During mid to late January, Lawrence Woodcraft and his daughters, Astra and Zoe, as well as Astra's daughter Kate, visited all of us at the Lisa McPherson Trust in Clearwater. During their visit, each of the Woodcrafts shared intimate details of their personal experiences in Scientology's paramilitary Sea Organization, so that others will be forewarned and hopefully not allow themselves to be subjected to the same types of abuses. The Woodcrafts are a very caring and courageous family to be willing to speak out and help others avoid the hell on earth that people experience in Scientology's Sea Org.

Some of the Woodcrafts' story was published in a front-page article in the San Francisco Chronicle on February 12, 2001 which can be linked to off of our web site at http://www.lisatrust.net/Media/SFChronicle/SFChronMenu.html and also in the London Daily Mail on February 17, 2001 which can be found on our web site at http://www.lisatrust.net/Media/DailyMail/nicolesnightmare2-17-01.html.

You will be seeing much more of the Woodcrafts' (and other people's) stories here and on our web site, www.lisatrust.net, in the near future. But in the meantime, while final touches are put on the written material and videos to come, here is one story from Lawrence concerning Scientology's ship, the Freewinds.

Many of you may know that the Freewinds is the only place where Scientologists can get the super-secret OT VIII level. Other courses and auditing are also delivered on this ship, at prices much higher than anywhere else. It is a frequent holiday destination for public Scientologists anxious to limit their exposure to "entheta" in the real world. Because the Freewinds sails in international waters and is therefore outside the reach of any country's law enforcement, there is also reportedly a highly secret RPF on the ship, where Scientology's most high-level and legally dangerous defectors are sent for re-indoctrination. Some of the people who have been there in recent years have reportedly included Marty Rathbun, Ray Mithoff, Lyman Spurlock, Norman Starkey, and Mike Rinder, to name but a few.

A licensed architect, Lawrence Woodcraft was assigned to prepare detailed plans for remodeling the interior cabins and other spaces on the Freewinds following its purchase by Scientology in 1987. Shortly after arriving on the ship, he noticed a powdery blue fibrous substance under a layer of paint. Upon closer inspection, he recognized it to be "blue" asbestos, the most dangerous form of this carcinogen. Lawrence has written a sworn Declaration concerning this discovery, his attempts to alert Sea Org officers (including David Miscavige's sister-in-law Bitty Miscavige) about the problem, and their refusal to remove it.

The Lisa McPherson Trust encourages everyone to read this Declaration, especially Scientologists who have been exposed to this potentially deadly substance on the Freewinds. We urge those Scientologists to seek real medical advice from qualified doctors regarding the long-term impact of contact with such a deadly toxic substance as "blue" asbestos. We would especially like to thank Lawrence Woodcraft for blowing the whistle on Scientology's utter contempt for the well-being of people who have worked on and visited the Freewinds.

Bob Minton

DECLARATION OF LAWRENCE WOODCRAFT 1. I am over the age of 18 years.

2. The statements herein are of my own personal knowledge and if called upon as a witness, I can testify competently thereto.

3. My name is Lawrence Woodcraft. I am a citizen of the United Kingdom and a legal permanent resident of the United States of America. I am a former member of the Sea Organization of the church of scientology.

4. I joined the Sea Organization at the Flag Land Base in Clearwater, Florida in September 1986. Prior to this I was an architect in London, England from 1975 onwards.

5. In February 1987 the Sea Organization asked me to work on a project for them. They had purchased a Cruise ship formerly called La Boheme and owned by Commodore Cruise Lines. They renamed this ship Freewinds and Majestic Cruise Lines operated it for the Church of Scientology.

6. I was asked to go to this cruise ship and prepare detailed plans for remodeling the interior cabins and other spaces of the ship. The church's interior designers had prepared sketches of how they wanted the new designs to be. Now they needed detailed plans for actual construction. The plans were ambitious: They wanted to convert a restaurant space into course rooms for the delivery of OT8 and to convert a lounge area into a restaurant. All of the cabins were to be upgraded and in some cases two or more cabins brought together to make suites. Some cabins were converted into offices for the IAS (International Association of Scientologists). In short, every space of the ship was to be converted or remodeled in some way.

7. I flew to the ship, which was moored in great secrecy at the island of Curacao in the Caribbean. It was explained to me that the ship was in a secret location and would never be brought into United States territory because it could be seized by the authorities against taxes the Church owed the IRS. At this time there were probably about 100 Sea Org members aboard working on upgrading the crew living accommodations, carrying out repairs to the ship, training in seamanship, etc. I was in the company of Steve Kasaki who was called the Renos I.C. (in charge), although he didn't have any qualifications or any special knowledge of ships. I was to be the ship's architect.

8. One day Steve and I went into one of the cabins, which were in decrepit condition, and he took a hammer and removed a section of paint from the outer steel wall, as he was curious about the construction. Under the layer of paint I noticed a powdery blue fibrous substance approximately 1 ½" thick between the paint and the steel wall. I told him I thought it was asbestos, which is a hazardous substance, and the fibers must not be allowed to go airborne. Steve said that he didn't think it was asbestos and it wasn't dangerous.

9. In architecture school in the UK (University of Nottingham), I had attended lectures on the hazards of asbestos. We had been trained that prior to 1970 or thereabouts, asbestos was commonly used in buildings as insulation and fire protection. It was then declared a carcinogenic substance, to the degree that a single microscopic particle was like a little hook that would be breathed in, and hook itself into the lining of the lungs. There, a single microscopic particle could remain lodged for even 20 years, and then in the right conditions, cause lung cancer. We were taught that there was no safe exposure level; any exposure was potentially lethal. We were taught that asbestos could be present in ceiling tiles, floor covering, roof tiles, heating and pipe insulation. We were taught how to recognize it and that if discovered in an old building, a specialized abatement company would have to be brought in. Such a company wears full-body protective respirators, fully seal off the building with plastic sheets, remove the asbestos in special containers and take it to hazardous materials dumps. In short it was to be treated as seriously as if it was radioactive. To knowingly release asbestos into the atmosphere is a criminal offense in the UK as it is in the USA. I remember being taught that there are two types of asbestos, white asbestos, which might be added to ceiling tiles as a kind of "binder" or used to wrap pipes; and "blue" asbestos, the most dangerous kind. This is pure 100% asbestos commonly colored a bright blue color. Microscopically, if white asbestos is a single hook, blue asbestos is a ball of hooks so the chance of it attaching itself to the lining of the lung is much greater. I remember that they discovered blue asbestos in railway carriages in England and it was a big "flap." The carriages were taken out of service and specially disposed of.

