Roughly $36.8 billion remain in personal injury trusts for pay out to present and future asbestos litigation claims. This is according to a Government Accountability Office (GAO) report released earlier this week.

The trusts are in place to address the increased number of bankruptcy filings over the past decade. Since the first trust was established in 1988, all the trusts have distributed $17.5 billion, including $3 billion to 475,000 claimants in 2010.

According to the GAO report, most asbestos related claims are settled out of court and contain confidentialiy clauses that guard the identities of the defendants as well as plaintiffs.

Asbestos exposure is the primary cause of mesothelioma, along with other illnesses that effect large segments of the population, including carpenters, welders, shipyard workers, roofers, plumbers, veterans, etc.