US national trust fund for asbestos reintroduced

The bill to establish a $140bn national trust fund to settle outstanding and future asbestos claims has been reintroduced in the US Senate. An earlier version of the legislation was narrowly defeated in a procedural vote. The new bill tightens medical criteria for filing claims, and requires claimants and their physicians to submit detailed affidavits about illness or injury. It also changes the formula for financing the trust fund so that larger asbestos companies pay slightly more and small and mid-sized companies pay less.