10. Back to the Freewinds. I went into the engine room, saw a section where ceiling panels had been removed, and saw a big chunk of blue asbestos hanging down. I went to the Chief Engineer and said there is exposed asbestos in the engine room. He said that it was not asbestos. Here, I did some research. The Freewinds was built in Finland in 1968. On board were the original plans from the shipyard. I went through the plans. Even though the notations were in Finish, I saw the word asbestos over and over. The ship was divided vertically into fire compartments with steel walls that ran the full height of the ship. They were lined both sides with 2-3 inches of blue asbestos. The underside of every deck was lined in asbestos. The outside walls of the ship had been sprayed with asbestos. All the ceiling panels contained asbestos. In short, asbestos was everywhere as was typical of a ship built in the sixties. I read that the SS United States, which I remember operating between South Hampton, England and New York in the sixties, contained so much asbestos that it was impossible to scrap it even though it contained thousands of tons of valuable steel. The process of scrapping it would have released asbestos into the air, which was a criminal offense with jail time and massive fines and the prospect of civil litigation. It occurred to me that you do not see old cruise ships in service, you only see new cruise ships in service, built after the seventies when the true dangers of asbestos were realized by medical research.

11. No one on the ship knew anything about asbestos, nor did they care. I thought to myself, the Church has been tricked into buying a cruise ship for $11 million that is a total liability, that is so full of lethal asbestos, the only option is to sink it in deep water. If asbestos remains permanently wet it is not dangerous, it is dangerous when dried out and flaking, releasing fibers in the air that are then breathed in. To me this seemed a daunting, enormous problem. How could the church possibly bring their public parishioners to this ship and expose them to such a hazardous substance. I thought that the legal liability alone would terrify them (As a new Sea Org.

member I didn't know at this time the scientologists cannot sue the Church).

Around this time Bitty Miscaviage visited the ship. She was the Church executive with overall responsibility for the ship project. I went to her and took copies of the ships blueprints and showed her the full extent of asbestos on the ship. At first she was calm, but as I further explained the dangers, she begun to realize that it was a problem. We had a meeting to discuss the problem of asbestos. Steve Kisacky stated that L. Ron Hubbard doesn't state in policy that asbestos is dangerous; he only states that fiberglass is dangerous and therefore we are only removing the fiberglass. In fact, the dock next to the Freewinds was piled high with fiberglass that had been removed by Sea Org members. It was explained to me that the ship was being remodeled only according to the written policies and "advices" of L. Ron Hubbard. Since Hubbard had been in the US Navy and had then founded the Sea Org and had run a fleet of ships, he knew everything about ships. If asbestos was dangerous, he would have written this somewhere. Also Hubbard knew everything about cancer.

He had written that cancer was caused by the mind and specifically second dynamic aberration (problems with relationships). I was told that people only get sick if they go into "agreement" with being sick. As the ship was going to be filled with "operating thetans" doing the highest level in Scientology (OT 8) nothing was going to make them sick. I was being a "wog"

(non-scientologist) worrying about a little thing like asbestos.

12. I forgot about the asbestos, even though this went against my education, and the renovation work got fully underway. Ceiling panels were removed; the asbestos was scraped away to make room for new electrical wiring and new air-conditioning ducts. The ship was so old that salt water from the ocean was used to flush the toilets. The salt water had corroded the pipes and so leaks were everywhere. All the pipes were replaced and as the old pipes were torn out, the steel walls coated with asbestos were drilled into and cut through by Sea Org members. Holes were cut through the steel decks, sections of the vertical fire compartmental walls were removed to make way for relocating restaurants etc. etc. Asbestos was everywhere blowing around the ship like an insidious blue dust of death. It was piled up in the corridors, big chunks of it lie on the floor. I was freaked out and would wear a mask, but I know that a disposable facemask did nothing, because people who handle asbestos wear full body suits and actual respirators.

13. It reached a point that the renovation work was falling behind, and was beyond the scope of Sea Org members on the ship. The ship contracted with a ship refit company out of Southampton England, who commonly worked on cruise ships in Miami. The company sent about 40 carpenters and other workers to the ship from Miami. I had prepared the plans and materials were airfreighted from Miami or even obtained locally on the Island.

14. When the re-fit company arrived (they were non-Scientologists), they saw the asbestos everywhere and had a fit. They threatened to immediately pull their men off the project. There was in Scientology what is called a PR (public relations) flap. The re-fit company boss said it was dangerous and he couldn't expose his men to it. So that the re-fit company could fulfill their contract, a handling was worked out. An asbestos team was formed using Sea Org members (3 or 4). Wherever there was exposed asbestos they would rush to the location and spray it with water and or paint. The idea was that the asbestos shouldn't be dry and flaking and therefore releasing airborne contamination.

This was an extremely poor handling and the ship refit contractors were very unhappy; they would even sleep in their cabins wearing masks. After a few weeks, they left the ship. I think in addition to the asbestos problem, the Church had run out of money to pay them. They left the ship in Oct. 1987 and went back to the UK with a very low opinion of Scientology.

15. Now, the church decided to employee Scientologists who were carpenters, metal workers and from allied professions. They had full room and board on the ship and were paid $800 per week for working on the remodeling. Approximately 80 or 90 such Scientologists were brought to the ship and so employed. As they were Scientologists, the were easy to control and the asbestos problem was no longer an issue. They completed the remodeling by June 1988 for the Maiden Voyage. By the time the ship was finished, all the paneling was put back in place and the walls were painted and wallpapered, the floors were carpeted and new furniture was installed. It looked great, but behind the paneling, the asbestos was left hanging and flaking and falling apart. The ceiling panels were set in a metal grid system, which is a long way from being airtight.

Every time a panel is removed for routine maintenance, asbestos dust is released into the rooms, cabins and corridors of the ship. This is continuing to this day. A ship at sea is subjected to intense vibration and so the already loosened asbestos becomes progressively looser and releases more airborne contamination.

