Russian court to hear $13 billion lawsuit against BP

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iapetus lounger: True life i have acne - Health and Fitness - blog*spot

true life i have acneImagine the skin as a tapestry of loose fabrics bound by strong chemical forces. Falling for and believing in false advertisements and promises to improve your skin. Try to limit your carbohydrate as well as sugar intake so as not to increase true life i have acne your insulin content. Taking antibiotics is fruitless because constant intake of antibiotics will eventually cause the p. acne to become resistant to antibiotics. Use of lavender oil, olive oil will prove to be beneficial. Home Remedies For Acne Breakouts Or Acne Medication Home remedies for acne breakouts seem to pantothenic acid acne treatment be unheard of due to all the products life out there that claim they can cure acne. This is where you take a small surgical strike, and actually reduce their scars and stains. Keep Stress at Bay Stress is one of the major factors that i cause acne. It can be found pantothenic in various lotions, creams or other ointments but can be irritating on the skin as is common with many exfoliators, so testing on a small area of skin prior to use on acne prone skin may prove beneficial. The disorder is caused by irregular sebaceous gland activity which triggers the clogging of pores. The sebaceous glands located at the base of each hair acne follicle produce excess oil. Drink acne plenty water as water is the best for detoxification. You can only reap what true you sow Achieving lasting clear skin requires two things: 1) You must be willing to put some effort 2) You must be patient The problem with many people is that they are terrified from anything that appears to involve some work. Another advantage of Aloe Vera supplement is it is a powder based on Aloe extract. At faceyouracne. com you will find reviews and useful information on acne skin care treatment products. However doxycycline, being soluble in oils, can conveniently access the bacteria and destroy them. Thus to avoid or if you have developed it already to minimise its effects on your skin and beauty, you should
( 1) Eat your meals regularly ( 2) Ensure you sleep regularly for eight hours daily.( 3) Must maintain your acid pores clear ( 4) Kill bacteria by regularly washing your true life i have acne face about thrice a have day atleast. As you go through puberty, your hormone levels are constantly changing, which can lead to acne. Raw foods high in oxalic acid such as nuts and swiss chard are great for the skin and treatment will help reduce the intensity of outbreaks. Repeat this daily to keep your pimples at bay. Washing that person a lot of can bring about dry skin. Application of cream on skin surface prevents the appearance of spots, blemishes, scarring and large pores. So I suggest odor controlled garlic pills that you can get at just about any grocery store or any where else that sells vitamins. Most acne products can be purchased without prescription. A session costs somewhere around $ 300-$ 500, and you need at least 3 treatments to see the results. Just eliminate its peeling and rub it in your encounter.

Still looking for quality, unbiased information on back acne causes ? 2] The lesions are caused by changes in the pilosebaceous units, the skin Retinoids are effective in curing acne, but they have a downside ? make your skin very sensitive to sunlight. Sure zits and pimples happen, For example ? Skinfo Clear Skin 5% Acne Gel? contains benzoyl peroxide that kills bacteria and sells for $ 10. That is sun burn. Once you have prepared the bees canvas so to speak, it is time to apply the mask. This will make the skin raw and This is SLE or systemic lupus erythematosus, a rare condition that can be brought about by certain prescription drugs in some cases: Beta teenager

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Q&A: Hard times for Obama from economic recovery

In this Thursday, May 31, 2012, job seekers gather for employment opportunities at the 11th annual Skid Row Career Fair at the Los Angeles Mission in Los Angeles. U.S. employers created 69,000 jobs in May, the fewest in a year, and the unemployment rate ticked up. The dismal jobs figures could fan fears that the economy is sputtering. (AP Photo/Damian Dovarganes, File)

In this Thursday, May 31, 2012, job seekers gather for employment opportunities at the 11th annual Skid Row Career Fair at the Los Angeles Mission in Los Angeles. U.S. employers created 69,000 jobs in May, the fewest in a year, and the unemployment rate ticked up. The dismal jobs figures could fan fears that the economy is sputtering. (AP Photo/Damian Dovarganes, File)

This AP graphic shows U.S. Job creation in May from 2008-2012. Only 69,000 jobs were added in May, the fewest in a year, and the unemployment rate rose from 8.1 percent to 8.2 percent. (AP Photo)

President Barack Obama greets supporters after speaking about jobs for veterans, Friday, June 1, 2012, at Honeywell Automation and Control Solutions Global Headquarters in Golden Valley, Minn. (AP Photo/Charlie Neibergall)

FILE - In this May 31, 2012 file photo, Republican presidential candidate, former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney speaks outside the Solyndra manufacturing facility, in Fremont, Calif. Romney says Friday's jobs report is ?devastating news? for American workers and families. (AP Photo/Mary Altaffer, File)

(AP) ? Nothing upsets a president's re-election groove like ugly economic numbers.

