By MICHAEL GUTWIG & SETH DAVIDSON
As a career interior decorator, Marilyn Stratton of Beaverton, Oregon,
was used to carrying heavy samples of rugs, tiles, wallpaper, carpets,
and catalogs that showcased the tools of her trade.
Her skills as a decorator have been showcased in three “Street
of Dreams” homes and a number of “Showplace Homes”
in the Portland area during her lengthy career.
A workaholic, even at age 73, Stratton seemingly was always on the
go. Until the onset of summer 2006, when she began experiencing
pain in her chest.
Concerned that someone as fit and active as she would be suffering
from chest pains, her husband, retired arbitrator Dick Stratton,
insisted on a visit to the doctor. X-rays taken in early June revealed
a build-up of fluid around her lung. More tests were taken and the
diagnosis was horrific: malignant pleural mesothelioma. “Meso”
is an aggressive cancer that attacks the lining of the lungs. The
only known cause of this fatal disease is asbestos.
Asbestos is a mineral found in nature. Its fibers are long, thin,
flexible, strong — and resistant to heat, fire, rot, mildew,
water damage and electrical and chemical damage. Prior to 1975,
the so-called “miracle fiber” was used heavily in Navy
ships and shipyards; in office, school and home construction building
materials such as drywall, flooring and roofing; in automotive products
like brake pads; and in consumer products like hair dryers.
Asbestos fibers are invisible and cannot be smelled or tasted. But
when inhaled or swallowed, the fibers have been found to be lethal.
The fibers can lodge in the lungs and other soft tissues, resulting
in changes to the cells that may eventually result in meso, asbestosis
and other types of cancers — some of which have latency periods
of more than 40 years.
In the U.S., statistics show 4,000 people are diagnosed with malignant
pleural mesothelioma each year, and 10,000 Americans or more die
each year from all asbestos-related disease.
According to the RAND Institute for Civil Justice, an estimated
27 million people may have been exposed to asbestos during the period
of 1940 to 1979. Tillinghast-Towers Perrin, an actuarial consulting
firm, estimates that more than 100 million Americans may have been
exposed through products containing asbestos and asbestos used in
buildings.
Portland is considered a “meso” hotspot because of its
history of shipbuilding, paper and pulp mills, aluminum plants,
and construction.
Despite these warnings — and the staggering health consequences
— the United States continues to import over $100 million
worth of asbestos products each year. Asbestos still can be found
in about 3,000 different products, ranging from cement panels, sheets,
and tiles; fabric, including yarn, thread, cord, and string; gaskets,
packing material; aircraft parts and more.
U.S. Sen. Patty Murray (D-Washington) has been trying for six years
to pass a bill banning asbestos in the United States. Last October,
advocacy groups thought they had a breakthrough when Murray’s
Ban Asbestos in America Act passed in the Senate. SB 742, they said,
would finally ban asbestos while investing millions of dollars to
develop effective treatment for asbestos-related diseases, and in
a public education campaign.
However, according to Roger Worthington, an attorney who specializes
in asbestos victim lawsuits, after all parties had agreed on the
bill’s language, asbestos industry representatives were able
to insert a last-minute change — altering the word “products”
to “materials” — before sending the bill to the
floor for a vote.
“Asbestos-containing materials,” according to Worthington,
“are statutorily defined as anything with more than 1 percent
asbestos by weight. The exemption suddenly opened the door for the
continued sale and distribution of hundreds of asbestos products
— as long as the product was 99 percent asbestos-free.
“This 1 percent exemption, which has absolutely no scientific,
public health, moral, or economic rationale, would help perpetuate
the worst man-made public health catastrophe in our nation’s
history,” Worthington added.
A couple of bills have been introduced in the House. One mirrors
the Senate version, and another incorporates language that would
ban asbestos completely. But, according to Worthington, neither
bill is viable.
A third bill currently is being drafted that incorporates a statutory
ban of asbestos. That means, two years after the bill is passed,
asbestos would be banned outright in the U.S. “This is the
bill that will be considered by the committee,” Worthington
said.
According to Worthington, the one percent exemption has been removed
from the draft bill, and the asbestos industry is already working
to derail it, just as they did in the Senate.
Since her diagnosis, Stratton’s world has been turned upside
down. She had her diseased lung removed (extra-pleural pneumonectomy)
by Dr. Eric Vallieres at the Swedish Cancer Institute in Seattle.
She has undergone countless rounds of chemotherapy treatments. She’s
dealt with infections and takes medications daily for her heart,
for pain, and other side effects. She is weak most of the time and
experiences chronic shortness of breath.
And she’s one of the lucky ones.
During a consultation in December, a CT scan showed that she was
“cancer clear.” All of the gross tumor has been removed,
and the radiation has sterilized the area.
Stratton no longer has the strength for pulling fabric off shelves,
to deliver furniture, or to hoist large area rugs that she once
could carry by herself. But she walks routinely and has shown an
amazingly positive attitude throughout the ordeal.
Dr. Vallieres says that she will never completely get her breath
back, but time will tell and significant improvement has always
been a reasonable and attainable goal.