16. I have now passed my architectural examinations and am a licensed architect in the State of California. The State takes asbestos very seriously and it is a criminal offense to release any amount of asbestos into the atmosphere. If any asbestos is suspected in an old building an abatement company has to be called and this is very expensive. I worked on a restaurant project remodel, as the architect and project manager, where ceiling tiles were removed in a shopping mall where a restaurant was located. The original steel frame had been coated with asbestos for fire protection. With the ceiling tiles removed asbestos dust filled the restaurant: earthquakes had loosened the asbestos over the years. The EPA was called in and had special monitoring equipment to measure the level of asbestos in the air. They took air samples and sent it to a special laboratory for analysis. Then, a cleaning crew arrived from a licensed asbestos abatement company, wearing "space suits." They sealed off the entire area with plastic sheets and entered through air locks. Twenty men worked through the night and cleaned the entire restaurant, every last spoon, every plate, and every surface. Their bill was in excess of $20,000 for one night. I would say that the magnitude of the problem on the Freewinds means that it cannot be solved without spending millions.

signed by Lawrence Woodcraft Clearwater, Florida January 24, 2001

If you do a search on newsgroups you will see that articles warning about the asbestos started appearing from Oct. 1997 onwards on ARS. OSA suspected that it was me posting the articles, called me in for a metered interview in 2000 and most of the questions were concerned with what know about the blue asbestos?

they obviously weren't satisfied with what I told them ( I was declared a Suppressive Person in 2000).

Check with the LMT I believe they have circulated my declaration to many different agencies, one problem is that the Freewinds is not within US jurisdiction.

So, I would like to point out that unlike you, I am not posting anonymously. My balls are on the line here. I have already been declared for this item and warnings about the asbestos were given from 1997 onwards on ARS. Ask OSA what they have done about it. The data was not given to the SF Chronicle as the story was about children brought up in cults.

1. South Africa: The Asbestos Legacy 2. The Chrysotile Wars 3. Award for Mental Trauma 4. News Round-up 1. South Africa: The Asbestos Legacy On the day of his inauguration as President of South Africa, Nelson Mandela pledged to "liberate all our people from the continuing bondage of poverty, deprivation, suffering, gender and other discrimination." The excesses and negligence of the South African asbestos industry during the years of Apartheid, has contributed significantly to the levels of disability, premature death and financial hardship among asbestos workers, their families and local residents. During that period, South African and foreign companies such as Cape plc, T&N Ltd, Griqualand Exploration and Finance (GEFCO) and Everite-Eternit worked assiduously to extract the maximum profit from a natural resource found in the Northern Cape, the Northern Province and Mpumalanga. In 1977, asbestos production peaked at 380,000 tons making South Africa the third biggest supplier in the world. GEFCO achieved record output and financial returns during the decade commencing in 1966; in 1970, company profits rose by thirty-two per cent. According to a government publication, the Republic of South Africa (RSA) is currently faced with an "epidemic of asbestos diseases due to past practices." Unfortunately, past practices are not the only problem. Twenty thousand tons of chrysotile are still used in the country annually;

seven companies employ three thousand workers to manufacture asbestos-containing building materials and pipes. Levels of environmental pollution in some areas are colossal;

huge asbestos dumps, including eighty-two in the Northern Cape alone, are scattered throughout the countryside. To date, the government has spent R44 million ($7.5 million) on rehabilitation of derelict and "ownerless mines." Estimates that R52 million are needed to complete the task seem optimistic. In November, a group of two hundred and fifty scientists, doctors, government officials, health and safety specialists, trade unionists, asbestos industry representatives and local people met for three days under the auspices of the National Parliamentary Portfolio Committee on Environmental Affairs and Tourism in Johannesburg "to address the urgent health and welfare problems relating to asbestos-induced diseases in South Africa."

Delegates included Ministers from the RSA and Zimbabwe, experts from the USA and Australia and observers from regional asbestos workshops held earlier in the month; translations into the eleven languages of the RSA were available. The significance that official sources attached to community involvement was reflected by the predominance of delegates from "affected" areas and groups.

In her message of welcome to the National Asbestos Summit, Gwen Mahlangu MP, Chairperson of the Committee on Environment and Tourism, called for: "indigenous solutions informed by the international community... (and) consensus amongst all stakeholders." Fred Gona, speaking on behalf of the labor caucus, condemned multinationals which "creamed all the profits off from the production of Asbestos" and then disposed of their South African liabilities. Provincial representatives and asbestos sufferers identified a wide range of problems including: the lack of information available on asbestos, asbestos-containing products and asbestos-related diseases, the low levels of and difficulties in obtaining occupational compensation, the ineligibility of casual workers and victims of environmental exposure to compensation, inadequate occupational health-care services, the lack of government co-ordination and the need for more local involvement with rehabilitation and aforestation programs. Calls to ban chrysotile and implement "the polluter pays principle" were reported in the submission from the Northern Province (NP) workshop. Dr. Marianne Felix told the NP meeting that a "study done so far at Mafefe on the adults shows that more than 50% of the adults are infected with asbestos." Proposals for a unilateral ban, which were made by the Kwazulu-Natal delegation and the rapporteur from the West Cape workshop, were unrealistic according to an industry spokesman who pointed out that "a number of countries have implemented a ban but since retreated because of litigation... the saving of life could not justify the unemployment and loss of resources that would result." The Zimbabwe delegation fought hard in plenary and workshop sessions to counteract calls for a ban by 2001. South Africa is a substantial importer of chrysotile, one of Zimbabwe's major exports. The Klinger Group, processors of raw chrysotile for over one hundred years, also remains firmly committed to the policy of "safe sustainable use" according to Don Munro, a senior executive. Munro admitted, however, that non-asbestos technology is now being investigated as "there is community hostility to asbestos and we do not push products that have a poor press." The Industry View, a booklet distributed at the Summit, contained some controversial assertions: "there is indeed a safe level of exposure to asbestos... even if asbestos-cement is broken or cracked, respirable asbestos fibres remain encapsulated in the cement matrix (and) ... the seven major manufacturers using asbestos as a raw material should be allowed to continue their enterprises."

