Freewinds Asbestos Press Release

Let's try to get this one out while the story's hot!
We want a thorough 'just the facts' explanation of what's going on, along with a little bit of speculation on how it will hurt the cult.


Just scraps right now, but here's what I've gathered. Got a couple sources. It'd be nice if we had a way to link to the article directly, but it's not online (yet).

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

April 29, 2008

The Daily Herald, a daily newspaper in Sint Maarten (a city in the country of Netherlands Antilles in the West Indies) reported today that

Tico Ras, the head of the local Health Department


It is known that all Scientology Members who have reached level OT-(?) have spent some time on yacht, and have thus been exposed to the carcinogen. An affidavit filed in 2001 by Lawrence Woodcraft, a former Scientologist and trained Architect, claims that Woodcraft encountered the chemical while working on the ship in 1987, and promptly informed Scientology leaders[2]. Given that Scientology has knowingly exposed passengers to blue asbestos for over 21 years, it's reasonable to assume a class action lawsuit will be in the works soon.

[1]http://glosslip.com/2008/04/29/glosslip-exclusive-scientology-cruise-ship-freewinds-hides-asbestos-danger/
[2]http://www.lermanet.com/scientology/LawrenceWoodcraftAsbestos.htm
[3]http://www.thedailyherald.com/

It would be nice if we could have advice for anyone who thinks they've been exposed to asbestos on the freewinds. Should they contact their doctor? Their lawyer? A specific lawyer? A specific website?

It might be worth mentioning that even though Woodcraft's declaration was made in 2001, the *discovery* of asbestos was made in 1987. That's 21 years of sailing around knowing this crap is on board their ship.

great point, I'd missed that fact. Updated

useful stuff from the thread

The newspaper is The Daily Herald in St. Maartens. On the island of Curaçao (cure-ass-oh), part of the Netherland Antilles, and the city is Willemstad. Not sure about who has the ultimate authority, but two different government ministries were involved. You can contact the government here, but they may speak only moonspeak.

The pic of the page doesn't show enough to be certain, but I presume the paper is the same "The Daily Herald" published out of St. Maarten, N.A.

The Daily Herald Online | Contact

The Daily Herald
Bush Road 22,
P.O.Box 828,
Philipsburg,
Sint Maarten,
Netherlands Antilles

Telephone:
+599-54-25253
+599-54-25597
+599-54-20931
+599-54-37236

Telefax:
+599-54-25913

E-mail:
advertising editorial webmaster all emails are @thedailyherald.com

Originally Posted by Consensus

Let's try to get this one out while the story's hot!
We want a thorough 'just the facts' explanation of what's going on, along with a little bit of speculation on how it will hurt the cult.


Just scraps right now, but here's what I've gathered. Got a couple sources. It'd be nice if we had a way to link to the article directly, but it's not online (yet).

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

April 29, 2008

The Daily Herald, a daily newspaper in Sint Maarten (a city in the country of Netherlands Antilles in the West Indies) reported today that

Tico Ras, the head of the local Health Department

what did Tico Ras do? or am i misreading that? i just kinda trails off.

Originally Posted by Anon123456

what did Tico Ras do? or am i misreading that? i just kinda trails off.

Yeah, I didn't finish the sentence 'cause I couldn't find more info. He's the head of the 'health department' - but I don't nkow if that's the city, region, country, or what. Google gave me nothing. If info turns up, we should fill that sentence in... if it doesn't, we'll just hafta drop it. I want to give press some idea of who to contact for independent confirmation.

Consensus- For people who have been, or may have been exposed:

Go to your family MD and tell them that you know that you have been exposed to blue asbestos. At a minimum, a lung series is in order. In general, anyone exposed is now in the high risk group for cancer. Best protection is to see it early.

Support for Mesothelioma Patients

Support for people with Mesothelioma and links to other information.

I spent several months on the Freewinds.
Open to participating in a class action lawsuit if such is seen to be genuinely viable.

Inquiries should be direct to Majestic Cruise Lines of The Church of Scientology, the owner of the ship's title.

Anonymous, the international movement to oppose the Church of Scientology's abuses, issued the following statement:
"While we believe every person has the right to hold whatever beliefs they prefer, that right does not grant Scientology freedom to knowingly expose thousands of people to extremely dangerous substances without informing them of the danger."

NM. I was going to post that I couldn't find the story on the paper's website, but have found another source.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:

Allegations are flying that the Church of Scientology may have knowingly exposed thousands of people to asbestos, a known carcinogen, over the past 21 years.

