation fund – the scheme of arrangement.” he said.

In their reply, the company looked to have issues paying the above amount. They said the company has already paid in excess to £48m directly to the families of those affected due to asbestos poisoning.

This is what the company further added,  “It is important to highlight that the materials referred to extend to certain extracts from thousands of documents dating around 60-70 years ago." they said.

Also Read: Why Does India Still Trade & Use Asbestos?