WSIB - The Importance of Knowing Your Rights If You Have a Asbestos-Related Disease

Are the rates of asbestos disease increasing in the U.S? The answer is definitely yes.

Asbestos-related diseases are increasing in the United States and in some other countries, and this is because asbestos workers were exposed to this mineral, which is the main risk factor for developing the disease. The Workplace Safety and Insurance Board (WSIB) helps you to find out if you are entitled to compensation if you worked and were exposed to asbestos.

This is important, because when you are sick you do not have time to think of your disease causes, since you never thought of being ill with pain and even with so much danger to your health.

In Ontario, Canada, exists a Workplace Safety and Insurance Board (WSIB) that oversees your state's workplace safety education and training system, provides disability benefits, monitors the quality of health care, and assists in early and safe return to work.

The most exposed workers to the risk of developing an asbestos-related disease are power plant workers, asbestos and talc miners, shipyard workers, auto break mechanics, demolition workers, pipe fitters, insulation workers, boilermakers and workers who make products which contain asbestos, such as firebricks, fire-retardant paint and asbestos cement.

The most common asbestos-related diseases are asbestosis, mesothelioma, benign pleural diseases, pleural plaques and lung cancer.

A cure does not exist for most of the above mentioned diseases, but there are treatments such as chemotherapy or radiotherapy, as for other types of cancer pathologies. There are also different ways of prevention the high risk of inhaling asbestos fibers when you work with this material.