Tuesday, March 9, 2010
Sen. Max Baucus of Montana has introduced a resolution proposing the first week of April 2010 as Asbestos Awareness Week to improve public understanding of the dangers of asbestos exposure and prevalence of asbestos-related disease.Nearly 300 people in the small community of Libby, Montana have died of asbestos-related disease linked to a former W.R. Grace mine and mill that operated from 1963 to 1980. Earlier this year, federal environmental regulators declared a public health emergency in Libby because of the widespread asbestos exposure.
For decades, asbestos was widely used in building materials and insulation. But inhaling the microscopic fibers can cause mesothelioma, an incurable cancer of the lining of the lung or abdomen, and other serious illnesses. About 3,000 new cases of mesothelioma are diagnosed each year in the United States.
“There are too many good folks still suffering from asbestos-related disease and contamination in Montana and across the United States", Baucus said in a statement. “Asbestos Awareness Week provides a perfect opportunity to raise awareness about the dangers of asbestos and the need to keep fighting for the victims of asbestos-related disease.
The Senate resolution says that thousands of workers in the U.S. face significant asbestos exposure, thousands of people die from asbestos-related diseases every year and a significant percentage of asbestos disease victims were exposed to asbestos on naval ships and in shipyards while serving the country.
Senate resolution 427 urges the Surgeon General to warn and educate people about the public health hazard of asbestos exposure. The World Health Organization, the Environmental Protection Agency and the Surgeon General all say there is no safe level of exposure to asbestos, the resolution states.
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Labels: Asbestos, Mesothelioma
posted by Wade Rawlins at 7:21 PM
Thursday, February 25, 2010
Asbestos has been a leading concern in public health for decades. It’s well established that asbestos fibers when inhaled cause serious and often fatal respiratory diseases including lung cancer and mesothelioma, a cancer of the lining of the lungs or abdomen. Still questions and areas of scientific uncertainty remain about asbestos and similar fibers.As part of a reappraisal of standards to protect workers from asbestos, the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health, the lead federal agency for prevention of worker illness and injury, is seeking public comment on a new draft report that outlines current scientific understanding of asbestos. The report offers a research roadmap for exploring unanswered questions about asbestos and other elongated mineral fibers. The research findings would build a scientific foundation for future environmental and occupational health policy decisions.
“Asbestos has been a highly visible issue in public health for over three decades and abundant information is in the scientific literature,” the draft document states. “However, in part because of the complexity in the mineralogy, the scientific literature has various inconsistencies and inconclusive evidence which have led to uncertainties in identifying and applying the term asbestos for health and regulatory purposes.”
Since federal regulatory agencies developed workplace standards for exposure to airborne asbestos fibers in the 1970s because of its toxicity, the use of asbestos in the U.S. has declined substantially. Mining of asbestos in the U.S. ceased in 2002. Yet, asbestos products are still in wide use and new products are being manufactured and imported in the U.S.
The regulatory standards apply to six commercially used asbestos minerals— chrysotile, crocidolite, amosite, actinolite asbestos, anthophyllite asbestos and tremolite asbestos. In 1990, to protect workers, NIOSH broadened its definition of airborne asbestos fibers to include in addition to the six types of asbestos, other elongated mineral particles from nonasbestiform minerals. That was based on research in long-term animal studies.
The research roadmap proposes further research to clarify understanding of what determines the toxicity of asbestos and elongated mineral particles such as size or dimensions of the fiber. Studies of workers at talc mines in upstate New York and taconite mines in Minnesota are examples of potentially valuable followup research on the toxicity of non-asbestos elongated mineral particles, the report notes.
The draft document was developed by NIOSH scientists and engineers with professional experience in areas related to asbestos and elongated mineral fibers. Public comments are invited until April 16, 2010.
Read the Draft Report
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Wednesday, February 17, 2010
It’s well known that veterans are at higher risk of asbestos-related diseases because of the wide use of the dangerous mineral fiber in thousands of buildings and Navy ships from World War II until the 1970s.Now, the U.S. Department of Defense has announced plans to increase spending on research into new ways to combat the fatal disease linked to asbestos exposure.
The Department of Defense’s effort includes funding of several million dollars for three mesothelioma research projects. The funds will support research into early detection of the disease and the development of new treatments, including clinical trials on a vaccine that could improve the prognosis for patients with mesothelioma.
Mesothelioma is a cancer of the lining of the lungs, caused by inhaling asbestos fibers. The microscopic fibers become lodged in the lungs and can lead to development of respiratory diseases including mesothelioma, lung cancer and asbestosis decades later. Many veterans exposed to asbestos in the 1950s through 1970s may only now being showing symptoms of the disease.
Joseph Belluck, a partner in Belluck & Fox, a New York law firm that specializes in representing victims of mesothelioma, said the recent increase in research funding must be only the start of an effort to find a cure for asbestos-related disease that has killed thousands of veterans. “Veterans who were willing to fight for their country now must have their country fight for them,” Belluck said.
The shipbuilding acitivities from before World War II until the 1980s exposed thousands of Navy veterans to asbestos exposure on a daily basis.
During World War II, several million people employed in U.S. shipyards and U.S. Navy veterans were exposed to chrysotile asbestos products as well as amosite and crocidolite since these forms of asbestos were used extensively in military ship construction, according to the Department of Veterans Affairs. Asbestos was widely used in shipbuilding to insulate boilers, steam pipes and hot water pipes.
Veterans involved in mining, milling, shipyard work, insulation, demolition of old buildings, carpentry and construction, manufacture of brake linings and clutch facings and manufacture of pipes. Veterans may be eligible for health care and disability compensation if the VA determines the asbestos exposure was related to military service.
Learn more about VA health care and disability compensation at http://www.publichealth.va.gov/exposures/benefits.asp
Read more of Belluck’s comments about DOD research on mesothelioma at http://www.prweb.com/releases/mesothelioma-help/research-belluck/prweb3615194.htm
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Labels: Asbestos, National News
posted by Wade Rawlins at 1:04 PM
Monday, February 8, 2010
Industrial uses of asbestos in Mexico are increasing the number of mesothelioma-related diseases and deaths among Mexican workers, according to a scientific study in the American Journal of Industrial Medicine. The researchers say Mexico should ban the use of asbestos in all production processes as a public health policy to control the epidemic of asbestos-related diseases and safeguard the population and future generations.Malignant mesothelioma is an incurable cancer of the lining of the lungs or abdomen closely associated with breathing asbestos. The World Health Organization has urged countries to ban the use of asbestos, saying there is no safe level of asbestos exposure.
In their study, occupational health researchers from the Mexican Institute of Social Security and several Mexican cancer hospitals sought to identify the proportion of cases of malignant pleural mesothelioma in Mexico that were attributable to workplace exposure. Despite numerous studies around the world that have underscored the adverse effects of asbestos on workers’ health, the researchers said there was a general lack of recognition of the hazard of asbestos exposure in Mexico.
Because mesothelioma is not recognized as a work-related disease in Mexico, the country’s national health system and Mexican Institute of Social Security, which insures 30 percent of the country’s economically active population, absorb millions of dollars in costs to care for patients with mesothelioma rather than the industries that caused their disease.
In Mexico, chrysotile asbestos —also known as white asbestos—imported from Canada is the most commonly used asbestos fiber and represents the largest threat to workers, the study says. The shipment of asbestos to Mexico is part of an ongoing migration of dangerous industries to less industrialized countries such as Mexico that possess a weak framework for worker protection, the researchers noted. From 1991-2000, Mexico imported about 8 percent of Canada’s total international exports of asbestos, representing $114 million in exports.
