British Man Fights for Greater Funding for Asbestos Related Diseases

John Bindley, a contract electrician, and the Derbyshire Asbestos Support Team (DAST) are campaigning to the British Government to fund an asbestos-related disease research center.

Bindley, 72, worked on a number of power stations during his 17-year electrician career after he left the Army in 1959. Three years ago he was diagnosed with asbestosis, a lung disease brought about by asbestos exposure causing mild to server shortness of breath. Currently, he is in a stable condition but will have to see a specialist every twelve months.

He is now making an effort to help others suffering from his disease. The British Government spends almost nothing on research into asbestos-related diseases and virtually all research is funded by donations. It is predicted that within the next forty years over 60,000 people will develop mesothelioma, another disease caused by asbestos exposure.

In other countries, including Australia, the government has funded research centers for asbestos-related diseases. Bindley is hoping to use the Action Mesothelioma Day on February 27th to draw attention to his campaign. The event is planned to raise awareness to the dangers of asbestos as well as lobby the government to fund research.

Asbestos exposure can lead to many diseases including mesothelioma and asbestosis. The long latency periods of these diseases, twenty to fifty years, makes it difficult to diagnose until the latest stages. Mesothelioma is one of the least researched cancers in the United Kingdom according to John Edwards, chairman of the British Mesothelioma Interest Group.

Bindley advises anyone who has previously worked at a power station and has a dry cough to visit their physical and ask for an x-ray. He continues to fight for more research on the deadly diseases caused by the dangerous carcinogen.