Al, you and I both know that in general researchers will never publish
when the result of their findings compromise the interests of their
funding sources.

Please, lts not corrupt the minds of the kiddies into believing that
people in science are more altruistic than anyone else having a family
to feed.

My take on this mesothelioma thing is that is is primarily being
promoted by attorneys who would otherwise be out chasing ambulences. I
could be wrong on this, but it's unlikely.

Al, to be perfectly honest with you, I've smoked a pack of Camels each
day since I was 16. being taught to smoke by the guys returning home
from WWII and Korea -- Guys that you made a lot of noise intentionally
when you approached them from behind. (I assume that you know why this
was done.) So, based on this you know my age.

During my youth, I peeled tons of asbestos off of insulated coal
heaters when in the time when they were being replaced by automatic
gas or oil fired systems. Quite often, the air in the spaces were we
worked were filled with asbestos dust so thich that sometimes it was
hard to see across the room.  During those years we didn't wear dust
masks, and even protective eye wear was rare.  We simply choked and
complained in order to make enough money to move on to better things.

Then too, the better things that I went on to involved constant
exposure to nuclear radiation and toxic chemicals. To hear the fear
mongers speak, I should have been dead 30 years ago, but here I am
still posting. Possible the Neutron flux that I encounter earlier in
lif caused premature cataracts in both of my eyes, which have since
been replaced with plastic lenses, and the diventiculitus that
required the remove\al of 12" of colon could have been a result of
that early radiation exposure, or simply as a result of eating too
many peanuts.

Al, we live in an age where everyone is trying to fix the blame of an
adversity that they encounter or some external influence. Today, this
is where attorneys get their payday, and my partner in crime is one of
them. Litigation pays big time, if you win.

Al, I'm now 70, and based upon family history, expect to live until
age 76, at which point there will likely nothing more to live for. The
eldest member of our family lived to be 87, and was an incredible
alcoholic -- He drank more than one bottle of Wild Turkey each day. He
was also the CEO of a major power company at the time of his death. He
was also a SOB in my opinion, who never even once bought me lunch when
I was eating "lumberjack floats" during my senior year at Drexel.

Nuff said...

Harry C.

In all honesty, I'm not quite sure of what to make of the