Researchers interviewed 472 workers who lived in the Valley of Mexico, an area of central Mexico that encompasses the Mexico City metropolitan area, to assess their potential exposure to asbestos from their jobs as well as from environmental factors such as living near an asbestos factory or having parents who worked around asbestos. More than 100 of the workers had been diagnosed with mesothelioma.
The researchers attributed 82 percent of the cases of mesothelioma in the lining of the lung to workplace exposure to asbestos. They said the pattern of asbestos exposure and disease observed in more industrialized nations in the 1970s is now repeating itselt in Mexico.
“Our results show a clear relationship between industrial use of all types of asbestos and malignant pleural mesothelioma, and in Mexico the major type of asbestos is chrysotile imported from Canada,” the researchers said.
They said deaths from mesothelioma appeared to be underreported in Mexico’s official death records, suggesting the scope of the problem was even greater. Of more than 100 patients diagnosed with mesothelioma, only about a third of patients who had died had mesothelioma listed as a cause of death.
In 2006, the World Health Organization said that all types of asbestos cause mesothelioma, lung cancer and asbestosis and there is no safe level of exposure to asbestos. Even if use of asbestos is eliminated soon, the World Health Organization has estimated there will be 5 to 10 million additional deaths from asbestos. The World Health Organization called for a ban.
But Mexico has not banned asbestos. To the contrary, Mexico’s government supported an effort by asbestos-exporting countries, led by Canada, to block the United Nations from including chrysotile asbestos on a list of recognized toxic substances.
Based of their findings, the researchers called on Mexico to ban the use and commercialization of all forms of asbestos to protect future generations and to require asbestos manufacturers and importers to pay the medical expenses and pensions of diseased workers. The researchers said if asbestos is not banned at once in Mexico, the incidence of mesothelioma would continue to increase in the population for 50 years.
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Labels: Asbestos, International News, Research
posted by Wade Rawlins at 8:25 AM
Wednesday, February 3, 2010
While Quebec Premier Jean Charest was visiting India, the largest importer of Canadian asbestos, public health scientists from 28 counties called on the Quebec leader to support ending all exports of the cancer-causing mineral fiber.The scientists, organized by the Environmental Health Trust, a U.S.-based environmental health advocacy group, and the Cancer Association of South Africa, urged Charest to listen to the recommendations of prominent health experts in Canada, the Canadian Medical Association, the Quebec Cancer Society and the World Health Organization. All the groups have called for an end to use of asbestos because of its hazards to human health.
Canada is the world’s fifth largest exporter of asbestos, and all of it is mined in Quebec. Much of Canada’s exported mineral fiber goes to developing countries where weak or non-existent workplace safety rules expose workers to breathing asbestos dust. Asbestos is no longer widely used in Canada.
“Your government is spending millions of dollars to remove chrysotile asbestos and other forms of asbestos from Quebec’s schools, hospitals and buildings, while at the same time, exporting it to developing countries and telling them it is safe,” the scientists said in the Jan. 28 letter to Charest. “This seems to represent a high level of hypocrisy.”
The scientists noted that in Quebec, exposure to asbestos through mining is the leading cause of death among workers. Statistics for 2009 from the Quebec Workers Compensation Board show that 60 percent of occupational death were caused by asbestos.
“We call on you not to export this same public health tragedy to developing countries, where surely there is more than enough suffering and injustice already,” the scientists said.
The scientists condemned the Charest government for embracing the position of the asbestos industry’s advocacy group, the Chrysotile Institute, that exposure to 1 fiber of chrysotile asbestos per cubic centimeter of air is safe. The scientists said that stance conflicted with the views of the Canadian Cancer Society, the U.S. Surgeon General and the World Health Organization that all held that there was no safe exposure level to chrysotile asbestos.
“We find it shocking that the exposure level you endorse for people overseas is ten times higher than the level permitted by all other provinces in Canada, by the U.S., by the European Union and by other Western industrialized nations,” they said.
The World Health Organization estimates that 90,000 people die every year of asbestos-related lung cancer, mesothelioma, a cancer of the lining of the lungs and asbestosis, a chronic scarring of the lungs.
Read the letter
World Cancer Day
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Labels: Asbestos
posted by Wade Rawlins at 10:08 AM
Monday, February 1, 2010
Italian researchers found an elevated incidence of mesothelioma in a study of more than 1,000 miners who worked at an asbestos mine near Turin, Italy. Their findings were reported in the scientific journal Occupational and Environmental Medicine.The Balangero mine, located near Turin, Italy, used to be Europe’s largest open pit asbestos mine. By the 1970s, the mine produced 130,000 to 160,000 tons per year of chrysotile asbestos. It closed in 1990, two years before Italy banned the mining, marketing and use of all types of asbestos because of the human health hazards.
Medical researchers have been tracking the mine’s former workers to understand better the long-term health effects of breathing asbestos dust. Asbestos-related diseases such as malignant mesothelioma, a cancer of the lining of the lungs or abdomen closely linked to inhaling asbestos fibers, typically don't appear until decades after exposure.
In the 2009 study in the scientific journal Occupational and Environmental Medicine, researchers from four Italian medical institutions reported a significantly higher than expected death rate from pleural and peritoneal mesothelioma among the Balangero miners. All of the cases of mesothelioma occurred more than 30 years after exposure, and two occurred more than 50 years later. Four of the five cases involved miners exposed to asbestos dust for more than 20 years.
The study expands on earlier published research that found an increased risk of oral, laryngeal and pleural cancers among the Balangero asbestos miners, based on health information and mortality data through 1987. The new research tracks 1,056 miners for 16 additional years —through 2003.
The researchers computed expected mortality rates from certain cancers and other causes of death in the province of Turin and throughout Italy. They then compared the expected rates to the actual mortality among the workers employed at the mines starting in 1946 and later. They found four times as many deaths from pleural mesothelioma as expected and increased mortality for pleural and peritoneal cancer combined.
The study also supports a recent conclusion by the U.S. Institute of Medicine that there is sufficient evidence to support an association between asbestos and laryngeal cancer. The study found a greater than 80 percent increased number of deaths from larynegeal cancer above the norm.
Overall, the researchers found excess mortality among the Balangero mine workers from asbestos-related diseases including mesothelioma, lung cancer and asbestosis as well as other alcohol-related conditions such as cirrhosis of the liver.
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Labels: Asbestos, International News, Mesothelioma
posted by Wade Rawlins at 11:08 AM
Thursday, January 28, 2010
Environmental regulators are working to stabilize stream banks near an asbestos disposal site in Ambler, Pennsylvania, to prevent asbestos-containing materials from posing a health risk to the community.The ongoing activity is occurring along Wissahickon Creek, Rose Valley Creek and Tannery Run near a 32-acre site used for decades to dispose of asbestos-containing material from a nearby asbestos manufacturing plant.
Federal environmental regulators recently put the BoRit site, as it is called, on the list of polluted lands eligible for cleanup under the federal Superfund program. The BoRit site includes an asbestos waste pile owned by Kane-Core, Inc.; a reservoir owned by the Wissahickon Waterfowl Preserve and a former playground owned by Whitpain Township.
EPA investigators say there is no evidence from testing that people are currently being exposed to asbestos. But it’s a densely populated area near Philadelphia, and residents could potentially be exposed to airborne asbestos if it is left uncontrolled. Investigators say that people may have been exposed to inhaling asbestos fibers when the asbestos manufacturing plant was still in operation. Asbestos manufacturing occurred near the site from the 1930s through the late 1980s. When inhaled, asbestos fibers can lodge in the lung and cause serious respiratory disease such as mesothelioma, lung cancer and asbestosis.
Health investigators with the Pennsylvania Department of Health and federal Centers for Disease Control did a study of cancer incidence in communities near the BoRit site. They found an elevated rate of mesothelioma, a rare cancer closely linked to asbestos exposure, in three zip codes closest to the BoRit site when compared to the rest of Pennsylvania. But they said the difference was not statistically significant.
