Petition for More Asbestos Research Funding Submitted to the PM
A demand has been raised for the creation of a National Centre for Asbestos Related Disease (NCARD) in the UK. A petition signed by 24,000 people, asking for urgent action in this regard has been submitted to the Prime Minister at his residence, 10 Downing Street.
NCARD is intended to be a virtual centre, which will fund research into asbestos-related diseases like mesothelioma, which is a cancer affecting the lining of the lungs. Moreover, the Centre would be able to oversee the work of researchers into the area, which would lead to a more coordinated overall effort. Government has therefore been asked to fund this centre with £7 million so that a platform can be built for serious efforts in this respect.
Currently the Government does not provide any support in terms of funds for asbestos-related diseases. All the research programmes are being carried out by public donations, which are usually too small for the efforts to bear fruit.
The petition was handed over by Chris Knighton of the Mick Knighton Mesothelioma Research Fund. Mr. Knighton pointed out that mesothelioma claims about 2,000 lives every year and this number is not likely to stop rising till 2015, which means that action has to be taken immediately. He said that if NCARD can be created, there would be a much greater chance of finding cures of diseases like mesothelioma, which would help in saving thousands of lives over the next few years.
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