Scientology's "cruise ship", the Freewinds has been sealed and docked by officials in Curacao due to asbestos on the ship. It is known that all Scientology members who have reached higher OT levels have spent some time on the yacht, and have thus been exposed to the carcinogen. Both local and Nederlands-based investigators and government officials are investigating.

An affidavit filed in 2001 by Lawrence Woodcraft, a former Scientologist and trained architect, claims that Woodcraft encountered the fibrous minerals while working on the ship in 1987, and promptly informed Scientology leaders. For over 21 years, Scientology has knowingly exposed passengers to what is generally considered the most lethal form of asbestos. The National Toxicology Program classifies asbestos as a known human carcinogen. The EPA has also classified asbestos as a human carcinogen. The use of asbestos in new construction projects has been banned for health and safety reasons in many developed countries, including all 27 member states of the European Union, Australia, Japan, and New Zealand.

The Daily Herald, which is based in Philipsburg, St. Maarten, reports:

"During refurbishing and reparatory work, which involved removing the ceiling and panelling on cruise ship Freewinds, blue asbestos was released and ended up in the ventilation system. Freewinds' captain did not report this when it's own personnel were working on the ship on the Mathey warf in Otrobanda. The Curacao Drydock Company (CDM), where the ship was taken for reparatory work on the hull, heard from the surveyor that there may be asbestos on the ship. The captain acknowledged the incident and said that after the incident Freewinds had some investigation done. Keeping the incident quiet became more noticeable when it turned out that the 40-year-old ship contatined blue asbestos.

The question is whether or not the blue asbestos dust, which can cause cancer, can be removed from the ship. The CDM has stopped all work on the ship. The ship was sealed and isolated and experts will investigate and measure the presence of asbestos dust in the hull and surrounding areas. Commissioners Eugene Rhuggenaath (Economic Affairs) and Humphrey Davelaar (Public Health) said on Friday.

CDM interim director Frank Esser, deputy head of the Department of Labour Affairs Christiene van der Biezen were accompanied by two inspectors and head of the health Department Tico Ras. Samples taken from the panelling last week by inspectors that were sent to the Netherlands showed that they contained significant amounts of blue asbestos. After an extraordinary meeting, the Executive Council decided to inform the public in general about the incident to avoid remours [sic] and panic.
The CDM personnel were also informed via the media because it was impossible to gather all the workers Friday evening to personally give them the information."

If you have been exposed, go to your family MD and tell them that you know that you have been exposed to blue asbestos. At a minimum, a lung series is in order. In general, anyone exposed is now in the high risk group for cancer. In the US, the American Cancer Society also performs screening tests. More information can be found at American Cancer Society :: Information and Resources for Cancer: Breast, Colon, Prostate, Lung and Other Forms. Support and resources for those diagnosed can be found here: Support for Mesothelioma Patients.

For the past three months, Scientology's long-time critics, including Mr. Woodcraft, have been joined by the loosely-affiliated group of internet activists known as Anonymous. While Anonymous has no spokespersons, one person confirmed to be part of the "group" had the following to say in response to this news:

"While we believe every person has the right to hold whatever beliefs they prefer, that right does not grant Scientology freedom to knowingly expose thousands of people to extremely dangerous substances without informing them of the danger."

Thousands world-wide have taken their protests to the street on a monthly basis. The next protest is scheduled for May 10.

The ship is in Curacao not St. Maarten. Different island, also Dutch territory.

Both local and Nederlands based investigators and govt officials are investigating.

The Daily Herald is based in Philipsburg, St. Maarten, not Willemstadt, Curacao.

That story had a byline of Willemstadt since that is where the ship is held.

thx. fixed

I don't believe Asbestos is a chemical...
It is a mineral. Just for reference:
Asbestos - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
common problems are Mesothelioma and asbestosis.
I don't think it technically qualifies as a carcinogen either.

If this is true, you may want to re-word this release.

Originally Posted by ChuckyLarms

I don't believe Asbestos is a chemical...
It is a mineral. Just for reference:
Asbestos - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
common problems are Mesothelioma and asbestosis.
I don't think it technically qualifies as a carcinogen either.

If this is true, you may want to re-word this release.

It is a mineral, true. Soemtimes found in the mineral type "Muscovite"
It is a building material that was used for its fire resistant properties and had many applications (among them sound insulation) *on Freewinds, no one can hear you OT*