Barry Castleman, an Environmental Consultant from the USA, supported proposals for a South African ban, pointing out that in three years time "the country's remaining asbestos mine at Msauli will be exhausted... production of fibre-cement pipe... can become asbestos-free and the country's brake manufacturing plants would already have been converted." Castleman criticized the industry's position commenting that "controlled use of asbestos in third world countries is like sustainable development:

everyone talks about it but no one is doing it." The declaration and final report of the conference are being submitted to the National Assembly of Parliament and relevant government departments;

they will shortly be accessible at the parliamentary website: www.parliament.gov.za under the classification "new".

Recommendations by the Summit's four commissions include action by the Government to "sue foreign companies responsible for - human suffering, environmental degradation, repayment of government billions spent on rehabilitation, remediation and health service provision." While an immediate ban on amosite, crocidolite and tremolite was endorsed, accommodation was reached on chrysotile with agreement to implement a prohibition "within a reasonable period."

On December 14, BBC2's late evening news program featured a report on the commercial activities of the British company Cape plc in South Africa. According to the Memorandum on the Asbestos Industry in the Cape Province of 1915: "The history of the asbestos industry in the Cape has been, until quite recently, practically that of the Cape Asbestos Company, and that corporation still controls the great bulk of the production." During the program, the existence of a double standard was demonstrated by the disclosure that although "tens of millions of pounds" has been paid out in Britain, no compensation for asbestos-related diseases or environmental contamination has been awarded in South Africa. Survivors from Cape's facilities in Koegas and Prieska spoke of conditions in which entire families had been exposed to astonishing levels of contamination. Peter Mokaba, MP and Deputy Minister for Environmental Affairs, was adamant that the South African government would support legal action currently being taken in Britain by five South African sufferers stating that Cape was "responsible for the consequences of their operations wherever they operated... wherever they enjoyed their profits." On December 14, the House of Lords decided that these cases could proceed, staying an appeal by Cape which had maintained that the appropriate forum was South Africa. Leigh, Day & Co, the plaintiffs' lawyers, confirm that they have taken instructions from more than two thousand Northern Cape and Northern Province claimants. Closer to home, Vincenzina Gisondi is one of a group of Italian workers suing Cape for her exposure to asbestos at its factory in Northern Italy. Dr. R.Guarinello, the State Prosecutor for Turin, is considering criminal charges relating to the Capamianto works saying: "The people responsible for not enforcing the safety regulations have to be punished."

2. The Chrysotile Wars The issue of chrysotile is still very much on the agenda with progress being made in recent weeks by the World Health Organization (WHO), the European Union (EU), the Health and Safety Commission (HSC), the World Trade Organization (WTO) and the International Maritime Organisation (IMO). A two year wait for the publication by the WHO of Environmental Health Criteria 203: Chrysotile Asbestos was rewarded in October when the book finally appeared. Produced within the framework of the Inter-Organization Programme for the Sound Management of Chemicals, the report concluded that:

"Exposure to chrysotile asbestos poses increased risks for asbestosis, lung cancer and mesothelioma in a dose-dependent manner. No threshold has been identified for carcinogenic risks."

Highlighting potential hazards from the continued use of chrysotile in friable and highly exposed products, the two hundred page book stated: "where safer substitute materials for chrysotile are available, they should be considered for use." Throughout the Autumn, headway on the implementation of a ban on chrysotile was detected at several levels of the EU. On October 19, a draft commission directive for a ban was sent out for consultation to Member States. The text of this document indicates that "a very effective way of protecting human health is to prohibit the use of chrysotile asbestos fibres and products containing them." The provisions, made as an adaptation to technical progress under Annex 1 of Council Directive 76/769/EEC, would not require enactment of additional legislation and could therefore be adopted at the March, 1999 meeting of The Technical Progress Committee. Peter Skinner, MEP and Chair of the European Parliament Asbestos Concern Group, believes that this is the likeliest outcome. In December, Dr. Jeanie Cruickshank, head of the Health and Safety Executive's (HSE's) Chemicals Policy Division, seconded Skinner's prediction: "It is possible that Europe-wide agreement will be reached early next year."

To placate Greece, Spain and Portugal, all of which have substantial asbestos cement industries, a five year period of transition has been suggested. Under the principle of subsidiarity, Member States are free to bring forward national restrictions at any time as long as an overall ban is in place by January 1, 2005. It is likely that some countries, such as Germany and Italy, will use the EU ruling to augment existing national chrysotile proscriptions while the majority will phase in the ban, removing exemptions as more information on alternatives is acquired. In the UK, December 17 was the deadline for submissions relating to Consultative Document 140: Proposals for Amendments to the Asbestos (Prohibitions) Regulations 1992. Although reports that Canadian and Brazilian delegations travelled to London in December to make personal representations on this issue remain unconfirmed, it is believed that comments from over one hundred and thirty groups were received by the closing date. Observers who regard the UK ban as a fait accompli cite the publication of the HSE leaflet: Substitutes for Chrysotile (white) Asbestos as evidence of the government's intention to introduce further restrictions. Information that the HSE is collating detailed proposals for the imposition of a "duty to manage asbestos already in place in buildings" supports this opinion.

The Working Group on Limitations on the Marketing and Use of Dangerous Substances and Preparations: Asbestos, a body operating within the EU's Directorate-General III, met in Brussels on October 29 to study the proposed ban directive. A discussion paper circulated at the meeting explored some of the legal ramifications of the text, pointing out that: "the outcome of the (WTO) dispute obviously has very important consequences for the Commission's current draft Directive, and it has been necessary to ensure that the draft is fully in line with WTO requirements and the position which the Commission is taking at WTO." On November 25, Canada confirmed a previous request that the WTO Dispute Settlement Body set up a panel to examine the complaint against French restrictions on the import and sale of chrysotile. According to WTO sources, "the United States indicated its interest to participate as a third party in the panel proceedings." In mid-December, EU representatives arrived in Geneva to discuss the composition of the dispute panel; they were informed that the Canadians were not ready to proceed with discussions and had requested a postponement.

Simultaneously, EU officials were formally petitioned to reconsider the chrysotile prohibitions.