Investigators said the cases of mesothelioma were most likely caused by exposures that occurred in the past when asbestos facilities were operating and exposing workers and their families. According to federal mortality statistics, Pennsylvania ranked 16th in the nation in mesothelioma deaths. Five Pennsylvania counties with the highest number of mesothelioma deaths included Montgomery County, where the BoRit site is located, adjoining Philadelphia and Chester counties, and York and Northhampton counties.
From the early 1900s to the late 1980s, the BoRit area was used to dispose of asbestos waste form the former Keasby and Mattison Company, Certainteed Corporation and Nicolet Industries, state and federal investigators say. The industries produced asbestos products ranging from electrical insulation to brake lining as well as piping, roofing shingles and laboratory tabletops
The waste pile, which contains an estimated 149,500 cubic yards, covers about six acres. The berm of the 15-acre reservoir was constructed of asbestos shingles and millboard. Other asbestos waste such as piping and tiles is visible around the reservoir and three other water bodies.
Workers are removing asbestos containing materials from the stream bank and installing concrete cable mats to prevent erosion from exposing more material.
For more Information about Mesothelioma, click here
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Labels: Asbestos, Mesothelioma, National News
posted by Wade Rawlins at 12:24 PM
Wednesday, January 27, 2010
In the United Kingdom, more 2,000 people die a year of mesothelioma, a cancer associated with asbestos exposure. The numbers have been trending steeply upward since the 1960s, according to Great Britain’s Health and Safety Executive.Asbestos-related disease exacts a steep cost in terms of lives lost, pain and suffering by Mesothelioma patients and their families and asbestos-related insurance costs. With more awareness and publicity about mesothelioma a greater proportion of asbestos-disease sufferers are filing claims against their employer after their diagnosis of cancer of the lining of the lung or abdomen.
A new actuarial study doubles the projected asbestos-related insurance claims that the UK insurance industry will pay to about £11 billion ($17.8 billion) through 2050. The previous estimate of claims cost made in 2004 was £4.7 billion ($7.6 billion), but that only covered the period to 2040. The increase in the insurance market estimate was driven primarily by a near doubling of the observed number of mesothelioma claims since 2004.
The study was compiled by the UK Asbestos Working Party, part of Actuarial Professional, an organization representing the actuary industry.
The number of insurance claims has been increasing faster than the rate of mesothelioma deaths in Britain, the report said. In the past, about one-third of asbestos-related deaths resulted in insurance claims, but now nearly two-thirds of asbestos victims make claims. Still, there is uncertainty about the number of people who will be diagnosed with mesothelioma in future decades, making the projections less reliable in the outlying years.
The study noted that mesothelioma claims accounted for more than 90 percent of the United Kingdom’s asbestos-related claims cost.
The wide use of asbestos and its danger to human health have had and will continue to have profound consequences.
Link to UK Asbestos Working Party Actuarial Study
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Labels: Asbestos, International News, Mesothelioma
posted by Wade Rawlins at 3:49 PM
Monday, January 18, 2010
People who get diagnosed with mesothelioma fall into two categories, said New York attorney Joseph Belluck.There are those who know automatically how they were exposed to asbestos, the toxic fibers that when inhaled can cause respiratory diseases such as mesothelioma, an incurable cancer of the lining of the lungs or abdomen.
“They worked in a Navy ship, or they worked in a factory,” said Belluck, noting occupations commonly associated with asbestos exposure. “They were an automobile mechanic. Their father was a plumber.”
Then there are other people who are diagnosed with mesothelioma who have no idea how they were exposed. They’re looking for answers.
“In almost every case like that, we are able to find an exposure to asbestos,” said Belluck, a partner in Belluck & Fox, a nationally-known law firm that specializes in representing victims of asbestos-related disease. “We’ve represented dentists, veterinarians, physicians, laboratory technicians, teachers. A lot of times people have worked with asbestos, for example dentists or jewelers, and they’re not even aware that they did.”
A Life History
Belluck said it’s important to keep in mind that if someone has mesothelioma, then they were exposed to asbestos at some point. Identifying the exposure is a matter of thoroughly examining their background.
“We start by meeting with our client and taking a very, very thorough life history of the client that includes their occupational history, any military service that they had and any work with asbestos that they would have done at their home or on their automobiles,” Belluck said.
“ A lot of times the clients aren’t even aware that certain things they did exposed them to asbestos,” Belluck said. “So that interview is very, very important.
“We have dealt with people in all walk’s of life so we have a good idea of what questions to ask,” he said.
In addition, the lawyers gather information about the occupations of their client’s parent, children and spouses to see if there might have been second-hand exposure to asbestos through other family members.
“If the person served on a ship in the Navy or the Merchant Marine, we would get records from the Coast Guard or the Navy as to the design of the ship and what equipment was on the ship,” Belluck said. “We would hire a researcher in Washington to go to the Naval archives or the Coast Guard archives and actually pull the drawings and documents related to the specific ship that our clients were on.”
“There is a lot of investigation that goes into the case prior to filing it so we know who the proper defendants are,” he said.
New York Work Sites
For many work sites in New York, Belluck & Fox has already conducted extensive investigations and document reviews and is familiar with the equipment and types of boilers on site and possible ways workers could be exposed to asbestos.
“If someone worked at the Kodak plant in Rochester or the General Electric plant in Schenectady, we’ve already done a lot of work on those sites and the products that we were there,” Belluck said.
“We would use a lot of records and documents that we already have in house here, which is really the main reason to hire a firm like ours,” Belluck said. “We already have a lot of the information and knowledge stored here that allows us to prosecute the lawsuit.”
The number of defendants often named in asbestos lawsuits also makes the cases somewhat unusual. “There may be 15 or 20 parties that contribute to a settlement or overall recovery,” Belluck said. “The majority of defendants settle and one or two hang around and we either have to start trial or finish trial against those.”
Fast Track Docket
Belluck said most cases settle out of court, although every case is prepared as if it is going to trial. Because New York courts often grant requests to put asbestos lawsuits on an expedited schedule because of the plaintiff’s declining health, the cases are often resolved in a year or less.
“It’s a very, very fast docket.” Belluck said. “From the time that we get the case until the time that it’s over is usually seven to 12 months.”
The cases typically settle without a trial, which means the plaintiffs receive their compensation more quickly.
“There are a lot of benefits to settlement for everybody in terms of the risk involved, expense of trial, the emotional and time commitment of a trial,” Belluck said.
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Labels: Asbestos, Featured News
posted by Wade Rawlins at 11:48 PM
Friday, January 15, 2010
The United State Naval Station at Newport , Rhode Island and two companies have agreed to pay a penalty for alleged violations of the federal requirements for safe handling and disposal of asbestos during deolition activities, federal environmental regulators announced this week in a press release.According to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency complaint, the U.S. Naval Station, Goel Services, Inc., and A.A. Asbestos Co., Inc., each violated the Clean Air Act and the national air pollution standards when they conducted a demolition operation involving asbestos at the naval base in February 2009.
The asbestos regulations are designed to protect workers and the public from exposure to airborne asbestos fibers. Inhaling airborne asbestos fibers can cause lung cancer, asbestosis and mesothelioma, a cancer of the lining of the chest and abdomen. Violations of federal asbestos regulations can pose significant health risks to the surrounding community as well as to workers conducting demolition or renovation operations.
EPA regulators alleged that the three parties failed to seal asbestos-containing waste in leak-tight containers while the material was wet. Under the settlement, the three parties must pay a $14,238 penalty and certify that they are operating in compliance with federal requirements. EPA previously had issued administrative orders to both the Newport Navy Base and A.A. Asbestos Abatement for failing to provide written notice to EPA before the work began.
