A Barbour County man has filed an asbestos suit against 25 companies, claiming he was exposed to the dangerous mineral dust as a child, when his father came home from work with the dust on his clothing. His father worked as a welder for US Steel.

The man's own working life as a motor mechanic has added to his 'asbestos load.'

Specific claims are filed against: Unarco, Johns-Manville, Raybestos, Manhattan, H.K. Porter, American Asbestos Textile Corp., Asten Hill Manufacturing Co., and Pneumo Abex Corporation, Friction Products Division and its predecessors, including American Brake Block.

The claimant states that they were all part of a conspiracy to suppress the harmful effects of asbestos. The claimant's wife claims she suffered loss of general services, companionship and society of her husband.

The couple are seeking punitive and compensatory damages.

West Virginia Record

Posted by Dianne Sandland at 08:55 AM | Permalink

The Texas Department of Transportation is to close two lanes at a time on US 75 at Parker Road in Plano, beginning as soon as Tuesday April 1. The closure is required so the contractor Classic City Utility, and their sub-contractor, 1 Priority Environmental Services, can remove the asbestos laden paint on the Parker Road overpass.

To ensure that the work does not pose a danger to the public, it will be undertaken only if the weather conditions are favorable - that is, winds must not exceed 25mph and there must be minimal chance of rain. If either of these weather conditions arise - strong winds or rain - the work will be postponed.

The work will be carried out between the hours of 8 pm and 4.30 am to ensure that traffic flow is as light as possible.

The County Engineer has said, "The actual lane closures should only take about six days; however, due to the unpredictability of the weather, the project may not be completed for several weeks."

Pegasus

Posted by Dianne Sandland at 05:03 AM | Permalink

Environmental Affairs and Tourism Minister Marthinus van Schalkwyk has announced that the use, manufacture and processing of asbestos will be prohibited in South Africa with immediate effect.

A grace period of 120 days will be allowed for any person or merchant who is currently dealing in asbestos or asbestos containing materials to clear their stocks,

When will the Indian government sit up and listen, I wonder?

http://allafrica.com/stories/200803270988.html

Posted by Dianne Sandland at 10:38 AM | Permalink

Mayor Bobby Bright of Montgomery, Alabama, will sign a proclamation declaring April 1 as Asbestos Awareness Day tomorrow, Friday, March 28, 2008, at 10 a.m. This proclamation will go hand-in-hand with a senate resolution declaring April 1 National Asbestos Awareness Day, and April 1-7 Asbestos Awareness Week. Asbestos Awareness Day is a project of the Asbestos Disease Awareness Organization.

In the U.S., current statistics show 2,000-3,000 people are diagnosed with malignant pleural mesothelioma each year. However, 10,000 Americans die each year from all asbestos-related diseases, according to statistics compiled by the Environmental Working Group. Mesothelioma was not tracked as a specific cause of death by federal health officials until 1999, so actual totals for mesothelioma may be much higher.

PR Web

Posted by Dianne Sandland at 09:53 AM | Permalink

Negligence on the part of DuPont did not contribute to the death of a former employee from an asbestos-related disease.

Jurors in the case of Willis Whisnant vs. DuPont returned with a verdict in favor of the defendant on March 25. The trial began on Feb. 21 and took place in Judge Floyd's 172nd Judicial District Court. The family of the plaintiff claim he was exposed to enough asbestos fibers to cause the mesothelioma that took his life in 1999 at age 72.

Jurors ruled that DuPont was at least partially responsible for Whisnant's safety (he was a contractor), but decided that DuPont did not negligently contribute to his cancer by purposely exposing him to harmful asbestos.

South East Texas Record

Posted by Dianne Sandland at 06:03 AM | Permalink

Workers removing pipes from an apartment building last summer were showered with asbestos dust as they worked. The situation was so severe that a criminal charge against the property owner is being considered.

The owner of the building, Michael D. Phillips, had the asbestos removed illegally from the 1930s-era apartment building southwest of Green Bay. He is reported to have said that if the tenants didn't like the way renovations were being done he would evict them.

The building, which now contains ten bags full of asbestos waste, has been condemned and remains empty. Former building manager, Sandy Kurth, who was later fired and evicted, said he worked with the contractor to remove pipes that appeared to be covered in asbestos. At one point, asbestos dust showered down on the workers after a pipe was hit. He also says that workers 'jumped on the bags of asbestos' to make them more compact. According to Kurth, Phillips commented that you had to work for 15 years with asbestos before you get ill.