A spring slowdown in hiring and a rise in the unemployment rate are weighing on President Barack Obama, while enhancing Republican challenger Mitt Romney's argument that the Democratic incumbent is in over his head.

Some questions and answers about how Friday's economic news may play in a close presidential race:

Q: How bad is this for Obama?

A: Pretty awful. Polls show Obama's handling of the economy is his biggest weak spot. People in the United States overwhelmingly rate the economy as their biggest worry, and jobs are what they say matters most.

But the president still has time for the jobs outlook to improve. Five more monthly unemployment reports are due ? the last coming just four days before the Nov. 6 election. The fall numbers will mean more when voters head to the polls.

Q: What can Obama tell voters if the job picture stays bleak?

A: After 3 1/2 years in office, it's getting harder to blame the painfully slow recovery on the mistakes of his predecessor, George W. Bush. But Obama keeps reminding the public of how bad things were when he took office in January 2009. The economy was deep into the recession and losing jobs month after bleak month.

In contrast, over the past two years, Obama notes, businesses have been consistently adding jobs, just not as quickly as needed.

He's also tried shifting blame to congressional Republicans, saying they've held up the recovery by refusing to pass most elements of his jobs bill. And he says some factors dragging down the U.S. economy are beyond a president's control, such as the European economic crisis and fluctuating gasoline prices. The weakening economy in China and turbulence in the Middle East haven't helped, either.

Q: Is Romney seizing this opportunity?

A: With both hands. The lousy jobs numbers fit neatly into Romney's central campaign pitch: That guy doesn't have a clue how to fix the economy, so let me get it done.

He called the jobs news "devastating" and a "harsh indictment" of Obama. Romney says his own experience with a private equity firm, making millions of dollars by overhauling struggling companies, taught him how to revive the economy and create jobs.

Q: So which guy do the voters believe?

A: It's a toss-up so far.

There hasn't been time to measure the impact of Friday's figures. But in an Associated Press-GfK poll last month, people were split over who they'd trust most to handle the economy, Romney or Obama. Asked specifically whether they approve of the way Obama has dealt with unemployment, about half did and half didn't, mostly along party lines.

Still, jobs are clearly a weakness for Obama. His poll numbers are stronger than Romney's on many other qualities, such as which candidate understands regular people, is a strong leader and says what he really believes.

He may benefit from the perception that the mess is so big no one knows what to do. In an NBC/Wall Street Journal poll, two-thirds of those surveyed said they were only somewhat confident or not at all confident that Obama has the right goals and policies to improve the economy. Asked this about Romney, three-quarters were only somewhat or not at all confident.

Q: Sure, people care about jobs, but do they really follow the latest economic reports?

A: One number seems to break through: the unemployment rate. That easy-to-understand figure ? representing what share of Americans are looking for work and can't find it ? edged up to 8.2 percent in May, from 8.1 percent the month before.

And Obama has yet to get it down to even the troublingly high 7.8 percent in place when he took office. (It zoomed to a peak of 10 percent in October 2009.)

Since the government began closely tracking unemployment in 1948, no president has won re-election with numbers as high as those Obama's staring down. The champ is Ronald Reagan, who coasted to a second term in 1984 despite 7.4 percent unemployment in October. A far greater percentage of people were out of work in 1936, when Franklin Roosevelt won re-election in a landslide amid the Great Depression.

Prospects for the unemployment rate to drop sharply before November aren't good. The economy needs to generate at least 125,000 jobs per month just to keep up with population growth ? a mark it's fallen far short of for the past two months. And it would take tens of thousands more jobs each month to bring the rate down.

Q: Couldn't the economic outlook brighten before Election Day?

A: It might. Some economists think the weakness could be temporary, reflecting the fallout from an unusually warm winter and technical issues that can sway the government's numbers. Consumer spending and exports remain solid, says Mark Zandi, chief economist at Moody's Analytics, and the outlook may bounce back to last winter's optimism.