The federal Clean Air Act and federal environmental regulation related to asbestos removal require owners and operators of demolition and renovation operations to inspect a facility before starting work and to comply with specific work and disposal practices for jobs involving regulated amounts of asbestos-containing materials.
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Labels: Asbestos, National News
posted by Wade Rawlins at 12:02 PM
Tuesday, December 29, 2009
In older homes, asbestos can turn up anywhere—wrapped around pipes as tape, overhead in ceiling tiles or attic insulation or underfoot in carpet.Australian health officials issued a warning this month to people replacing or pulling up old carpets to take precautions to avoid inhaling any dust. The warning came after traces of asbestos fibers were found in carpet underlay samples taken from a home in Perth, Australia.
Inhaling asbestos fibers is strongly associated with development of serious respiratory diseases including asbestosis, a scarring of the lungs, and mesothelioma, a cancer of the lining of the lungs or abdomen.
Jim Dodds, director of environmental health with the Government of Western Australia said that some carpet underlay manufactured before the early 1970s may have included recycled hessian from bags previously used to transport and store asbestos.
“While the liklihood of asbestos fibers being present in carpet underlay is low, people should remain vigilant when removing old carpets,” Dodds said. “We will continue to test carpet samples from homes with old carpets to get a clearer picture of the level of risk and the proportion of homes that might be affected.”
Health officials recomment wearing a Class P1 or P2 facemask and disposable overalls and removing the underlay carefully to minimize the amount of dust.
“This will provide protection against inhaling dust and other allergens as well as any asbestos fibers in the unlikely event they are present,” Dodds said.
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Labels: Asbestos, International News
posted by Wade Rawlins at 1:35 PM
Tuesday, December 22, 2009
Congress may be giving Libby, Montana residents something extra for the holidays. Buried deep in the massive Senate Health Care bill is a special provision to expand Medicare benefits for residents of Libby, Montana who worked in the former vermiculite mines. Hundreds of people around Libby are sick or dying from asbestos-related disease including Mesothelioma, a cancer of the lining of the lungs or abdomen.
U.S. Sen. Max Baucus of Montana, who has been trying to get more federal help for Libby residents for years, got language added to the bill as part of his agreement to vote for it. “The people of Libby were poisoned and have been dying for more than a decade,” Baucus told The New York Times. “New residents continue to get sick all the time. Public health tragedies like this could happen in any town in America. We need this type of mechanism to help people when they needed it most.”
The Senate is scheduled to vote on the bill this week.
Earlier this year, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency took the extraordinary step of declaring a public health emergerncy in the town of Libby — the first such declaration it has ever made.
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Labels: Asbestos, National News
posted by Wade Rawlins at 11:30 AM
Tuesday, December 15, 2009
Prosecutors in Italy describe the trial that just opened in the Palace of Justice in Turin as a world trial on asbestos-related disease. Two former top shareholders of a Swiss building materials company Eternit face criminal charges and a class-action civil lawsuit for alleged negligence in the deaths of more than 2,000 people of asbestos-related disease, according to Agence France-Presse, the French news service.
Prosecutors contend that Eternit former owner, Swiss billionaire Stephan Schmidheiny, and former top executive officer Jean Louis de Cartier bear ultimate responsibility for lapses in work safety at four asbestos-cement plants in Italiy that led to the deaths of more than 2,000 people and caused several hundred more illnesses
Schmidheiny and De Cartier are standing trial in absentia in criminal court. Under Italian law, a civil lawsuit also may be joined to the criminal proceeding. More than 700 people have joined the class-action lawsuit.
Lawyers for the two defendants say their clients have no direct responsibility.
The victims— who include former employees as well as residents of four Italian cities where the company had factories—allege that many illnesses and deaths were caused by exposure to asbestos in Eternit’s building products such as insulation. The victims are expected to seek several hundred million euros in compensation.
Prosecutors say it is the biggest trial ever held on the effects of exposure to blue asbestos or crocidolite, a fibrous mineral banned in Italy in 1992 over health concerns. Italian authorities have opened three additional courtrooms in addition to main courtroom for the overflow crowd folowing the trial.
“It’s a world first ,” Jean-Paul Teissonniere, a French lawyer representing the plaintiffs told AFP. “This trial will determine whether the judicial system is capable of handling such a complex case.”
After more than five years of investigation, prosecutors claim that former workers and residents of towns near four of Eternit’s factories had unusally high rates of cancer caused by asbestos dust in the air and Eternit products used in paving. The towns where the factories were located are Casale Monferrato, Cavagnolo, Bagnoli and Rubiera.
Breathing asbestos is associated with lung cancer and mesothelioma, a fatal cancer of the lining of the lungs and abdomen.
A number of local government authorities also are suing for damages including all four municipal councils where the factories were located, as well as the Turin provincial government and the Piedmont regional authority.
The defendants face three to 12 years in prison if convicted.
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Labels: Asbestos, International News
posted by Wade Rawlins at 10:05 AM
Friday, November 20, 2009
A recent opinion piece by a retired University of North Carolina geologist published in The News & Observer newspaper in Raleigh, N.C. espousing the industrial merits of chrysotile asbestos drew a critical rebuttal today from health researchers.In a letter to the editor, John Dement, a professor at Duke University Medical Center who has published research on the health effects of asbestos, and David P. Brown, director of Health Sciences Research at SRA International, a provider of health consulting services, say that retired UNC Prof. John J.W. Rogers’ article grossly underrepresented the human health risks associated with exposure to chrysotile asbestos. The researchers note that the National Toxicology Program, the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and the Occupational Safety and Health Administration have established chrysotile asbestos as a known human carcinogen.
In his Nov. 12 opinion piece, Rogers contended that asbestos was the victim of a scare campaign by groups seeking to make the mineral more a problem than it really is. Its positive attributes include that asbestos is inflammable, has good insulating properties and adds strength to products as diverse as plastics and cement. Rogers argued that chrysotile was safer than the other main mineral form of asbestos, amphibole, and could continue to be used safely by industries.
While there is some scientific debate about the relative risks of mesothelioma from the various forms of asbestos, the World Health Organization recently affirmed that all forms of asbestos cause cancers of the lung, larynx, ovary as well as mesothelioma, a cancer of the lining of the lungs and abdomen. The WHO estimates that 90,000 people a year die of asbestos-related disease and called for a ban on all forms of asbestos. To date, 43 countries have enacted bans.
Dement and Brown write that appropriate substitute materials are now available for asbestos, including chrysotile, precluding the need to continue using it for industrial purposes.
“We see no need to further the legacy of asbestos-related diseases in the U.S. and worldwide through the continued use of chrysotile and other forms of asbestos,” Dement and Brown say. “Elimination of asbestos exposure is not ‘reverse greenwash’—it is sound public health policy.”
Link to Rogers’ opinion piece:
Letter to the Editor:
Labels: Asbestos, Mesothelioma, National News
posted by Wade Rawlins at 1:47 PM
Wednesday, November 18, 2009
By Wade RawlinsMuch remains to be learned about environmental exposure to asbestos and the incidence of mesothelioma among people who have only "second hand" exposure such as families of asbestos workers or people who live near asbestos plants. That is a focus of new research in Libby, Montana where vermiculite ore tainted with asbestos has caused a high rate of asbestos-related disease. It's also the subject of recently completed research from Egypt.
A study published by researchers in Egypt earlier this year examined environmental exposure to asbestos near Cairo, Egypt and the link to malignant pleural mesothelioma, a rare cancer of the lining of the lungs. The study appeared in the Eastern Mediterranean Health Journal, a publication of the World Health Organization.
