[CPEO-MEF] Japanese workers awarded $1.87 million for sickness from work aboar

[CPEO Moderator <cpeo@cpeo.org>]

Japanese workers awarded $1.87 million for sickness from work aboard
U.S. navy vessels
ASSOCIATED PRESS

October 7, 2002

TOKYO ? A district court ordered the Japanese government to pay $1.87
million Monday to 17 Japanese workers sickened by prolonged exposure to
asbestos on U.S. Navy vessels.

The Yokohama District Court determined the former employees on the U.S.
Yokosuka Naval Base contracted cancer and pneumoconiosis ? a disease
characterized by difficulty breathing and physical weakness ? as a
result of exposure to asbestos, according to the plaintiffs' attorney,
Takeshi Furukawa.

The workers inhaled the dust of the hazardous insulation material while
working on navy ships from the end of World War II up to 1992. Of the 17
workers, eight have already died.

The Japanese government is responsible for local employees on the U.S.
bases here.

This article can be viewed at:
http://www.signonsandiego.com/news/military/20021007-0533-japan-navy-asbestos.html

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~