The Asbestos Relief Trust (ART) has, since its inception in 2003, paid out R266.8-million to 3 893 claimants suffering from asbestos-related illnesses.

Of this amount, R16.7-million was paid out to 136 claimants during the financial year to February this year, says ART chairperson John Doidge, adding that the 3 893 claimants that have received compensation to date were screened from a total of 16 425 enquiries.

Of all the successful claims during the last financial year, 66% related to mesothelioma, a fatal asbestos-related cancer of the pleura or peritoneum, whose severity among claimants has increased sharply.

“Average compensation payments by the trust to claimants are now much higher because of the increased severity. We must take steps to preserve our remaining capital as mesothelioma has a latency period of up to 40 years and we must anticipate the needs of future claimants. There is also an increased urgency to diagnose and settle claims because of the poor prognosis for living claimants,” says Doidge.

He urges miners to contact the trust to claim for financial assistance that will help them to get treatment for the cancer.

Doidge says the trust has allocated R508 000 for social projects that have a link to asbestos. These included the community-based Asbestos Interest Group, the International Mesothelioma Interest Group Conference, to be held in Cape Town in October 2014, and the ongoing provision of a palliative care service in Kuruman.

Palliative care nurse Phemelo Magabanyane says, in the absence of a hospice service, she has provided palliative care and portable oxygen concentrators for a num-ber of mesothelioma sufferers as these are not available at public hospitals. She has also initiated a number of activities to build community awareness on the dangers of asbestos.

The trust has also reintroduced the Professor Neil White Bursary, a two-year R100 000 bursary that is jointly funded by the ART and the Kgalagadi Relief Trust. The aim of the bursary is to equip doctors with the knowledge to diagnose occupational lung diseases early to enable former mineworkers to access both compensation and treatment. The bursary was awarded to Dr TG Anizoba, a Kuruman doctor who works extensively with former asbestos miners and their families.