The prevalence of mesothelioma, an incurable cancer, has been increasing throughout the industrialized world with the incidence predicted to peak around 2020, the study said. A number of studies have linked exposure to airborne asbestos fibers in the workplace to increased incidence of mesothelioma among workers employed in mining, textile manufacturing, insulation and asbestos cement factories. Families of asbestos workers and those living near asbestos mines and mills also are at increased risk of mesothelioma from environmental exposure, studies suggest.
The Egyptian researchers focused their study on Shubra El-Kheima, an industrial city at the northern edge of Cairo. For decades starting in 1948, the city had a large manufacturing plant that used chrysotile asbestos to make asbestos cement pipe and reinforced concrete products. In 2004, the Egyptian government decided to ban imports of asbestos and the plant closed.
While the plant was still operating full scale, the researchers obtained air samples inside the plant and in neighborhoods up to about 2 miles away. That allowed the researchers to calculate more precisely the amount of asbestos fibers that workers and residents were inhaling and then to estimate the relationship between levels of exposure and rates of mesothelioma.
Researchers did health screenings including x-rays on 487 workers in the plant and on 2,913 residents living in six communities in the vicinity of the plant. They found that about 3 percent of people exposed to asbestos living near the plant had malignant mesothelioma while about 1 percent of the workers did. Both rates exceed the norm. (Because mesothelioma takes 30 to 40 years to appear, it’s not surprising that the number of workers at the plant with the disease was not larger.)
Researchers said a significant finding of the study was that people exposed to asbestos in the environment were at 26 times greater risk of developing mesothelioma than people in a more distant neighborhood, who had no known environmental asbestos exposure nearby.
The community of El-Wehda El-Arabia, directly downwind of the plant, had the highest concentration of asbestos fibers in air samples and also had the highest incidence of mesothelioma among residents of the six communities studied, the researchers found. Thirty-nine residents had malignant pleural mesothelioma.
Researchers also found a correlation between length of exposure to asbestos and rates of mesothelioma. The more years residents were exposed to asbestos, the greater the likelihood of having the disease with a significant increase for those with 40 years or more of exposure. More than 60 percent of the residents with mesothelioma were women, the researchers. They attributed that to their long residence in the area.
The researchers said the study had an important message: the mesothelioma threat will remain for years to come and doctors should look for early signs of mesothelioma in people who had had environmental exposure to mesothelioma.
Read the study
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Labels: Asbestos, Featured News, International News, Mesothelioma
posted by Wade Rawlins at 5:16 PM
Wednesday, November 11, 2009
By Wade RawlinsAsbestos is among the most thoroughly investigated of any workplace health hazard. Yet, certain questions still intrigue researchers including the relative potencies of different types of asbestos, the role of fiber size in determining toxicity and the workplace hazards of unregulated mineral fibers that mimic asbestos. But should these questions be a barrier to a national ban on asbestos use?
Researchers at the University of Washington, the U.S. Public Health Service and the Center for Construction Research and Training, argue in the current issue of the American Journal of Industrial Medicine, that unanswered questions about asbestos should not stand in the way of more protective occupational health policy.
Along those lines, the researchers say the most important health priority regarding the six forms of asbestos regulated by federal workplace safety authorities is—simply put— to ban their production and use. Policy makers often must act in the face of uncertainties to safeguard public health, they say
“There is ample reason to do this without waiting for more evidence on the relative potency of chrysotile versus the five regulated amphibole asbestos minerals,” Dr. Michael A. Silverstein, a professor of environmental and occupational health sciences at the University of Washington, and his co-authors write.
After all the World Health Organization’s International Agency for Research on Cancer recently reaffirmed its conclusion that all forms of asbestos including chrysotile cause mesothelioma as well as cancers of the lung, larynx and ovary. The World Health Organization has urged a worldwide ban on asbestos. Forty-three countries now have asbestos bans in place.
Waiting for more precise information about potential risks before taking action is essentially making a date with an uncertain future and exposing more workers to asbestos-related disease. The diseases typically don’t appear until decades after exposure.
The researchers note that attempts since the 1970s to develop dependable statistical risk assessment models for asbestos have been repeatedly undercut by limitations on reliable exposure data. The conditions of exposure vary too much and remain difficult to classify.
EPA’s current risk assessment method assumes that all types of asbestos fibers are equally potent for causing lung cancer and mesothelioma. But lobbyists for the asbestos industry have sought to change the model to back their claim that chrysotile asbestos—the most common in use today—is less toxic.
In 2008, EPA's attempt to develop a risk assessment model predicting the relative toxicities for different combinations of asbestos fiber types and dimensions eventually ran aground. EPA’s scientific advisory board recommended that the model be rejected, and EPA administrator agreed that it couldn’t be used as the basis for setting public policy. At the time, Silverstein and more than 80 fellow scientists submitted comments opposing the change, saying there had been no new studies that offered a compelling reason for a new risk assessment.
“The history of asbestos cancer risk assessment illustrates the point that elegant mathematics do not make good public policy,” the researchers write. “Trying to turn fundamentally unreliable data into a valid and reliable output is statistical alchemy, no matter how sophisticated and complex the mathematical models.”
Given the difficulty of distinguishing the toxicity of one type of asbestos fiber from another when all are known to cause cancer, the most health protective course is to err on the side of caution, they say.
The researchers note that the Occupational Safety and Health Administration’s mandate is to take protective action based on the best available evidence. They cite a 1980 Supreme Court decision that OSHA does not have to calculate the exact probability of harm before acting, and “so long as they are supported by a body of reputable scientific thought, the agency is free to use conservative assumptions in interpreting the data… risking error on the side of over protection rather than under-protection.”
While improving analytic methods and developing more precise understanding of the risk of various types of by asbestos fiber remain valid research pursuits, the researchers say the only way to stop asbestos-related disease is to stop the use of all types of asbestos.
##
Labels: Asbestos, Featured News, Mesothelioma, Research
posted by Wade Rawlins at 11:02 AM
Friday, November 6, 2009
Asbestos is the number one cause of work-related deaths in the Canadian province of Quebec which has Canada's only asbestos mine.Data collected by the Quebec workers' compensation board indicate that 104 Quebec workers died of occupational disease during the first eight months of 2009, and 61 of those deaths were asbestos-related disease, according to The Montreal Gazette.
Inhaling asbestos fibers that lodge in the lungs is closely associated with lung cancer, mesothelioma, a cancer of the lining of the lungs and abdomen, and asbestosis, a chronic respiratory disease caused by scarring of the lungs.
The trend of work-related asbestos death in Quebec is expected to continue for years because asbestos-related disease often doesn’t appear until 20 to 40 years after exposure.
Canada is the fifth largest exported of asbestos in the world, and much of the product goes to parts of the world where weak or non-existent workplace safety regulations expose workers to breathing asbestos fibers. The World Health Organization estimates that 90,000 people die every year of asbestos-related lung cancer, mesothelioma and asbestosis.
Read the Gazette article
Labels: Asbestos, International News
posted by Wade Rawlins at 12:32 PM
Tuesday, October 6, 2009
In the August 2009 issue of the American Journal of Industrial Medicine, a new study was published showing that sheet metal workers have an increased risk of dying from mesothelioma. The study which involved 17,345 sheet metal workers confirms that workers with 20 or more years in the industry run a significantly higher risk of dying from the asbestos-related disease.
New York injury attorney, Joe Belluck, of Belluck & Fox, LLP states,"We have represented many sheet metal workers and it is clear, both anecdotally and now through scientific data, they have an increased risk of dying from mesothelioma." Belluck also went to add that it was not surprising that sheet metal workers would be at risk since their job involves using many asbestos-containing materials.
Belluck & Fox, LLP is a New York personal injury law firm that handles many types of work-related injury cases including mesothelioma. The firm has helped numerous victims and their families through their hard times battling mesothelioma.
