The A.W. Chesterton Company says that they have experts who will testify that the plaintiff in a case would have needed to have been exposed to asbestos for hundreds of years in order to have contracted an asbestos-related disease. Lula Delafosse has filed the lawsuit on behalf of her dead husband Louis Delafosse. Lula Delafosse named Chesterton and 24 other companies as defendants in her suit.

Expert Says Hundreds of Years Needed to Cause Asbestos Disease

Attorneys for Chesterton say that "the risk [of contracting mesothelioma] is proportional to the dose: the greater the accumulation, the greater the risk. The dose is produced by various exposure accumulating over time." Chesterton manufactures gaskets and packaging materials.

Related Links:
Legal View: Asbestos and Mesothelioma
Plaintiff in Never-Ending Asbestos Case Goes to Trial
Asbestos Monitoring Fell Post-Katrina
Asbestos Training Starts
National Asbestos Exposure Review

Posted by Patricia Bowling at 12:06 AM | Permalink

A recent report says that the Environmental Protection Agency possibly exposed multitudes of residents, volunteers, and workers to asbestos fibers by not doing more to monitor asbestos levels after the lceanup of Hurricane Katrina. The report was released by the Government Accountability Office and says that even though asbestos air data has not yet found problems, these results may not be an accurate measure of the risk because of the difference in monitoring and scalebacks once construction and demolition begins.

Asbestos Monitoring Fell Post-Katrina

After Hurricane Katrina, environmentalists and health experts say that state and federal environmental officials were guilty of having downplayed the risks of demolition. The EPA is facing mounting criticism that they did not pay adequate attention to the air quality of the area around the World Trade Center after the September 11 attacks.

Related Links:
Legal View: Asbestos and Mesothelioma
Congressional Watchdog Faults EPA's Katrina Response
Katrina Report: EPA Lax
Asbestos Monitoring Fell Post- Katrina
EPA, Federal Partners Warn of Potential Environmental Health Hazards

Posted by Patricia Bowling at 11:43 PM | Permalink

Even after Minnesota Health Commissioner Diane Mandernach apologized for not releasing cancer data that suggested an increased rate of asbestos related cancers in the Iron Range of Minnesota, Governor Tim Pawlenty is rebuffing a call from Iron Rangers legislators for her release. The entire Iron Range delegation and Senator John Marty are asking that Pawlenty fire Mandernach over the incident.

Legislators Want Health Commissioner Fired

The report says that the department became aware that at least 35 Iron Range miners died of mesothelioma. This is a cancer that is typically associated with asbestos exposure. This figure is double the original figure of 17 miners that were reported to have died of the disease in a 2003 report. Iron Range legislators say that the delay in the release of the data is unacceptable. Legislators stated that "we can think of no greater breach of the public trust than for the Commissioner of Health to subvert, conceal, and fail to warn workers of grave health dangers."

Related Links:
Legal View: Asbestos and Mesothelioma
Minnesota to Require Insurers, Providers to File Claims Electronically
Minnesota Health Commissioner Faces Angry Crowd on Iron Range
Taconite Not Source of Asbestos Exposure

Posted by Patricia Bowling at 11:20 PM | Permalink

Madison County Circuit Judge Daniel Stack is working to get rid of some of the "astronomical burden" of pending asbestos cases that he inherited. Asbestos defendants still are working to dismiss cases that they feel are unmerited. Four defendant corporations that are commonly named in Madison County asbestos cases, Union Carbide, Bayer Cropscience Essex Specialty Products, and Dow Chemical, all are asking Stack to dismiss several asbestos cases based on the Forum Non Conveniens.

Asbestos Defendants Fighting to Dismiss Cases that Don't Belong in Madison County

The four companies also are filing motions for summary judgment and motions to compel in 21 other cases. Barney Shultz, a lawyer representing the companies, says "this case has simply no connection to Madison County or the State of Illinois, and the relevant private and public interest factors strongly favor dismissal in favor of an Ohio forum."

Related Links:
Legal View: Asbestos and Mesothelioma
Asbestos Spurs Change in Asbury District
Gulf Watch: Congressional watchdog faults EPA's Katrina response
SF Defense Verdict in Asbestos Case

Posted by Patricia Bowling at 01:49 PM | Permalink

The Asbestos Disease Awareness Organization says that asbestos patients are about 20 years younger than asbestos patients 20 years ago. New asbestos patients now are about 51 years old and about half of those patients are women. Oddly, many of these patients had no direct exposure to asbestos. In 1990, a study was published by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention that indicated that the typical asbestos patients was male and about 70 years old.

Study: Asbestos Disease Patients Younger Now

Based on these data, ADAO says that the patient profile devised by the 1990 CDC study "no longer represents the patients of today." Prevention remains the only cure for asbestos-related diseases. Lawmakers still are working to institute an asbestos ban.

Related Links:
Legal View: Asbestos
Boxer Statement on Health Effects of Asbestos
Silent Killer Claims Another Victim
No More Apologies: It's Time to Ban Asbestos in Canada
Judge Slams Plaintiffs' Firm in Asbestos Case

Posted by Patricia Bowling at 01:22 PM | Permalink