Or the weak report could mark the beginning of a stall in the already sluggish recovery. Discouraging numbers can become a self-fulfilling prophecy. Just look at the way they drove the stock market down 275 points Friday, in the worst trading day of the year. That sort of thing rattles the business leaders who make hiring decisions.

Many of them are feeling uneasy about world events.

"Europe is the key swing factor," Zandi said.

If Europe addresses its financial troubles, and keeps Greece in the eurozone, the financial markets are likely to settle, he said, and boost U.S. employers' confidence. But if Europe slowly worsens, it will be a drag on the U.S. economy.

By Nov. 6, when a president is picked, the employment picture may look rosier ? or glum.

Associated Press

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Why Is Health And Safety Important In The Workplace? | The Article ...

?

By Nigel J Welford

Why is health and safety important in the workplace? Because it is quite simply that people?s lives depend on what happens at work. It is not unreasonable to expect that someone will return home in the same condition they left for work that morning. Unfortunately 171 people were killed at work in 2010 (according to the HSE 2010/11 statistics) with another 315,379 employees injured. The HSE doesn?t say how badly they were injured but safe to assume some pain was involved!

In reviewing the HSE figures, the industries with the highest fatality rates were Agriculture and Construction and in hindsight this does make sense. Although these figures are currently provisional, 42 people suffered fatalities in Agricultural incidents including 8 members of the public with 52 fatalities in Construction including two members of the general public.

Overall these are not great statistics, but the underlying trend of fatalities in the UK is downward and the UK is consistently one of the lowest in the EU and has been the lowest amongst the big five European countries for the past six years.

In business terms it does not make good reading either ? over 26.4 million working days were lost due to work related illness or injury, with the average worker absent for 15 days. Just think if you are a business owner and you lost a percentage of your workforce for 1 to 3 weeks ? what impact would it have on a business?

Over 1.2 million people also suffered a work related illness ? either caused or made worse by their current or past work. Around 75% of these cases were due to lifting/bad posture, stress, depression or anxiety.

More bad news? The HSE issued over 18,000 enforcement notices against businesses with 551 cases going on to face prosecution. Of these cases, a conviction rate of 94% was secured with an average penalty of ?35,938 per offence. Can you imagine what time, effort and cost to a business in dealing with the associated investigations, responses, paperwork and not to mention any communication with any legal representatives together with the stress it would put on any business? With recent changes to how to HSE operate this is expected to increase so even more reason to ensure your Health & Safety is in good order.

So, overall it looks to be easier to spend some time in making sure your employees are safe and spending some time looking at Health & Safety for your business. If you need an answer to the question of why is health and safety important in the workplace then the figures shown above and your responsibility as a business owner gives you the answer!

Nigel J Welford is a qualified Health & Safety professional and believes in making health and safety as simple as possible whilst still being effective and meeting all the regulations. For his free report ?The Secret To How Health & Safety Can Improve Your Business And Profits: 7 Everyday Pitfalls To Avoid? from http://www.healthandsafetyintheworkplace.com

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cnn latest news: Tactics for Business Marketing | Virtual World Inc

The number of marketing businesses has grown with the extensive use of the Internet. While in the past, corporations where the main clients that hired marketing businesses for strategic promotion, things have changed a little bit with the higher demands that characterize today?s market. Run a search on Google and you will be surprised to see how many marketing businesses advertise their services. Why and when to use them? American laser clinic.

When you are just building a business, you can often feel overwhelmed by the huge number of choices you have in terms of strategies, tactics, tools, advertising systems and so on. How can one keep up with the transformations on the market, when one doesn?t know where to start from? This very confusion pushes business owners to seek the experience and expertise of marketing businesses. Maybe you want to advertise on the Internet but you know nothing of search engine optimization. And obstacles that are likely to come in your way are more numerous.?Juvederm vs. restylane cost.

Marketing businesses could offer many solutions under the circumstances. It is important to look for realistic estimates and not fall for the promise of incredible wealth. Nobody can give you that! Here are the most usual services that marketing businesses provide to companies that work online:?

-web site design;

-market research;

-content development;

-search engine optimization;

-competition investigations;

-pay-per-click advertising;

-promotional campaigns;

-constant monitoring;

-reports on performance.