Labels: Asbestos, Cancer, Mesothelioma, News, Research
posted by Aaron Phelps at 4:23 PM
Friday, August 7, 2009
A former Harrah's employee claims he and his 3-year-old-son are now ill from being exposed to asbestos at the resort casino. As a result, the man is suing the Harrah’s Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas for $10 million, reports Fox 5 News in Las Vegas. The employee claims Harrah's knew about the dangers of the asbestos exposure, but failed to protect its employees. The father worked as an engineer for Harrah's and knew about the asbestos, but he needed the income and the insurance for his family.
His son is coughing, wheezing and has breathing problems thought to be from his father bringing home asbestos fibers on his clothing. Every Harrah's employee and customer was affected by asbestos when the abatement project was not completed, the man claims.
OSHA warned the hotel about the dangers of asbestos and their inspection showed several serious violations involving asbestos, including employees performing asbestos operations unprotected.
Employee Sues Harrah's for Asbestos Exposure
Labels: Asbestos, National News
posted by Nancy Meredith at 7:00 AM
Monday, August 3, 2009
County officials on Maui told reporters this week that the Kawela water wells on Molokai have contaminants on the site, reports Maui News. Asbestos, the material linked to the deadly lung disease, mesothelioma, is one of the contaminants found on the site. One of the chain-link fences surrounding the area has been broken down and a cinder block wall was started at that site, but not completed, leaving the area a prime spot for dumping waste. Included in the trash left at the water well site is an old truck, broken pipes, hydrants, electric panels, and chunks of paving, asbestos pipe and gravel.
The hazardous site was reported to the Department of Water Supply by a resident who also made his letter to the department available to the local newspaper. Officials are investigating his allegations that poor maintenance and security are to blame for the contamination.
Asbestos Contamination in Hawaiian Water Wells posted by Nancy Meredith at 6:45 AM
Sunday, August 2, 2009
A 60-year-old machine shop worker has sued BAE Land Systems for ₤300,000 in damages because he has been diagnosed with mesothelioma - called the industrial lung disease.The plaintiff began working at the Barrow shipyard in 1965 where he spent most of his time working in shops that had asbestos-lined roof and cladding on the walls. He then worked in constructing submarines which confined him in small spaces with other workers who mixed asbestos lagging (a type of insulation) and applied it to the walls. Even after the man was assigned to work in the office, he was frequently in the shop where he was exposed to asbestos dust.
He claims neither respiratory protection nor warnings of the danger of exposure to asbestos dust were provided to him by BAE.
The worker was diagnosed with malignant mesothelioma in January, 2008, and is now displaying gross symptoms of pain and disability.
Liverpool Worker Diagnosed With Mesothelioma
Labels: Asbestos, International News, Mesothelioma
posted by Nancy Meredith at 2:05 PM
The Sun Journal reports a Craven Community College building in New Bern, North Carolina, scheduled to house students on the first day of classes, has closed after asbestos was found in the old floor tile.New Bern's required testing for a permit needed for renovation of buildings uncovered the asbestos. Asbestos was used in construction materials especially in fireproofing, insulation, acoustical materials, and in floor tiles.
Ten full time employees were in the building during the renovations, but testing shows their exposure was minimal. Health problems from asbestos exposure include lung diseases, mesothelioma, and asbestosis, and typically take years to develop.
College employees have been moved out of the building until the building has been professionally cleaned, the asbestos removed, and renovation complete.
The college hopes the building will reopen on or before September 1, 2009.
Asbestos Found in College Building
Labels: Asbestos, Mesothelioma, News
posted by Nancy Meredith at 1:56 PM
Wednesday, July 8, 2009
When dealing with the public in the housing market it is important that real estate agents know and present the facts regarding asbestos products. Disclosure guidelines require the seller of residential property to provide the buyer with a disclosure statement containing information on the presence or prior removal of asbestos.Asbestos is a naturally occurring mineral, with very strong, heat resistant properties, making it appealing for use in many products. Asbestos has been used in the manufacture of heating and domestic water systems including pipes, boilers, gaskets, and tanks, spray-on insulation for fireproofing and acoustical purposes, vinyl and linoleum flooring, and drop-in ceiling tiles. Asbestos-containing materials (ACM) are also found in exterior building materials, such as on shingles and roofing products.
Removal of Asbestos for Renovation Projects
Although some localities have local ordinances that require landlords to maintain asbestos in rental properties in good condition, there are no state or federal laws that require the removal of asbestos containing materials from either commercial or residential properties.
Because of the dangers posed from handling asbestos, the real estate agent should advise their clients that if there is asbestos in their home or business, they should not attempt to remove it on their own. Many companies across the United States specialize in the removal of this hazardous substance and should be contracted for the work.
Asbestos Products That Are Safe To Handle
There are some limited ACMs that are safe for a homeowner to handle without requiring support from a specialized asbestos removal company. Improper removal could result in costly health and clean-up costs to the homeowner. Therefore, real estate agents should advise their clients to contact their local Environmental Protection Agency for further information before undertaking any housing renovation project. If a contractor is contacted for the work, they must be a certified asbestos-abatement company.
Items Safe to Remove
- Asbestos containing siding in single family homes only.
- Asbestos-containing roofing materials, mastics, glues, cements, sealants,coatings, and adhesives
- Intact asbestos-containing floor tiles.
Be sure to advise buyers that the asbestos waste generated by these activities must be disposed in a landfill licensed to accept non-friable asbestos.
NOTE: In all cases, asbestos containing pipe and boiler insulation in residential properties must be removed by licensed asbestos abatement contractors.
Supporting The Client
The client and their family’s safety is a real estate agent's priority, and because asbestos is a potential liability they should err on the side of caution. The following checklist can be used as a reminder of the obligations to a real estate client.
Checklist for Asbestos Safety
- Ensure that the appropriate the disclosure statements are provided,
- Remind clients to hire only licensed asbestos abatement contractors to remove asbestos containing materials,
- Advise clients to contact the appropriate companies and agencies before attempting to remove asbestos containing siding, roofing or floor tiles,
- Real estate agents should contact their local asbestos removal companies and agencies if they have any questions on state or federal asbestos regulations.
Thursday, June 25, 2009
52 miners working at Minnesota’s Iron Range have been found to have mesothelioma, an asbestos-related cancer. Mesothelioma has been traditionally associated with asbestos exposure; however, there is no known asbestos in the iron ore deposit. When asbestos fibers become airborne, they are breathed into the lungs where serious illness can develop up to 40 years after exposure. The Minnesota Department of Health will be conducting studies on the miners to determine if they have been exposed to asbestos at any time in their lives, prior to working at Iron Range. Some of the mine workers believe that the taconite dust in the mines is the cause of their illness. No studies to date have proven that mesothelioma can be caused by airborne particles other than asbestos.
Mine officials want to know whether iron ore mining can be linked to mesothelioma. The company is planning an expansion at its Northshore mine, and they want answers so they can move forward with the plan. The mining representatives support the health study, but they don't believe the taconite dust is dangerous.
A meeting will be held June 25th as the next step in the effort to determine the cause of the high rate of mesothelioma in the Iron Range workers. The meeting will lay out the plans for conducting a major survey of taconite workers' lung health. Participants will get an x-ray, blood test, and breathing test. The study gets underway this summer.
Taconite Potential Cause of Mesothelioma
Iron Range Study Underway
Labels: Asbestos, Cancer, Mesothelioma, National News, Research
posted by Nancy Meredith at 3:14 PM
A lawsuit has been filed against Dupont Co. by three former workers at the DuPont plant in Mercedes, Argentina. The three allege that their asbestosis was caused by decades of exposure to asbestos in the plant. The suit has been filed in the state of Delaware.The asbestos was found in the insulation covering the pipes, where significant heat passed through during production of nylon. The plaintiffs’ lawyer, claims that DuPont identified and cleared up the asbestos at a nylon plant in Delaware in the early 1970s. However, asbestos was still present in 2004 in the Argentina plant, at which time the plant was sold.