In November, Michael Clapham, MP for Barnsley West and Penistone, told the House of Commons: "Canadian producers would have us believe that white asbestos is so safe that we could spread it on our cornflakes in the morning. They do not realise the problem, or will not accept the evidence that it is a dangerous material. However, Europe is not their real target.

Their target is the third world, where there are no controls. They know full well that it offers a limitless market. At the same time, through the World Trade Organisation, they can obstruct a European ban. There is a tendency for such matters to become caught up in interminable bureaucracy." The Canadian endorsement of chrysotile is inextricably linked to political uncertainty over Quebec, the center of the Canadian asbestos industry.

It is becoming clear that other provinces are growing weary of being dragged into a fight not of their making. Rumours abound that Canadian government departments, including those responsible for public and occupational health, have isolated the Trade Ministry which is orchestrating the international backing for chrysotile. In November, a journalist writing in the Winnipeg Sun criticized "the campaign to spread industrial disease to the Third World," asking "Could the boy scout nation really be a merchant of death?" Jim Brophy, a Canadian health and safety activist, is appalled at his country's actions; he has publicly stated: "When we ship this material, we might as well be shipping poison along with it, because we know that the Indian workers, the South Korean workers, the Thai workers, will have no protections against asbestos. They will develop the same diseases that have killed hundreds of thousands of Canadian and American workers." A report by the Canadian Trade Policy Review Body, released on December 17, expresses Canada's commitment to the environment and its intention to work with private and public sectors to "ensure that trade and investment liberalisation does not undermine basic values, standards, culture, or a government's right to regulate for legitimate public interests." And yet, with the action at the WTO Canada is most definitely challenging the French "government's right to regulate for legitimate public interests" i.e. the protection of its citizens from the hazards of asbestos exposure. A ruling by the European Court of Justice on December 18 may discourage the pro-chrysotile lobby.

Under EU law, Member States are permitted under certain conditions to set more rigorous occupational health and safety standards than those imposed by community directives. In this case, Italian legislation which had reduced the permitted benzene content of petrol to one third of that allowed by the EU was upheld despite claims that these preventative measures seriously disadvantaged the Italian Petroleum industry.

International groups have protested vociferously against Canada's actions at the WTO. On November 6, the Ban Asbestos Network Japan, demanded that Prime Minister Chretien: "withdraw the complaint to the WTO and ban the export of asbestos." The annual use of 180,000 tons of chrysotile in construction and friction materials was one of the issues discussed at a series of well-attended public meetings organized by the Japanese Occupational Safety and Health Resource Center in November. European campaigners described the experiences of English and French workers to Japanese construction and shop-floor workers, academics, trade union representatives and occupational safety and health specialists in Tokyo, Osaka and Hiroshima. Newspaper, television and radio coverage was stimulated by these events which local people hope will revitalize attempts to curtail the widespread use of chrysotile in Japan. Calls for the prohibition of chrysotile were also heard at the plenary and workshop sessions of the National Asbestos Conference in Clydebank, Scotland on November 10. Other key issues addressed at this forum included the effectiveness of occupational exposure limits, complexities of social security regulations, developments in civil law and the regional incidence of asbestos-related disease. The European Trade Union Confederation (ETUC) is committed to the chrysotile ban: "Considering that most of the world production of asbestos is used within third world countries, the ETUC calls for an international ban on asbestos and condemns the export of asbestos waste to countries outside the EU."

A spokesperson for the International Chamber of Shipping has said that the use of asbestos can no longer be condoned.

Asbestos materials, widely used to insulate and fireproof thousands of ships, continue to put maritime workers at risk. In January, 1999 the IMO's Sub-Committee on Fire Protection will consider a proposal by France for the prohibition of all forms of asbestos in new ships. Exemptions could include: friction material for compressors and vacuum vane pumps, some watertight joints and linings and flexible high-temperature thermal isolation assemblies. French procedures for risk assessment, sampling, recording, dust measurement and periodic monitoring will be examined.

The implementation of sound practices throughout the industry could prevent exposures such as those which occurred on-board the MV Pioneer at the Alisa Shipyard in Scotland between February 9 and March 4, 1997. During refit work on the 1974 Caledonian MacBrayne ferry, some crew members and shipyard workers were exposed to asbestos from insulating boards under deckhead panelling. The £5,000 fines imposed by Ayr Sheriff Court on the shipyard and sub-contractor Cape Industrial Services were classified as "meagre" by trade union representative Martin Rogers who said: "Penalties in such cases ought to reflect the potential consequences of exposure and the need to send a strong signal to yards and shipping companies of the need for appropriate care in such circumstances."

3. Award for Mental Trauma Anxiety over future illness has resulted in an award of £200,000 to Martin Budds, a Bristol engineer, who has been diagnosed as 20 per cent disabled through pleural thickening. The fifty-two year old had been exposed to asbestos over a period of two years when he worked for the firm of G. Applegate and Sons Ltd. during the early 1960s. Although Applegate's employers' liability policy for the relevant period had not been traced, a claim was made by his solicitor Stephen Burbidge of the Bristol solicitors Humphreys & Co. under a retroactive insurance policy acquired by the firm's parent company. The defendants accepted liability at the eleventh hour last Spring but contested the amount of compensation claimed. On October 13, Michael Kallipetis QC, sitting as a Deputy High Court Judge, assessed the amount due as £197,447 damages plus interest of £2,900.

While £40,000 was awarded for pain, suffering and loss of amenity, the bulk of the award was for the loss of past and future earnings as it was found unlikely that Mr. Budds would ever work again.

Evidence from the plaintiff's psychiatrist that the diagnosis of his condition had triggered a psychiatric decline in which the plaintiff felt "like a disabled wreck" was pivotal at the hearing. Reflecting on the outcome of this case Frank Burton QC, Mr.

Budd's barrister, said: "The Court was willing to accept that Mr. Budds suffered such significant psychological reaction to the diagnosis that he experienced an actual psychiatric condition, the severity of which was reflected by this award."

4. News Round-up Pathology, Immunology, and Gene Therapy and Current Asbestos Issues, volumes 17 and 18 respectively of the Sourcebook on Asbestos Diseases, were published in 1998. In the latter work, a chapter on the Simian Virus 40 (SV40) by M Carbone et al concluded that "SV40 has not been proven to be sufficient for the development of malignant mesothelioma in humans... The possibility of a synergistic relationship between asbestos and SV40 would also explain why people exposed to asbestos or SV40 alone rarely develop the malignancy."