Some services vary in the packages provided by the various marketing businesses, but solutions are often tailored according to the client?s needs. The truth is that unless you have marketing experience yourself, or you don?t get some training in the field, you will constantly depend on professional assistance to keep a business running. The expenses with marketing businesses could be lower if you have a solid marketing plan that you follow thoroughly.?Calidora prices skin clinic reviews.

There are fewer chances to fail in the business attempts if you follow a step-by-step course of action. Remember to monitor the performance of short and long term results so as to be sure that the business remains on the right track. Marketing businesses normally use some tools or software programs to monitor business performance online. At some point in your business development, you could invest in such a tool and thus base your marketing and management decisions on more serious market analysis.

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NYT: Constraints on economy hurting Obama

The bleak jobs report on Friday predictably had heads snapping toward the White House, looking to President Obama to do something. Yet his proposed remedies only underscore how much the president, just five months before he faces voters, is at the mercy of actors in Europe, China and Congress whose political interests often conflict with his own.

That day, Mr. Obama continued his weekly travels around the country, prodding Congressional Republicans to pass his ?to-do list? of temporary tax cuts and spending initiatives to help create jobs. The Republicans only mock him, which leaves Mr. Obama free to blame his opponents and their presidential standard-bearer, Mitt Romney. But in doing so, he telegraphs a message of powerlessness that no leader likes to convey ? least of all one who ran for office four years ago vowing to bridge Washington?s partisan gulf.

Developments overseas have not helped either. American officials have complained as Beijing began letting its currency devalue again, making its exports cheaper and those from the United States to China more costly. And administration officials, and Mr. Obama himself, have lobbied leaders in Europe for more forceful action to promote growth or at least contain the threat of financial contagion there.

Romney calls May jobs report 'devastating news'
  1. Other political news of note

    1. CPI: $63.5M Wis. recall is state's most expensive

      Tuesday's recall election of Republican Gov. Scott Walker - a battle that has become a referendum on the future of public sector unions - is the most expensive in Wisconsin history.

    2. NYT: Constraints on economy hurting Obama
    3. NYT: Warren avoids Senate primary in Mass.
    4. Obama gets his wish: Night at his Chicago home
    5. As Wis. recall looms, Dems hope to avoid embarrassment

In his weekly address on Saturday, recorded on Friday at a Honeywell International plant near Minneapolis, the president cited the global woes buffeting the economy. But he singled out Congress for rebuke.

?While we can?t fully control everything that happens in other parts of the world, there are plenty of things we can control here at home,? Mr. Obama said. ?There are plenty of steps we can take right now to help create jobs and grow this economy.?

Without mentioning Republicans, Mr. Obama said Congress had not passed measures he had proposed to get jobless construction workers rebuilding roads, bridges and runways; to give small businesses a tax break for new hires; and to help states pay teachers, firefighters and police officers. The steady elimination of public sector jobs has offset increased hiring in the private sector for more than two years.

?So my message to Congress is: Get to work,? he added.

Alan J. Auerbach, an economist at the University of California, Berkeley, said, ?Frankly, I don?t see what President Obama can do right now other than to forcefully present a detailed plan for action and challenge Congress to take it up.?

But ?short of a real crisis,? as in 2008, Mr. Auerbach, an expert on fiscal policy, added, ?I doubt that there is anything he can do to spur meaningful legislation before the election.?

Jobs report points to close election

Yet even in 2008, with the financial system near collapse, most Congressional Republicans rejected the rescue plan of a Republican president, George W. Bush. And now, despite their own record-low numbers in the polls, they have next to no incentive to help an embattled Democratic president lift the economy.

Continued economic anemia plays to Mr. Romney?s call for new stewardship, and to Republicans? demands to extend and deepen the Bush-era tax cuts for the wealthiest Americans rather than let them expire, as Mr. Obama and Democrats want. And they figure that if Mr. Romney succeeds, it will probably help them win close House and Senate races, while Mr. Obama?s re-election could do the opposite.

By emboldening Republicans, the report on Friday that the economy added only 69,000 jobs in May seemed to dash the hopes of some in the White House for a replay of 1996. That summer, as President Bill Clinton sought re-election with the economy improving, Republicans in Congress decided that their party?s weak presidential nominee, Senator Bob Dole, was doomed. To Mr. Dole?s chagrin, they compromised with the Democratic president to notch some significant achievements and ensure their own survival.

