December 10th, 2007

Federal-Mogul, an auto parts dealer, is due in court this week to try and finalize its bankruptcy petition. The company was forced to declare bankruptcy in response to multiple asbestos-related lawsuits.

A bankruptcy exit plan for Federal-Mogul is to be heard this week after nearly six years of courtrooms. The plan is in response to thousands of asbestos-related lawsuits regarding automotive parts manufactured by the company and containing asbestos. The bankruptcy will settle the lawsuits, as well as setting down a reorganization plan to trim operations within the company. The bankruptcy was filed in 2001, while the company was facing more than 330,000 complaints of facilitating asbestos exposure due to the parts they produce.

Car parts are one f the main carriers of asbestos in the United States today. Degrading parts, such as brake pads, are made of varying degrees of the hazardous substance. As these parts break down, the asbestos can become airborne when it can be breathed in. Asbestos exposure has been known to cause asbestosis, emphysema and mesothelioma, a type of lung cancer directly tied with asbestos. When asbestos particles are breathed into the lungs, they become stuck there. The lungs cannot absorb oxygen and begin to die, slowly suffocating the victim.