Safety, Health and Environmental Hazards at the Workplace by A Dalton (Cassell, 1998) is recommended by Michael Meacher, formerly Minister for the Environment, for "its unique approach in combining safety, health and environmental issues at the workplace."

Too little, too late? The Home Office and the Asbestos Industry Regulations, 1931 by P Bartrip and Protecting the Workers: The Medical Board and the Asbestos Industry, 1930s-1960s by G Tweedale and P Hansen appeared in volume 42 of the Medical History Journal in 1998.

The First Common Law Claim for Asbestosis: Kelly v. Turner & Newall Ltd (1950) by N Wikeley in the Journal of Personal Injury Litigation 1998 concluded that the case represented "a microcosm of the balance struck in the asbestos industry between workers' health and company profitability: between 1931 and 1948, £87,938 was paid out to 140 asbestosis victims under the Asbestosis Scheme; in the same period, nearly £7 million was distributed to shareholders."

Carcinogenic Implications of the Lack of Tremolite in UICC Reference Chrysotile by A L Frank et al, published in the American Journal of Industrial Medicine 1998, found that "chrysotile should be considered as having the biologic ability to produce cancers, including mesotheliomas."

Contamination of Poliovirus Vaccines with Simian Virus 40 (1955-1963) and Subsequent Cancer Rates by H D Strickler et al in JAMA (January, 1998) concludes: "After more than 30 years of follow-up, exposure to SV40-contaminated poliovirus was not associated with significantly increased rates of ependymomas and other brain cancers, osteosarcomas, or mesotheliomas in the United States."

An article claiming that chrysotile is "quite harmless" (Safe asbestos;

October 27) appeared in Lloyd's List, the daily newspaper of Lloyd's of London. On December 3, a Letter to the Editor contradicted this opinion saying: "There is, in fact, no safe asbestos whether it is chrysotile, crocidolite or amosite." On December 15, a follow-up article: Sword of Damocles hangs over thousands of workers discussed the risks from asbestos products still on-board ships.

On October 6, a thirty minute program in Radio 4's File on Four series asked : "How dangerous is white asbestos and what should we be doing to make it safe?"

Websites:

The article: Time to Come Clean: http://www.etuc.org/tutb/uk/asbest.html The EU's Scientific Committee on Toxicity, Ecotoxicity and the Environment:

http://europa.eu.int/comm/dg24/health/sc/sct/agenda_en.html BBC's online network asbestos link:

http://news.bbc.co.uk/hi/english/health/medical_notes/newsid_161000/161660.stm The Mesothelioma Research Group of the Sir Charles Gairdner Hospital in Perth, Australia:

http://www.uwa.edu.au/cyllene/tehaenel/mesounit The World Trade Organization: http://www.wto.org The University of Occupational and Environmental Health, Japan:

http://www.uoeh-u.ac.jp __________________ Compiled by Laurie Kazan-Allen ©Jerome Consultants
--------------------------------------------------------------------- I believe Scn, Inc. adherents feel they can use the civility of others to their manipulative advantage. When people are being civil, they're often trying to find a point of common reference. Hubbard's work reflects this by dishing up an obviousness, then slipping in a questionable that he hopes is swallowed with it.

This technique was applied to me during my tour of Flag; I was trying hard to be nice to my host, and found that he was "working" me to get me to agree with things like the "imagine a cat" routine, and that psychiatry was a Bad Thing.

-"M. C. DiPietra" <mdipietra@earthlink.net>

In Message-ID: <B6B7DF4A.2F789%mdipietra@earthlink.net>

"I am deeply saddened to announce that Kenny Lipton died today after a long battle with lung cancer. Kenny was a long-time Sea Org member and Commodore's Messenger. He left Scientology several years ago and made a new life for himself, a good life, in Las Vegas. He was surrounded by family and friends when he passed away. All of us who considered him our friend will miss him very much."

Message-ID: 6snmb6$h69$1@news-2.news.gte.net

Did this guy spend time on the Freewinds?

ptsc

If you have ever been on the Freewinds then it might be a very good idea to visit a doctor. You might also like to join in a class action against the Church of Scientology for knowingly exposing you to this lethal hazard that might claim your life early.

Im am not medically qualified and you should discuss this with someone who is.

You might find this web site very helpful.

http://www.healthcite.com/HealthReview/p4679.html
Good luck, (You'll need it) Roland