For his part, Phillips denies many of the remarks attributed to him and said that, "if being stupid is the same as being guilty, then I'm guilty. If I knew then what I know now about asbestos, I never would have bought that building."

No charges have yet been brought and the investigation is ongoing.

JS Online

Posted by Dianne Sandland at 12:38 PM | Permalink

Given my previous reports on the validity of asbestos studies undertaken in India, one wonders what to make of the following announcement from the Indian government:

A project titled: “A study of health hazards/environmental hazards resulting from the use of chrysotile asbestos in the country” is under way with National Institute of Occupational Health, Ahmedabad.

This information was given by the Minister of State for Labour and Employment Shri Oscar Fernandes (Independent Charge)

No doubt the study will show that, strangely enough, in India chrysotile asbestos is perfectly safe. It is obviously the rest of the world that have got their facts wrong!

Press Information Bureau, Government of India

Posted by Dianne Sandland at 09:53 AM | Permalink

The Federal Emergency Management Administration has denied residents of Chafee Crossing, Arkansas, federal disaster area status after a fire destroyed over 150 WWII area structures in the area on January 29th.

In effect, this means that the residents have been denied access to federal funds that would largely finance the cleanup operations, including those of asbestos abatement. The costs have estimated at $4.6 million. Local officials say that if the town were forced to foot the bill it would handcuff the local economy for several years.

Part of what is blocking the funding are EPA test performed after the fire which indicated that the asbestos levels were low enough that the site did not qualify for the EPA’s Superfund, which levies fees upon polluters that are redirected back into environmental quality improvements. However, tests performed by the Arkansas Department of Environmental Quality found asbestos contamination in some areas to be much higher than EPA estimates, potentially endangering citizens in the surrounding area.

The net effect is that, while the bureaucrats sort out the fine detail, the asbestos is not being cleared up.

FEMA Says No to Asbestos Cleanup Funds

Posted by Dianne Sandland at 11:07 AM | Permalink

In Houston, dozens of senior citizens who are on limited income are fighting to recover their clothes and furniture months after a fire forced them from their apartment homes.

On Nov. 26, more than 200 residents of the Bellerive senior housing complex in southwest Houston were evacuated when flames and smoke filled the building. Their landlord, the Houston Housing Authority, said their belongings might be covered with cancer-causing asbestos, which would be costly to clean. So, almost four months later, many of the senior citizens are still waiting to retrieve their possessions.

They have been allowed back into the building since the fire, but only once, and now the Houston Housing Authority is saying that 61 of the units are contaminated with asbestos, therefore, so are the items inside them. The cost of cleaning has been calculated at $3,400 per resident, which they cannot afford. However, the Houston Housing Authority are refusing to foot the bill because asbestos cleanup for personal items is not covered by their insurance company.

Despite their refusal to pay for the cleanup, the Authority is paying for residents to live in other subsidized housing units or to live with residents.

Surely it would make economic sense to pay the one-off cost of cleaning. It would be kinder too - some of these residents are in their 90's.

click2houston.com

Posted by Dianne Sandland at 09:12 AM | Permalink

I've just read a report that says W R Grace have bought into a company that makes environmentally friendly products!

The Columbia-based chemical giant took a minority stake in Ceratech; the deal gives Grace exclusive rights to market Ceratech's products and technology in the manufactured concrete industry. They produce fast setting concrete r using fly ash, a type of waste produced by coal-fired power plants.

n 2006, Grace -- which supplies catalysts to the petroleum industry -- launched a biofuels program to create products for new technologies like ethanol and biodiesel production.

Grace has operated in Chapter 11 bankruptcy reorganization since 2001, facing heavy asbestos-related liabilities - a topic I've written about frequently on this blog.

I know all about forgive and forget but, well, it all leaves a bit of a nasty taste in my mouth.

Baltimore Business Journal

Posted by Dianne Sandland at 01:16 PM | Permalink

The Wisconsin Supreme Court has reinstated penalties against a firm accused of violating asbestos management rules in the renovation of the Milwaukee Theater.

The court ruled 4-3 that Harenda Enterprises Incorporated is liable for violating the state administrative code. It reinstated an order that the company pay penalties and surcharges for failing to remove asbestos during the renovations.

The court ruled 4-3 that Harenda Enterprises Incorporated is liable for violating the state administrative code. It reinstated an order that the company pay penalties and surcharges for failing to remove asbestos during the renovations.