Slowing economy sends gas prices lower

Gene Sperling, the chief White House economic adviser, said, ?There is no question that had Congress acted on the president?s proposals nine months ago to prevent teacher layoffs, put construction workers back to work and cut small-business taxes, our job situation today would be notably stronger and unemployment would be lower.? Analyses by macroeconomic firms and nonpartisan financial analysts agreed.

While Mr. Obama seeks to make Republicans the villains when it comes to the economy, he is also, more diplomatically, blaming Europe. In Minneapolis and Chicago on Friday, he cited the impact of the continent?s travails on the American economy.

Citing the jobs report, Mr. Obama said, ?A lot of that is attributable to Europe and the cloud that?s coming over from the Atlantic, and the whole world economy has been weakened by it.?

NBC-Marist polls; Obama, Romney deadlocked in three key states

As lackluster as the American jobs data was, with unemployment inching up one-tenth of a percentage point to 8.2 percent, the news from Europe was far worse: the jobless rate in the euro zone hit 11 percent, the highest since tracking began in 1995. ?There?s really nothing the U.S. can do,? said Charles Calomiris, professor of finance and economics at Columbia Business School.

On Wednesday, Mr. Obama had a video conference call with Chancellor Angela Merkel of Germany, President Fran?ois Hollande of France and Prime Minister Mario Monti of Italy to discuss developments in Europe and plan for this month?s G-20 summit meeting in Mexico. Treasury Secretary Timothy F. Geithner continued to trade calls with Germany?s finance minister, Wolfgang Sch?uble. And late Friday, Mr. Obama?s Treasury undersecretary for international affairs, Lael Brainard, returned from a week of consultations in Athens, Frankfurt, Madrid, Paris and Berlin.

Mr. Obama ?emphasizes that what happens in Europe is of global concern,? said Michael Froman, the White House adviser for international economic affairs. ?We want to be of help, whether in providing ideas or lessons from our experience as they work through these issues.?

For more than two years, Mr. Obama and Mr. Geithner have prodded Europe, led by Germany, to do more to revive the region?s weakest economies rather than push budget cuts, which have resulted in more losses of jobs and consumer spending power. Their results, however, have been limited at best.

Germany has shown some willingness to bend. Officials in Berlin have signaled that they could accept higher wages at home and inflation above the euro zone?s average. Last week, a finance ministry spokesman said Germany could be more flexible about the timing of budget cuts in Spain ? after Greece, the source of greatest anxiety now.

Obama races the clock with summer economic numbers

But Germans are deeply concerned that supporting big transfers of aid to troubled countries within the euro zone will create a precedent and the expectation in other countries that they, or their banks, will be bailed out whenever necessary. Germans also believe that issuing debt jointly with other European countries, known as euro bonds, which the United States supports, would be struck down as unconstitutional by their high court.

And they routinely dismiss any criticism from across the Atlantic as election-year politicking.

?Germans do not think Americans have anything to offer at the moment in terms of helping us with the euro crisis,? said Thomas Risse, professor of international politics at the Free University in Berlin. ?Everyone thinks it?s just about Obama?s re-election here, which is wrong, but they think it.?

After the United States said this spring that it would not increase its contribution to the International Monetary Fund, its influence in Europe was blunted.

Even so, ?the I.M.F. appears to not be having the influence it usually does,? said Franklin Allen, a professor at the University of Pennsylvania?s Wharton School. ?It seems like Berlin is making all the decisions at the moment.?

Jackie Calmes reported from Washington, and Nicholas Kulish from Berlin.

This article, "Weak Economy Points to Obama?s Constraints," first appeared in The New York Times.

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98% Jiro Dreams of Sushi

All Critics (63) | Top Critics (23) | Fresh (62) | Rotten (1)

By the time this graceful film is over you understand why Japan has declared the bald, bespectacled Jiro a national treasure. Even if you've never tasted sushi, the man's singleness of purpose will inspire you.

Gelb apparently understood that his subject was itself so taking that he wouldn't need filmic embellishments to keep his viewers alert.

Obsessive, we were saying? Oh my, yes, and that's what makes the film so compelling.

The most interesting moments, however, belong not to the chef but to those who labor in his shadow.

As exhausting as Jiro may be, he's also inspiring.

Would you be willing to massage an octopus for 45 minutes, until its flesh possesses just the right amount of chewability? Jiro is.

The movie functions well as high-end food porn, but it's also an insightful character study of the single-minded Jiro.