>
> On Mon, 05 Mar 2001 00:40:30 GMT, Mike O'Connor
> <mike@leptonicsystems.com> wrote in
> <mike-69D533.19403204032001@news2.srv.hcvlny.cv.net>:
>
> >In article <3AA2246A.1F8E@virgin.net>,
> > Roland <roland.rashleigh-berry@virgin.net> wrote:
> >
> >> If you have ever been on the Freewinds then you will have been exposed
> >> to blue asbestos dust - the most dangerous form of asbestos. Blue
> >> asbestos is dangerous because the microscopic needle-like fibres are so
> >> small they can not be filtered out or ejected by the lungs. The fibres
> >> do damage to the cells and the cells can turn cancerous. It takes a long
> >> time for the cancer to develop. Typically 30 years. This results in the
> >> disease with the name Mesothelioma. It is very difficult to treat.
> >>
> >> If you have ever been on the Freewinds then it might be a very good idea
> >> to visit a doctor. You might also like to join in a class action against
> >> the Church of Scientology for knowingly exposing you to this lethal
> >> hazard that might claim your life early.
> >>
> >> Im am not medically qualified and you should discuss this with someone
> >> who is.
> >>
> >> You might find this web site very helpful.
> >> http://www.healthcite.com/HealthReview/p4679.html
> >
> >The Freewinds went into dry dock for unknown reasons a while back. I
> >wonder if they removed some asbestos?
>
> From Issue 6 of International Scientology News:
>
> FREEWINDS COMPLETES DRY DOCK AND STARTS RENOVATIONS TO BETTER SERVICE
> YOU ALL THE WAY TO NEW OT VIII
>
> While the service on the Freewinds is already famous, plans are now
> underway to make the Freewinds environment even more inviting for your
> standard and rapid completion of services while aboard.
>
> DRY DOCK COMPLETED
>
> The Freewinds recently completed its "Dry Dock" - an intensive
> cycle of inspection and maintenance, a mandatory action after every
> two years at sea.
> During the dry dock, vital parts of the ship were overhauled and
> inspected to bring the Freewinds up to the highest standards of
> safety. This included sandblasting and repainting the bottom of the
> ship resulting in her sailing faster and more efficiently than ever.
> And, as the dry dock was performed on an OT ship, by an OT crew under
> the supervision of an OT VIII Chief Engineer, it was carried out with
> true Sea Org competence. (Uh-oh. -ec)
>
> FREEWINDS MEETS SAFETY OF LIFE AT SEA REQUIREMENTS
>
> The Safety of Life at Sea (SOLAS) regulatory body, mandated all
> shops upgrade their level of safety to increase passenger protection.
> Of course the Freewinds was the first ship of its class in the world
> to comply with all upgrades required. This entailed a massive
> evolution involving some 40,000 man hours, real team efforts,
> dedication and competence. The Freewinds crew worked together to
> bring the shop up to the most stringent standards in the industry.
> Upon completion, the Freewinds was acknowledged by the safety
> inspector for completing the work so rapidly and professionally.
> Though you may not see the strengthened bulkheads or sprinkler system
> in your cabin, you'll know the ship provides you with an even safer
> journey to OT.
>
> RENOVATIONS OF NEW OT VIII AND OT DEBUG COURSE ROOMS
>
> Now with the dry dock completed, an extensive cycle of renovations
> has begun. This includes renovating all the Freewinds spaces to bring
> them up to an even higher standard, and to insure ease and speed of
> service for all Scientologists on board.
> The first areas to be renovated are, of course, the key service
> delivery areas: the OT Debug delivery area and the New OT VIII course
> room. All other areas of the ship will follow, renovating the entire
> ship from stem to stern and increasing their ability to bring services
> to you - all on schedule to be completed by the Freewinds 10th
> Anniversary.
> </article>
>
> http://www.imo.org/imo/convent/safety.htm
>
> http://www.imo.org/imo/Library/cab/oct99cab.htm
> 'IMO urges action on forgeries'. (A call for countries to clamp down
> on the growing problem of fraudulent certificates of competency has
> come from the IMO) - TELEGRAPH, July 1999, p 9
As I thought - they left the asbestos where it is. No people within the Sea Org would be qualified or able to remove it safely. Have you read the declaration? There is TONS of the stuff on board. The underside of EVERY DECK IS LINED WITH IT as well as some walls. We are talking a 2 to 3 inch layer of the stuff underneath every deck for starters. And the only thing protecting the public are ceiling tiles with cracks between them. Whenb that ship vibrates it will be constantly sprinkling blue asbestos dust into the air where the pubic and staff will be breathing it in constantly.

Like I said, it takes thirty years for this deadly dust to result in cancer. And it is very difficult to treat.

You can learn more about the cancer caused through asbestos dust here:

http://www.healthcite.com/HealthReview/p4679.html
The Freewinds is so dangerous that a trip on it is more like a death sentence than a Carribean Cruise. And to think all those people paid all that money and perhaps took their children with them as well. And all the young dedicated Sea Org members who will be dying of cancer in their fifties.

What makes me even madder is that LRH pointed out the dangers of fibre-glass. If management were able to duplicate it and make that data their own then do they not see that it is applicable to asbestos but even more so? I am sure LRH would not have expected the management to be so stupid. It proves they understand little of what he wrote and why.

This could also explain the squirreling they are doing with LRH's books and the squirrel sec checks on OT VII.

We are looking at one of the greatest maritime tragedies of all time.

Not something short and spectacular like the sinking of the Titanic but something that will claim at least as many lives and in the most horrific way possible. Given a choice of drowning in the freezing ocean and dying of cancer that has spread round your body then I would choose the ocean any day. And what also makes this tragedy worse and much sadder is that the women and children will not be spared.

Please, if you have been on the Freewinds then seek medical advice.

Afterwards you might well want to seek legal advice. I think a class action against the Church of Scientology is called for for deliberately putting the lives at risk of all those who have been on the Freewinds.

Remember - it takes 30 years to turn into cancer after exposure. You may feel OK now, but it years to come that may all change.

If the film "The Titanic" moved you to tears through the real human tragedy protrayed then feel also for the poor victims of the Freewinds who have yet to die. I can't think of anything sadder.

Roland

Visit this website and good luck (you'll need it):

http://www.healthcite.com/HealthReview/p4679.html#4683

What is mesothelioma?

Malignant mesothelioma is a rare cancer that affects the cells lining the various organs in the body particularly in the chest (pleura), abdomen (peritoneum), and around the heart (pericardium). The affected cells grow rapidly and could eventually encase the involved organ.

Approximately 5 million people per year in the general population develop this disease, and it is most commonly diagnosed in patients between fifty and sixty years of age. It occurs five times more commonly in men than women.

Who is at risk?

The main risk factor associated with the development of malignant mesothelioma is asbestos exposure. The needle-shaped asbestos fibers cannot be cleared by the lungs and subsequently have detrimental effects on the cells. Other risk factors include exposure to beryllium and zeolite.

What are the signs and symptoms of mesothelioma?

The signs and symptoms of malignant mesothelioma may not become apparent until twenty or thirty years after the first exposure to asbestos.

Patients most commonly experience difficulty in breathing (dyspnea), pain in the chest, or both. Other signs and symptoms may include hoarseness, difficulty swallowing (dysphagia), or coughing up of blood (hemoptysis). If cancer cells are growing in the abdomen, patients may experience an increase in waist size or abdominal pain.

applies to you. Why? Because the ship is loaded with the deadly blue asbestos that can cause cancer 30 years later. The microscopic fibres that float in the air get inhaled into your lungs. They are too small to be filtered out and rejected. They burrow through the cells of your lungs and collect somewhere and all the time they are wrecking your lung cells and if they get further, other cells. This can result in cancer in about 30 years hence. And it is not easy to treat.