Insurance Journal: Midwest News

Posted by Dianne Sandland at 09:41 AM | Permalink

Several W.R. Grace & Co. lenders have refused to continue offering bankruptcy loans to the company, forcing it to cut back its Chapter 11 finance package from $250 million to $200 million.

n attorney with the firm of Kirkland & Ellis, Baer blamed "the tightening of the credit industry" for the retreat of some banks that have offered Chapter 11 loans to Grace for years. Bankruptcy loans approved Monday are for just under $200 million, instead of the $250 million that Grace has had available throughout much of its Chapter 11 case.

Grace's failure to get all its banks back on board as it continues its seven-year restructuring is a sign of the continued trouble that has dogged other bankrupt companies that were once much sought-after as lending clients.
Last week, Grace announced it had agreed to pay $250 million to the federal government, to cover the costs of asbestos-cleanup work in Libby, Mont., where Grace mined asbestos-contaminated vermiculite.

Forbes

Posted by Dianne Sandland at 01:39 PM | Permalink

When the Federal Aviation Administration decided to knock down an old guard shack last year on the grounds of the Washington Air Route Traffic Control Center in Leesburg, managers called in a crew of mentally disabled people and put them to work at the site, which had been found in 1993 to contain asbestos.

Now, the FAA says, the agency's inspector general, federal prosecutors in Alexandria and a grand jury are investigating whether the decision to give part of the job to people with severe disabilities was a purposeful attempt to circumvent procedures.

"They used a groundskeeping crew from a disadvantaged group to clean up the debris," said Diane Spitaliere, an FAA spokeswoman. She said federal investigators are looking into whether FAA managers knowingly assigned the crew to a job involving toxic materials, endangering the workers' health.

Shortly after the demolition in July, a security guard at the traffic control center, at Route 7 and Lawson Road, told superiors that "mentally-challenged contract employees were disposing of asbestos containing material," according to an FAA white paper on the incident obtained by The Washington Post.

It wasn't until a month after the work was done that FAA managers checked a 1993 survey of asbestos at the facility and concluded that the floor tiles in the shack contained the toxic material, the report says.

To read more about this appalling dereliction of duty, click here

Posted by Dianne Sandland at 03:04 PM | Permalink

Joan Mahoney, a onetime film actress and singer, has terminal cancer that, she claims, is a result of her time working in a home-remodeling business with her husband.

Now a San Francisco jury has ordered an asbestos manufacturer to pay more than $7 million in damages for allegedly continuing to make the compound long after learning that asbestos could cause cancer. Their competitors already found substitutes for the mineral. It was only after the Federal Government outlawed the produce in 1977 that the company stopped using it.

San Francisco Chronicle

Posted by Dianne Sandland at 08:33 AM | Permalink

In a 25-year follow-up study of workers at a plant which stopped using Libby vermiculite in 1980, current chest X-rays revealed that 20 percent of workers who experienced low cumulative exposure to these fibers had changes in the lining around their lungs. In the group with the highest exposure, changes on chest X-rays were noted in 54 percent of workers.

This means that Libby vermiculite ore can cause chest X-ray changes at previously unrecognized lower exposure levels.

This is according to the findings from the Cincinnati study, which are reported in the March 15, 2008, issue of American Journal of Respiratory and Critical Care. The study involved a 25-year review of available data on workers who used the Libby vermiculite as an inert carrier for lawn care products. About 84 percent of the original 513 workers were living and 280 workers were able to participate fully in the study.

Records show that until the Montana mine was closed in 1990, it provided up to 80 percent of the world’s vermiculite supply—which was widely used in both commercial and residential applications, including home insulation, packing materials, construction materials and gardening products. Vermiculite ore is now mined from other sources that reportedly do not contain similar asbestos-like mineral fibers.

Press Release - Cincinnati Study

Posted by Dianne Sandland at 12:15 PM | Permalink

In an effort to keep this blog up to date and relevant I trawl through loads of, let's not be coy here, crap! However, every now and then something comes up that needs no rewriting, summarizing, or other jiggery-pokery from me. Such is the case with The Asbestos Fact Sheet, from Stamford University. It is one of the best information sources I have seen on the subject and I urge you to click on the link and download it to your pc - whether you live in California or not.

Posted by Dianne Sandland at 10:26 AM | Permalink

Following a ruling by a Washington State Court of Appeals, victims of secondary asbestos exposure have won a hard earned victory. The ruling will make it easier for those exposed to asbestos as the result of the work of family members living in the same home to make a claim for their asbestos related diseases such as asbestos cancer, lung cancer, and mesothelioma.