It's an interesting exploration of a particular aspect of Japanese culture, which is fathers and sons working together. It's a very likeable film, and sometimes, that's enough. If you're a Japanophile or a sushi nut, you'll likely be in heaven.

Even after you've eaten your fill, Gelb's film is memorable not just as a foodie paradise, but as a lovely, insightful portrait of a man in a lifelong search for perfection.

Watching Jiro work with the decades of experience on his side is like watching a master painter adding strokes to a masterpiece.

I can imagine that if you are a sushi lover, then you'll be drooling over the delicious looking scenery, and it maybe even convince you to make a trip to Japan just to try some of the food.

The film similarly guides us smoothly from opening credits to closing without complaint or concern, and before you know it, you've dreamily submitted to 80 minutes of raw fish preparation.

If you ever wondered what is the Art of Sushi, David Gelb's intriguing portrait opens up a whole new world, in which we learn about simplicity, balance and what defines 'deliciousness'

The centerpiece is a gorgeously photographed sequence showing a dinner at Jiro's restaurant, a "concerto" of the many courses (all sushi, no appetizers) that will make any foodie's mouth water.

Thoughtful, gentle and wonderfully restrained, David Gelb's brief documentary Jiro Dreams of Sushi is a portrait of an artist in full flower, a master who has achieved a species of perfection.

Since few (if any) of us will ever be able to actually taste sushi chef Jiro Ono's cuisine -- minimum cost per person to dine there is roughly $300 -- we'll have to console ourselves with the visual bliss of this entertaining documentary.

As artful as it is appetizing.

The parade of dishes is like one note after another in a symphony meant to be appreciated by all the senses.

Yes, it will make you hungry, but it also supplies an understanding of skill and care that's largely lost in today's mechanical world. It's a simple story, yet one with fascinating levels of behavior and expertise to examine.

As simple and elegant as Jiro's preparations, "Sushi" alternates between the master musing on his cooking philosophy (good food, he says, makes him feel "victorious") and footage of the three chefs at work in their minuscule kitchen.

You don't have to like sushi to appreciate a master

This documentary strikes a balance between storytelling and food porn that's hard to come by in foodie flicks. Like a proper sushi meal, "Jiro" left me feeling sated, not stuffed.

Savory documentary, which is especially appetizing for foodies.

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Feds to rule on cancer aid for WTC dust exposure

FILE - In this Sept. 11, 2001 file photo, a man wipes ash from his face after terrorists flew two airplanes into the World Trade Center towers, causing them to collapse. A federal health official is expected to announce in early June, 2012, whether people with cancer will be covered by an aid program for New Yorkers sickened by World Trade Center dust. An advisory committee recommended in March that the government open up the $4.3 billion program to people who developed cancers after being exposed to the toxic soot that fell on Manhattan when the towers collapsed. (AP Photo/Amy Sancetta, File)

FILE - In this Sept. 11, 2001 file photo, a man wipes ash from his face after terrorists flew two airplanes into the World Trade Center towers, causing them to collapse. A federal health official is expected to announce in early June, 2012, whether people with cancer will be covered by an aid program for New Yorkers sickened by World Trade Center dust. An advisory committee recommended in March that the government open up the $4.3 billion program to people who developed cancers after being exposed to the toxic soot that fell on Manhattan when the towers collapsed. (AP Photo/Amy Sancetta, File)

FILE - In this Oct. 11, 2001 file photo, firefighters make their way over the ruins of the World Trade Center through clouds of smoke at ground zero in New York. A federal health official is expected to announce in early June, 2012, whether people with cancer will be covered by an aid program for New Yorkers sickened by World Trade Center dust. An advisory committee recommended in March that the government open up the $4.3 billion program to people who developed cancers after being exposed to the toxic soot that fell on Manhattan when the towers collapsed. (AP Photo/Stan Honda, Pool)

FILE - In this Sept. 11, 2001 file photo, a shell of what was once part of the facade of one of the twin towers of New York's World Trade Center rises above the rubble that remains after both towers were destroyed in the terrorist attacks. A federal health official is expected to announce in early June, 2012, whether people with cancer will be covered by an aid program for New Yorkers sickened by World Trade Center dust. An advisory committee recommended in March that the government open up the $4.3 billion program to people who developed cancers after being exposed to the toxic soot that fell on Manhattan when the towers collapsed. (AP Photo/Shawn Baldwin, File)