The lawsuit alleges DuPont applied a double standard when protecting workers from the asbestos. The suit also alleges that DuPont protected American workers but failed to ensure that the Argentina workers were protected and working in a safe environment. DuPont had been aware of the asbestos in the plant for several decades, according to the complaint.
The Delaware location was selected for filing of the lawsuit since the Delaware courts have experience handling international asbestos cases. All three of the men have asbestosis while two of them also have asbestos-related cancers.
Workers Sue DuPont
Labels: Asbestos, Cancer, Headline News, International News
posted by Nancy Meredith at 1:54 PM
Wednesday, June 17, 2009
Asbestos exposure has been associated to the risk of developing many diseases including mesothelioma, asbestosis, and lung cancer. While the dangers of this substance have been known since the early 1920's, the United States has not yet totally banned its use.Michelle J. White, an economics professor at UC San Diego, stated in her study “Asbestos and the Future of Mass Torts,” that claims for injuries from asbestos "involve more plaintiffs, more defendants and higher costs than any other type of personal injury litigation in U.S. history."
Although it can take up to 40 years after initial exposure of asbestos for a person to exhibit symptoms of asbestos-related cancer such as mesothelioma, which affects the membranes lining the abdomen or lungs, the patient and their family can often tie the exposure to a specific job.
Victims of asbestos-related diseases can bring suit against the companies or manufacturers of products, and the awards often run into the millions. Much of the award is attributed to the pain and suffering associated with the disease.
While the EPA proposed a ban on asbestos use in 1989 it was overturned by a federal circuit court of appeals in 1991. The Ban Asbestos in America Act of 2007 was proposed but never signed into law. The most current ban proposal is the Bruce Vento Ban Asbestos and Prevent Mesothelioma Act of 2008.
Asbestos Not Banned in U.S.
Labels: Asbestos, Cancer, Mesothelioma
posted by Nancy Meredith at 8:29 AM
Tuesday, June 16, 2009
Two Washington County, Maryland public schools are undergoing asbestos removal as part of the summer renovation projects. Asbestos is classified by the EPA as a known cancer-causing material requiring specially trained and licensed asbestos abatement workers to conduct site decontamination.At both Fountaindale Elementary School and E. Russell Hicks Middle School the work is being done by licensed crews in compliance with all federal and state laws. Air samples are tested periodically to ensure the air is clean from airborne asbestos fibers.
Fountaindale Elementary was built in 1949 and the asbestos was found in the glazing compound and caulking on the old windows. The asbestos content there is relatively small and is not in a friable, or easily crumbled form, with the cleanup cost estimated at $24,360.
At E. Russell Hicks Middle School the project will cost approximately $21,000. Built in 1967 asbestos was found as part of a fireproofing insulation on the roof deck above the ceiling tiles.
Washington County Public Schools has an asbestos management plan which the public can view by contacting the facilities management office.
Washington County Asbestos Cleanup
Labels: Asbestos, Mesothelioma, News
posted by Nancy Meredith at 2:52 PM
Thursday, June 11, 2009
At the University of Cincinnati in Cincinnati, Ohio, both former and current residents of Morgens Hall await word from University officials regarding the mold and asbestos found in the apartment complex.Although a UC spokesman confirmed that there was mold in Morgens Hall, he said that the mold formed because of poor air circulation after the building was closed for renovations. A former resident of the building became sick after discovering a leak and mold in her apartment prior to the renovations.
An international health and safety consultant, Linda May, indicated that the university is legally mandated to inform all residents of the risks of the toxic mold and asbestos. May was invited by University of Cincinnati students and community members to address concerns about possible health effects arising from mold in Morgens Hall.
To date, the University has not issued any statement warning of health risks to residents of Morgens Hall.
According to the University of Cincinnati's website, "Morgens Hall is currently under renovation to address the life safety systems."
UC Mold and Asbestos Story
Labels: Asbestos
posted by Your Attorney at 11:27 AM
Wednesday, June 10, 2009
A long-running British study monitoring mortality among asbestos workers in occupations exposed to asbestos reconfirmed the link between asbestos exposure and mortality from lung, peritoneal and pleural cancer and mesothelioma, Great Britain's Health & Safety Laboratory reported.Health & Safety Laboratory Report
Labels: Asbestos, International News, Mesothelioma
posted by Your Attorney at 10:16 AM
Tuesday, June 9, 2009
The Fort Chafee Redevelopment Authority will start the cleanup of asbestos debris left after fire destroyed 155 buildings at the Chafee Crossing site in Arkansas. As part of the cleanup, authority personnel will use spray the area with a foam product to wet the asbestos fibers and prevent them from becoming airborne and at risk of being inhaled, the Fort Smith Times Record reports.
Fire Clean-Up & Asbestos Fibers
Labels: Asbestos, Headline News
posted by Your Attorney at 10:12 AM
Saturday, June 6, 2009
North Carolina labor investigators cited the town of Marshall, N.C. with several violations of improper removal of asbestos during the renovation of the town hall. In its report, the N.C. Department of Labor said the town did not attempt to identify the presence, location and quality of asbestos before starting renovation work and that workers were allowed to sweep or shovel asbestos without respirators.
N.C. Asbestos Removal Violation
Labels: Asbestos
posted by Your Attorney at 10:08 AM
Thursday, June 4, 2009
A Pennsylvania school district has settled violations of federal law regarding asbestos removal at two schools, federal environmental regulators announced. The Asbestos Hazard Emergency Response Act requires local education agencies to develop a plan to prevent release of asbestos and exposure. A inspection last year found the Bucks County school district out of compliance, but EPA did not contend that students were exposed to asbestos.
The settlements announced this month by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency are part of the agency's ongoing efforts to work throughout the mid-Atlantic states to reduce asbestos hazards in schools.
Pennsylvania Asbestos Removal Settlement
Labels: Asbestos
posted by Your Attorney at 10:06 AM
Sunday, May 31, 2009
Montana Sen. Jon Testor asked the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency to team up with the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services to work together to clean up asbestos contamination in Libby, Montana and make the community safe again. More than 200 residents of Libby have died and thousands more are still suffering from asbestos diseases. Residents were poisoned by asbestos from a now-defunct vermiculite mine, and the entire community of Libby is now an EPA Superfund site.Labels: Asbestos, Cancer, Mesothelioma, News
posted by Aaron Phelps at 10:05 AM
Saturday, May 30, 2009
The Patchogue-Medford school board in Long Island, New York agreed to hire three environmental firms to test air quality in district schools in response to allegations of asbestos contamination which has caused a drop in school enrollment, Newsday reports. The school board also authorized an investigation of a resident who acknowledged taking samples of insulation possibly containing asbestos from heating pipes in the district’s Eagle Elementary School.More Information
Labels: Asbestos, Mesothelioma, News, Patients
posted by Aaron Phelps at 12:03 AM
Wednesday, May 27, 2009
Exposure to asbestos -- long associated with cancers of the lungs -- has been shown to cause some cancers of the ovary and the larynx as well, Cancer Research UK reports. An international team of World Health Organization scientists writing in the journal Lancet Oncology said that people who have been exposed to asbestos are 1.4 times more likely to develop cancer of the larynx than those who had never been exposed.
Dr. Alison Ross, Cancer Research UK's senior science information officer said, "We already know asbestos can cause lung cancer and mesothelioma and this adds two more cancer types to the list."