The new ruling overturns a previous ruling made by a lower court, and sets a set a precedent that could allow hundreds of family members and others living in the same home to file their own claims. This means that those suffering from asbestos related illnesses due to exposure from the clothes or body of a loved one that worked with asbestos, commonly known as ’secondary exposure’, can now successfully sue the employer for compensation. Until this ruling, is has proven very difficult such cases to proceed.

Victory for Victims of Secondary Asbestos Exposure

Posted by Dianne Sandland at 12:15 PM | Permalink

Federal officials say W.R. Grace and Co. has agreed to pay $250 million as reimbursement for government expenses in the investigation and cleanup of asbestos contamination in Libby.

The U.S. Justice Department and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency said Tuesday the sum is the highest in the history of the federal Superfund program of environmental cleanup.

The $250 million deal settles a claim the government filed to collect money for past and future costs of cleaning Libby schools, homes and businesses contaminated with asbestos. The substance, which can cause the scarring of lung tissue, came from Grace's vermiculite mine near the northwestern Montana community.

forbes.com

Posted by Dianne Sandland at 11:23 AM | Permalink

The Calaveras County Board of Supervisors will be asked today for an additional $20,000 to complete an environmental assessment of the California Asbestos Monofill near Copperopolis.

Environmental consultant Lamphier-Gregory of Oakland has been preparing the environmental information needed to amend a conditional use permit for regulating the disposal of tires at the former mine. The permit would allow storage of up to 46,300 tires per year at the site located along the Stanislaus River, 2.7 miles from Tulloch Reservoir and about three-fourths of a mile from the New Melones dam and reservoir.

During its years of operation between 1968 and 1987, the mine produced about 25,000 tons per day of chrysotile asbestos in serpentine rock.

To read more go the the Union Democrat site

Posted by Dianne Sandland at 10:35 AM | Permalink

Montana's top Democrat is demanding that federal environmental protection officials push for budgets big enough to thoroughly clean deadly asbestos from the town of Libby.

As already reported on this blog, earlier this month, damage at the community's Asa Wood Elementary School resulted in asbestos-laced vermiculite insulation spilling onto the ground. Children discovered the pile during recess, and reported it to teachers.

Senator Max Baucus said that the accident was an outrage, and "there was a pile of vermiculite sitting outside the place we send our kids to learn. Our government has failed us in Libby."

Because of the old W R Grace & Co mine, Libby is a declared Superfund site, but the Senator feels that the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has taken the Superfund in the wrong direction and feels that the budget requested for the clean up operation in 2009 "would only continue to shortchange the people of Libby and other communities across the country dealing with Superfund sites." In fact, he says, the funds requested represent a $5 million shortfall on last year's budget.

Baucus feels that more funds would become available if the town declared a public health emergency.

Read more at the Missoulian site

Posted by Dianne Sandland at 12:36 PM | Permalink

School was canceled yesterday at Bethel High in Connecticut following the release of asbestos.

The incident actually happened on Tuesday, but the principal, Pat Cosentino, was not advised of the situation until Thursday morning, when students were sent off home. Yesterday the Department of Health were due to turn up to monitor air levels.

The school is currently in the process of renovation works that are being carried out by Eagle Environmental. Cosentino received a fax on Thursday morning from that company stating that the Department of Health wanted the school closed, because:

" Asbestos abatement workers were removing material on the second floor of the school Tuesday evening when they dropped a science lab table top. The table top broke in front of Room 202. An air sample was taken immediately after the accident and showed elevated levels of asbestos fiber in the air."

Workers did start to clean the area and a second air sample showed a reduced level of asbestos, however, there is now some debate about whether the elevated air asbestos had anything to do with the table top breakage at all.

This is the second time in recent weeks that Bethel High School has been disrupted by an asbestos scare. On Feb. 6, students were dismissed early after workers doing renovations inadvertently opened a wall cavity and exposed asbestos-containing fireproofing material. Air tests taken later that day came back clean.

The report doesn't say if this was also down to Eagle Environmental...

News Times

Posted by Dianne Sandland at 09:08 AM | Permalink

Tempers began to flare last week as the possible billion-dollar asbestos trial of Willis Whisnat Jr. et al vs. DuPont De Nemours wrapped up its third week of testimony.