FILE - In this Sept. 20, 2011 file photo, Touze Martes stirs up dust and ash as he sweeps near the site of the World Trade Center wreckage in New York. A federal health official is expected to announce in early June, 2012, whether people with cancer will be covered by an aid program for New Yorkers sickened by World Trade Center dust. An advisory committee recommended in March that the government open up the $4.3 billion program to people who developed cancers after being exposed to the toxic soot that fell on Manhattan when the towers collapsed. (AP Photo/Ted S. Warren, File)

(AP) ? A federal health official is expected to decide within days whether to expand an aid program for anyone sickened by World Trade Center dust to cover cancer, a move that would be cheered by many former ground zero workers, but could also prove costly and come at the expense of people with ailments more conclusively linked to 9/11's toxic fallout.

An advisory committee recommended in March that the government open up the $4.3 billion program to people with cancers in 14 different broad categories, including nearly all of the most common forms of the disease.

To date, there is little hard evidence of unusual cancer rates among people exposed to the soot that fell on lower Manhattan after the attacks. But the panel, made up of occupational health specialists, toxicologists, union officials and health advocates, said there were enough carcinogens present at the site to create a plausible risk.

National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health director Dr. John Howard is scheduled to make a determination by Saturday, though his decision might not be announced until Monday.

Adding cancer to the list of covered conditions would make hundreds, or even thousands, of residents and rescue and recovery workers eligible for government-financed medical treatments and sizeable payments for lost wages and diminished quality of life.

But it might also put a severe financial strain on the program.

If Howard accepts the panel's recommendations in their entirety, there would likely be a surge of costly claims in a system now primarily helping people with conditions that aren't life-threatening, like asthma, chronic sinus irritation, sleep apnea or acid reflux disease.

The total number of people exposed to the dust is unknown, but 60,000 people have already enrolled in 9/11 health programs for people who lived or worked within the disaster zone, which covers most of Manhattan south of Canal Street.

Congress capped funding for the program at $1.55 billion for treatment, and $2.78 billion for compensation payments.

The special master overseeing applications for compensation, Sheila Birnbaum, said that unless Congress increases those amounts, she may have to prorate payments based on the number of people who apply and the severity of their illness.

"The addition of cancers, of course, complicates the issue," she said. Compensation awards for people with cancer ? especially fatal cases ? are likely to be significantly larger than claims being submitted now for other illnesses, she said. Any prorating based on a funding shortage would mean less money for people with other types of health problems.

That prospect has alarmed some advocates for the workers like Noah Kushlefsky, an attorney with the firm Kreindler & Kreindler, who represents about 3,800 people who intend to file claims.

"The budget should have no bearing on whether these people get help," he said. "Either we believe that illnesses were caused by the toxins that were down there ? in which case, people should be cared for ? or we don't."

It is unclear whether program administrators would make any attempt to distinguish between people who got cancer because of exposure to World Trade Center ash, and others who got it through smoking, sun exposure, bad genes or some other reason. Generally, it is very difficult, if not impossible, to determine why a person got cancer.

Under the committee's recommendation, almost all of the most common types of the disease would be added, including leukemia, non-Non-Hodgkin's lymphoma, melanoma and cancers of the breast, lung, colon, kidneys, bladder and thyroid.

Combined, those illnesses strike nearly 1 million Americans each year, killing about 333,000, according to federal health statistics. The panel also recommended adding non-melanoma skin cancer, which afflicts another 2 million Americans annually.

Those statistics assure that, even if it turns out that trade center dust has little or no impact on a person's risk of getting cancer, thousands of exposed people will get some form of the disease anyway as they age.

Elizabeth Ward, the head of intramural research at the American Cancer Society, and the chairwoman of the advisory panel, said it didn't consider cost concerns, or the fairness of the compensation system, when making its recommendation.

"Many of these people were working in conditions that, in a normal workplace, people would walk out," she said of the army of men and women who cleared ground zero of a mountain of rubble while breathing in particles that blackened their spit, irritated their eyes and throats, and made every breath uncomfortable.

"I think there is a very serious concern that these exposures were unique," she said.

Howard has already reviewed the issue once before. Last year, he decided not to include cancer patients in the program, saying science had yet to show a link between trade center dust and any type of the disease.

This year, he could again defer a decision while more scientific research is conducted, or add some types of cancer to the coverage list, but exclude others. He also has the power to set up rules governing which cancer patients might be eligible, based on factors that might include the severity of their exposure to the dust.

Associated Press

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