| Victims win payout
Thousands of dying North East asbestos victims will at last get compensation. Former Washington Chemical Company workers have fought a long battle for compensation after they were exposed to deadly levels of asbestos during their working life. Today a £36m compensation cash pot, frozen for five years, has finally been made available. Former workers, many of whom suffer from mesothelioma, will now vote on the settlement to receive compensation within months. They have been offered roughly 60% of the total owed, with some claims running to £100,000. Claimants who did not work for the Washington Chemical Company but were exposed to asbestos because they lived near the factory are also expected to receive 20% of their compensation. .
Abuse victims free to sue after decades
VICTIMS of childhood sexual assault, medical negligence and workplace accidents could now sue for damages decades after the event, following a landmark High Court decision that will force former ATSIC chairman Geoff Clark to defend claims he led the 1971 pack-rape of a 16-year-old girl. Carol Stingel was "over the moon" yesterday with the court judgment clearing the way for her to sue the Aboriginal leader despite 35 years passing since the alleged attack. It will be the first time Mr Clark has had to respond to the rape allegations, as no criminal case was ever mounted and he has waged a constant battle to strike Ms Stingel's claim out of the Victorian courts. The decision significantly expands the number of cases that can now proceed even if the legal time limits for taking court action have expired.
Change in Law Brings Hope to Mesothelioma Victims
LEGISLATION will be in place next month to give full compensation to former Halton dock workers devastated by asbestos-related cancer. Ministers announced last week they would amend the Compensation Bill to overturn a court ruling that would drastically cut payments. The move means the change should be law before MPs leave Westminster for their summer break next month and can be implemented from next April. Asbestos, which causes mesothelioma, was widely used as insulation and ballast in ships that docked at Runcorn. Thousands more workers were exposed to asbestos fibres at the borough's chemical works, where it was used to insulate pipes. Click here to read full story This entry was posted on Saturday, July 1st, 2006 at 10:10 am and is filed under Health Concerns, Toxic Substances.
New Data Shows Promising Antiviral Activity of AC-03 636, a Novel ...
BLOOMFIELD, N.J., Aug. 1 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Alfacell Corporation (Nasdaq: ACEL - News) today announced new data highlighting the definitive antiviral activity of AC 03-636, one of the Company's novel drug candidates from its proprietary ribonuclease (RNase) technology platform. The in vitro studies were conducted by scientists at a major research institute for tropical diseases as part of a collaboration with Alfacell. The methodology used was a cell-based infection assay based on immunodetection of the Dengue fever antigen. The researchers found that AC 03-636 displayed meaningful antiviral activity in both BHK21 (animal) and A549 (human) cell lines, and that its potency was "quite considerable compared to the reference compounds." Dengue fever is a mosquito-born infection.
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