Amazing as it may seem, the US Senate seems close to getting together asbestos legislation that works. The powerful judiciary committee has decided to support realistic medical measurements which would eliminate many of the billions of dollars of frivolous claims clogging courts across the US.

The Senate has proposed a $160 billion compensation fund financed by the insurance industry and manufacturers which are exposed to asbestos  litigation. The legislation’s backer, Senator Orrin Hatch, hopes to have it passed without amendments that would make it too expensive for the industry. It’s due to go the House of Representatives for ratification in the next few weeks.

A call in the legislation for an almost complete ban on the use of asbestos in the US won over some former critics. While labour organisations say the medical measures are too strict and the payouts too low, they are giving the legislation grudging support.

The powerful American Federation of Labour-Confederation of Industrial Organisations (AFL-CIO) says the fund will need at least another $380 billion to be sustainable. Otherwise, it’s “a vehicle to relieve businesses and insurers of hundreds of billions of dollars of liability while significantly short-changing the asbestos victims of the fair compensation they are due”.

The AFL-CIO says 600,000 US workers have filed asbestos claims so far, and another 1.2 million are expected to file them in the future.