The Freewinds is loaded with tons of the stuff. During the refitting of the ship, holes have been drilled through it. It is flaking away which means that it is dry and in its most extremely dangerous state. It has been reported that the stuff literally falls from the ceiling and onto and through the edges of the ceiling tiles when the ship is vibrating (which is often). You might have breathed in packets of the stuff and it could be causing horrendous damage inside you ever since and in the future until it ends in CANCER thirty years after exposure.

I feel so sorry for all the young Sea Org members who have worked on that ship. I feel their fate is sealed in their fifties. Perhaps even younger children have had fun holidays on that ship. Tens years old, maybe? They might not get beyond forty years of age.

To think that the Church has knowingly exposed all their parishioners on that ship to a deadly danger they knew about and could have avoided if only they had taken care and spent some tiny fraction of the income they receive from parishioners who go for trips on the ship. Instead they have conferred a possible death sentence through CANCER on those who trusted them.

You can read more about the cancer that asbestos causes here. I am not a medico so you should consult qualified people:

http://www.healthcite.com/HealthReview/p4679.html I feel so very sorry for all of you.

Roland

Maybe you were on the Freewinds when it was vibrating (often) and you actually saw the fine blue powder fall from the ceiling between the ceiling tile joins.

I am so very sorry. I hope Fortunes smile upon you.
From http://www.healthcite.com/HealthReview/p4679.html Mesothelioma is a serious disease. By the time the symptoms appear and cancer is diagnosed, the disease is often advanced. The average survival time is about one year. However, if the cancer is found early and treated aggressively, almost half of the patients whose cancer is found early reach the two-year mark, and about 20% survive five years.
Roland

If you want to learn more about this insidious and deadly disease caused by inhaling asbestos then read the many articles on this site:

http://www.healthcite.com/HealthReview/p4679.html If the ship were being used by the management and public in 1987 then the effects should be seen in 2017 - sixteen years from now. It would mean a mass slaughter of Scientology management and the people with money who have helped forwward Scientology and perhaps their children as well (now adults) so that the family lines in Scientology would be broken. There will be an enormous amount of litigation going on as I am sure the cause of the disease will be traced back to the Freewinds blue asbestos. This could cost the Church of Scientology hundreds of millions of dollars in compensation and I wonder if they would have the reserves to weather it.

I sincerely hope the Church of Scientology will get people off the Freewinds immediately and recommend all those who have been on it to seek medical advice and perhaps legal advice. I somehow doubt they will, though. In the absence of that I would strongly urge the same people to arrange a visit to their doctor to explain the situation.

How very sad that all those people who went on the ship in pursuit of eternity might have received a thirty-year-on death sentence instead for not only themselves but their spouses and children as well. And I think of all the young dedicated Sea Org staff who will have their lives terminated early and in a most horrible way through the deliberate neglect of the Church of Scientology management who will share their fate.

Roland

>I am thinking that it might be somewhat ironic that there seems to be
>people who would attack Scientology in the hopes of destroying it and
>getting nowhere in the process while at the same time Scientology could
>have already tolled the bell and given its own death knell through the
>tons of flaking blue asbestos on board the Freewinds. All the higher
>management must have spent months on the Freewinds. Wealthy
>high-contributing Scientologists and their children. And every one of
>those people who have been on board the Freewinds might have received a
>death sentence thrity years on when the cancer caused by the deadly blue
>asbestos manifests itself.
>
>If you want to learn more about this insidious and deadly disease caused
>by inhaling asbestos then read the many articles on this site:
>http://www.healthcite.com/HealthReview/p4679.html
Just as a reminder: asbestos fibres in the lungs MAY cause cancer of the lung-lining. However, enough of them in place almost always causes disruption of lung function, decreased breathing capacity, and over-loads the heart by making it pump more blood to get enough oxygen. The victim usually collapses in a few years from heart or lung failure. Moderate exposure is nearly always fatal in the medium term (10 to 20 years), though only sometimes by cancer.

If you are invited to subscribe to a course on the Freewinds, and you estimate you have more than 10 or 15 years left to live, then think carefully whether you want to go -- it is an invitation to your own funeral.
If you are already in the cancer ward dying of mesothelioma, look on the bright side --- you can start a lawsuit now against CofS for negligently endangering you life. This will ensure that your children are well provided for by the settlement.

Operation Clambake Forum: Opinions & Debate: ON THE "GOOD" SHIP FREEWINDS ---------------------------------------------- By Curious on Tuesday, March 06, 2001 - 01:22 am:

Talk about a coincidence. As soon as Lawrence Woodcraft published his personal account of encountering asbestos on the "Freewinds" and the mentioning of potential lawsuits against scientology, look what pops up on the frontpage of The Wall Street Journal, 3/05/01; an article entitled "How Plaintiffs' Lawyers Have Turned Asbestos Into a Court Perennial".

Among other things, the article states; "Like the ubiquitous mineral itself-once prized for its fire-retardant and insulating qualities-asbestos lawsuits are proving to be ineradicable...... Over the years, companies that used asbestos in everything from drywall joint compound to brake linings have paid roughly $20 billion in damages and court costs in case of people exposed to the mineral. A generation ago, some expers predicted that asbestos suits would be tailing off by now.

But the pace is only picking up....."
The article goes on to explain some of the reasons for this such as the devastating health effects of asbestos such as the incurable cancer, mesothelioma. It's a very informative piece, written by Richard B.

Schmitt.

If I had more time, I would re-write the entire article tonight. I encourage anyone interested in this to read the story yourself. Again, it's in the March 5th, 2001 edition of The Wall Street Journal on page one, above the fold no less.

The article evens mentions the name of lawyers and law firms that have taken asbestos cases on. Apparently, gung-ho young lawyers who want to establish a name for themselves are hunting for these type of cases.

Hmmmmmm....., let's see here; we have ex-scientologists such as Michael Pattinson who spent weeks onboard Freewinds, an arrogant and mind-numbingly criminally stupid administration of a so-called church that has a lot of money squirreled away which naively believes that if it's founder, L. Ron Hubbard, who knew everything about sailing ships, had felt that asbestos was dangerous, would have warned scientologist about it, young hungry lawyers looking for a case to make a name for themselves.... Can anyone connect the dots here?

Curious ----------------------------------------------

Go Back