Cancer Research UK Report
Labels: Asbestos, Cancer, Headline News, Mesothelioma, National News, Research
posted by Your Attorney at 5:09 PM
Tuesday, May 26, 2009
The chair of an expert panel commissioned by Health Canada to study the relationship between exposure to chrysotile asbestos and forms of cancer said he was surprised by the Canadian government's delay in publishing the panel’s findings, the Canadian Medical Association Journal reported. Exposure to chrysotile asbestos, the predominant asbestos fiber used today, has a strong relationship with lung cancer and some connection to other forms of cancer, the panel found, backing the conclusion of previous studies.
Canada is the fifth-largest exporter of chrysotile asbestos in the world.
Canadian Medical Association Journal Report
Labels: Asbestos, Cancer, International News
posted by Your Attorney at 5:01 PM
Friday, May 22, 2009
NeoPlas Innovation, a clinical cancer treatment and research firm located in Nashville, Tennessee, has announced that a combination of the cholesterol medicine lovastatin and a low-dose of interferon has shown favorable results in fighting mesothelioma. The patient was a woman who was exposed to asbestos in childhood. When she was diagnosed with mesothelioma, it had already filled most of the chest space where her right lung had been. According to NeoPlast, two months after starting treatments, a CT scan showed that the cancer had stabilized and the largest of the tumors had regressed significantly in size.
It's still too early to draw full conclusions on the treatment because the testing is still in the early phases with only one patient so far.
NeoPlas is still accepting patients for the combination treatment.
For more breaking news on mesothelioma treatment, general information, and forum discussions, please visit Mesotheliomahelp.net.
Labels: Asbestos, Cancer, Family, Mesothelioma, News, Patients, Treatments
posted by Aaron Phelps at 9:41 AM
Friday, May 15, 2009
British Prime Minister Gordon Brown has stated that he will make great efforts to alleviate Britain's asbestos problem, especially in the plagued school systems. PM Brown is no stranger to the devastating effects of asbestos exposure. In 2008, Brown lost his friend Scottish Member of Parliament John MacDougall to mesothelioma.Advocates for asbestos removal have stated their praise of the PM's words and many believe that he will take his promise to heart because he has personally experienced the pain of mesothelioma.
It will be a great boon for the mesothelioma community if Brown continues to make pushes for asbestos removal. It could mean more funding for mesothelioma and cancer research in Britain as well as continued global awareness.
For more information on mesothelioma and asbestos exposure, please visit mesotheliomahelp.net.
Labels: Asbestos, Cancer, Family, Mesothelioma, News
posted by Aaron Phelps at 10:41 AM
Friday, May 8, 2009
The Bishop of Peterborough, Rt Revd Ian Cundy, died on May 7th, 2009 after a two-year battle with mesothelioma.Bishop Cundy, 64, had recently announced his plans to take an early retirement in July after his chemotherapy treatments had failed to stop the spread of the cancer. No cure for mesothelioma currently exists, but it has been proven that some multimodal treatments that combine traditional cancer treatments, such as surgery along with chemotherapy or radiation, can help to reduce the cancer and slow the spread.
Bishop Cundy was well loved and received in the UK, having been appointed in 1996. He is survived by his wife Jo, three children, and a grandson.
Bishop Frank White will assume the duties of diocesan bishop until a new appointment is made. According to Bishop White,"Bishop Ian was greatly loved in the diocese and around the country for his gentle manner, his warm acceptance of people from all walks of life and all denominations of and traditions within the Christian Church, and for his wise and perceptive counsel."
Once again it has been desmonstrated that mesothelioma affects men, women, and children of every walk of life and that the dangers of asbestos exposure apply not only to the blue collar working man as once believed.
Please visit Mesothelioma Help.net for more information on mesothelioma and new treatment options that are becoming available to combat this deadly disease.
Labels: Asbestos, Cancer, Mesothelioma, News
posted by Aaron Phelps at 4:46 PM
Tuesday, May 5, 2009
According to the May 6th Journal of the National Cancer institute, a 4-gene expression ratio test accurately predicts survival in patients with malignant pleural mesothelioma.The study performed by researchers from the Brigham and Women's Hospital, involved 120 patients undergoing surgery for malignant pleural mesothelioma. Multiple samples were gathered either during surgery or through pleural biopsy. Researchers evaluated the test on multiple tumor samples from each patient and used two different gene samples and two different biopsy techniques.
The results were adjusted for other clinical factors and coupled with other mesothelioma prognosis information and patients were categorized into two groups. Patients assigned by the test to the good outcome group had significantly better median overall survival, 31.9 months, compared to the poor outcome group, 6.9 months.
It is hoped that this test will help doctors better determine a prognosis for patients. Patients who have a shorter life-expectancy can be counseled away from surgeries that would not benefit them or their families and allow them time seek hospice or other supportive care. For patients with a higher expectancy, doctors could help them to arrange for more long term treatments and surgeries.
Additional information about mesothelioma research and ongoing studies may be found at Mesothelioma Help.net.
Labels: Asbestos, Cancer, Family, Mesothelioma, News, Patients, Treatments
posted by Aaron Phelps at 5:49 PM
Thursday, April 30, 2009
The Tacoma Housing Authority, a Washington state housing authority, will be putting funds from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 to a good use. They have announced that they will use $4 million of the funds for renovation and asbestos abatement of seven housing projects that cater to low-income senior citizens and disabled citizens. The funds will also go toward the redevelopment of another 140 units.The repairs will cost approximately $2.5 million and will include new water pipes, awnings, roof repair and replacement, parking lot repair and asbestos abatement.
These funds are going to a great cause, because not only is it providing quality housing for people on a fixed income, it is also helping to prevent asbestos exposure and mesothelioma, and it is helping to stimulate the local economy by providing an estimated 150 new jobs.
Labels: Asbestos, Cancer, Mesothelioma, News
posted by L.Vaughn at 8:19 AM
Thursday, April 23, 2009
ARI Technologies, Inc. has revealed a new process known as thermochemical conversion which could help to ensure a greater amount of safety during asbestos removal. According to ARI, the use of their thermochemical conversion technology (TCCT) completely destroys asbestos and PCBs and turns them into an often recyclable rock-like product.
According to Dale Timmons, the President of ARI Technologies, the process of TCCT involves using heat and chemicals on a rotary hearth to convert the asbestos into volcanic materials. The new substance that is formed can often be used as new construction materials.
Currently, discussions are being held concerning the use of TCCT in Ambler Borough, Whitpain and Upper Dublin townships in Pennsylvania to help rid the communities of their estimated 3 million tons of asbestos. The handling of the asbestos would be inside an air-locked structure which would be built over the contaminated area. The company is required to do extensive monitoring of the worksite, including air quality tests. The cost of the treatment has been estimated at $135 per ton and would likely be funded by the federal government.
The TCCT process has been approved by the EPA for the destruction of asbestos, but it has not yet been giving the green light for use in the removal of asbestos within the towns.
Labels: Asbestos, Cancer, Mesothelioma, News
posted by L.Vaughn at 9:35 AM
Wednesday, April 22, 2009
Asbestos Lawyers representing students and teachers at New York's Public School 256 have filed a lawsuit against the city of Queens alleging the city has taken too long to rid the school of asbestos.The $500 million suit charges the City Education Department with ignoring for 10 years the many complaints they received expressing concern over the lead-based paint, asbestos, and mold throughout the school. The city began cleanup last August, when the building was closed for a short-time so crews could remove some of the hazardous conditions.
The school, which serves special needs students from kindergarten through 5th grades, reopened in the fall. Administrators have indicated that more funding will be allocated for cleanup and repairs.
Those named in the suit believe that exposure to the toxic environment has caused health damages that cannot be undone.
Exposure to asbestos can lead to mesothelioma and other illnesses. Feel free to explore our website for more detailed information on Mesothelioma, including diagnosis, treatment, and your legal options.
NY Students File Suit
Labels: Asbestos, Cancer, Mesothelioma, News
posted by Your Attorney at 3:06 PM
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