Whisnat, was a pipefitter at DuPont's Sabine Works facility in Beaumont. He was also a lifelong smoker. Allegedly, back in 1968 when he worked as an independent contractor, Whisnat was allegedly exposed to enough asbestos fibers to contract mesothelioma. He finally died from the disease in the late 1990's, when he was 72 years of age.

Jurors heard excerpts of depositions given by several former DuPont workers this week, all of whom had worked with Whisnat during the late '60s. They testified that they never saw Whisnat wearing a respirator. Dupont claimed that safety policies during this time required employees to wear respirators during exposure to 'extreme' dust. However, an industrial hygienist, hired by the plaintiffs, passionately testified that workers were not capable of determining when they were working in 'extreme' dusty conditions. The expert became so impassioned that he began shouting at the DuPont defense attorney, Larry Cotten.

Cotten asked if the man was upset with him. The plaintiff's expert responded by saying, "I'm upset with (DuPont) for not implementing (adequate asbestos safety) programs."

The trial is expected to conclude in mid-March.

DuPont Trial

Posted by Dianne Sandland at 11:11 AM | Permalink

Following the release of data pointing to an abnormally high level of mesothelioma among past and present mine workers, officials from the University of Minnesota told a House panel on Wednesday that they plan four studies related to mesothelioma and other health issues for taconite industry employees and communities.

Lawmakers recognize the importance of the research, because previous efforts to look into the health effects of mining never were finished, and they are currently researching sources of funding.

The research will include studying the cause of death of an estimated 70,000 people who worked in the state’s taconite mines from the 1950s to the 1980s.

A total of $4.9 million is being sought.

Cancer research funds sought

Posted by Dianne Sandland at 10:06 AM | Permalink

You'd think that people would know better considering the impact that asbestos related diseases are having on the community at large but, yet again, a building owner has taken a short cut to removing asbestos-containing materials, thereby putting the health of others at risk.

Merle Huff, owner of a building in Illinois, allegedly allowed his tenant Ben Slotky to remove asbestos-containing flooring materials and place them in unsealed plastic garbage bags during a renovation project that took place during 2006. Slotky is not a licensed asbestos contractor.

Huff allegedly did not inspect the area for the presence of asbestos prior to the start of the renovation as required by National Emission Standards for Hazardous Air Pollutants (NESHAP) regulations. A complaint by Illinois Attorney General, Lisa Madigan, also states that Huff allegedly failed to limit access to the work area and allowed it to be reoccupied before proper cleanup and air monitoring.

Madigan’s lawsuit asks the court to prohibit the defendants from further violations of environmental law and to impose a monetary penalty and other relief deemed appropriate by the Court.

To read further details about this sorry state of affairs, click here

Posted by Dianne Sandland at 10:31 AM | Permalink

When Wendy Hills moved into her new home she wanted to make it perfect and, because she has an undergraduate degree in architecture, she planned to do most of the work herself. As she says, she "found a house with really good bones." Sometimes, though, it's what the bones support that causes the problems.

In Hills' case, a proposed budget of $120,000 has now grown close to $200,000 because she had to employ a professional contractor to remove the asbestos that was discovered in her ceiling during the initial work. This obviously had to be removed before anything else could be done on the home. The costs of renovation work have grown to such an extent that Hills has had to postpone work on two bathrooms in order to save money.

So it's a case of caveat emptor , as Hills herself says, "f you’ve never done this before, you have no idea what it costs."

www.kansascity.com

Posted by Dianne Sandland at 08:50 AM | Permalink

A number of environment, health and labor groups have joined together to challenge the Canadian government about its promotion of the interests of the asbestos industry. The group, who call themselves Ban Asbestos Canada, have issued a damning report about the situation and accuse the government of failing to help the growing number of Canadians who are suffering and dying from asbestos-related disease.

They say that while the Canadian government turns a deaf ear to those whose lives have been devastated by asbestos, it has funded the asbestos industry to the tune of $20 million.

To read the report in full, click here

Posted by Dianne Sandland at 05:51 AM | Permalink

News came yesterday that the MHSA has reduced the permitted environmental load of asbestos from 2 asbestos fibers per cubic centimeter of air to 0.1. This limit is applicable when working a full 8-hour shift, and mirrors the current OHSA limit.

The regulations address six asbestos minerals: chrysotile, crocidolite, cummingtonite-grunerite asbestos (amosite), actinolite asbestos, anthophyllite asbestos, and tremolite asbestos and comes into effect on 29th April, 2008.

For more detailed information, click here

Posted by Dianne Sandland at 07:03 AM | Permalink