Late yesterday, Alfacell Corp. reported that the Phase IIIB clinical trial for Onconase failed to meet the trial's primary endpoint. Onconase was being studied as a potential treatment for unresectable malignant mesothelioma (UMM).

The Somerset, N.J.-based biopharmaceutical company said a statistically significant improvement in survival was seen in the treatment of UMM patients who failed one prior chemotherapy regimen. The Company are to submit a new drug application to the Food and Drug Administration for the treatment of this patient population.

The Phase IIIB trial was designed to show a statistically significant improvement in overall survival for patients treated with a combination of onconase plus doxorubicin versus doxorubicin alone.

Hemscott

Posted by Dianne Sandland at 08:01 AM | Permalink

A ruling from a New Jersey state appeals court will allow fifteen Spanish citizens to sue over health issues they claim are related to asbestos exposure while working aboard United States Navy and Coast Guard ships docked at United States-Spanish military installations.

The defendant, Ohio-based company Owens Illinois, Inc., had sought a trial in a Spanish court, an opinion which was shared by the Superior Court which heard the case. The three-judge panel appellate court overturned the decision of the Superior Court in a 3-0 ruling.

The Spanish citizens worked aboard U.S. ships between 1950 and 1998, and claim they were exposed to asbestos dust and fibers from piping insulation produced by Owens-Illinois.

The Star Ledger

Posted by Dianne Sandland at 07:42 AM | Permalink

Despite the fact that results from a recent study on the cancer risks of asbestos have yet to be released, The Canadian Labour Congress is calling for a ban of all asbestos mining in Canada. The report, which was completed and submitted in March to Health Canada, was compiled by seven scientific and medical experts,

One of the authors has been reported as saying that there is nothing in the report would argue against the sensibility of an asbestos ban in Canada. In other words, he is saying that there are arguments for a ban.

Last weekend the Canadian Labour Congress passed a resolution on behalf of its members calling for an end to asbestos production. They also called for financial support for roughly 700 miners who would be affected by an industry shutdown.

Canada's only two asbestos mines are located in Quebec, which has one of the highest rates of mesothelioma in the world.

Canada is virtually alone in the developed world in producing and exporting asbestos to countries in Asia and the Indian sub-continent.

Canadian HR Reporter

Posted by Dianne Sandland at 06:09 AM | Permalink

For decades, trillions of asbestos fibers were released on a daily basis and carried southward by Lake Michigan's currents from USEPA's Johns-Manville asbestos Superfund site in Waukegan, Illinois.

Now that Beach Season is upon us, the Illinois Dunesland Preservation Society has asked international asbestos risk expert, Jeffery C Camplin, to prepare a fact sheet for visitors to Illinois beaches to help minimize exposure to the deadly amphibole fibers that contaminate the shoreline.

Click the following link for Camplin's important advice.

STEPS TO MINIMIZE TOXIC ASBESTOS EXPOSURES ON CHICAGO'S BEACHES

Posted by Dianne Sandland at 09:40 AM | Permalink

NSAIDS - Non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs - are used in the treatment of inflammatory conditions, such as arthritis; this group of drugs includes several common pain killers, for instance, Ibuprofen.

A recent study has shown that Piroxicam, a common NSAID, exerts significant anti-tumoral activity in combination with Cisplatin (CDDP) on mesothelioma cells, although why this should be is not yet clear. Piroxicam was actually effective when used alone, although to a lesser degree than when used with the Cisplatin.

Initial theories suggest that the combination of the Piroxicam and Cisplatin regulates cell growth and this line of investigation could hold promise in the treatment of mesothelioma.

7th Space

Posted by Dianne Sandland at 09:15 AM | Permalink

Okay, maybe today's offering isn't news exactly, but it's a worthwhile read for those who find themselves in battle.

NY Times Blog

Posted by Dianne Sandland at 09:45 AM | Permalink

Today the asbestos press releases are filled with news that Nanotubes, a supposed wonder of the modern, miniature, world, are every bit as dangerous as asbestos.

We must be grateful that this time we have advance warning of the danger. Nobody has fallen ill, and experts say the findings call for caution, not alarm, in handling nanotubes, which are tiny, super-strong carbon fibers.

Nanotubes can, apparently, be found in things such as tennis rackets, where they are used to produce high strength at low weight. Scientists have debated for a long time whether the needle-shaped nanotubes might cause the same types of disease as needle-shaped asbestos fibers. Today we have the answer - yes they might.

A team of researchers reported that injecting nanotubes into the abdomens of mice induced lesions similar to those that appear on the outer lining of the lungs after the inhalation of asbestos.

The people in greatest danger would most likely be those working in laboratories or at nanotube manufacturers.

Let's hope they get fair warning...

New York Times

Posted by Dianne Sandland at 10:16 AM | Permalink

Just a quote for you today. It comes from the UK government's All Party Parliamentary Group on Occupational Safety and Health and just seems to encapsulate the sentiments behind my entries to this blog:

The sorry history of asbestos teaches us that people should not be put before profit.

I don't think I've anything else to add.

Rochdale Online

Posted by Dianne Sandland at 06:47 AM | Permalink

Mary Ann Gruzs is claiming three hundred and fifty dollars in damages, plus interest and costs, because she was allegedly fired for expressing her concerns over asbestos in some of the flooring at her place of work.

Gruzs was fired from her job in York County, Pennsylvania, where she worked as a beautician in the salon of a nursing home. Her employers claim she was fired because she had failed to turn up to work on three consecutive days without notifying her employers that she was going to be absent.

Gruzs, however, claims that the reason she lost her job was because she voiced her concerns over asbestos in the salon floor.

She is claiming that her rights under the First Amendment have been violated.

Woman Claims She Was Fired Over Asbestos

Posted by Dianne Sandland at 04:55 AM | Permalink

On Monday next week there is to be a briefing in Room 2218 of the Rayburn House Office Building for staff of the House Energy and Commerce Committee. The briefing is to highlight to staff members the critical need for legislation to ban asbestos.

The list of discussants includes Mary Hesdorffer, a nurse practitioner and the Medical Liaison for the Mesothelioma Applied Research Foundation, who specializes in asbestos cancer patients.

Press Release

Posted by Dianne Sandland at 06:46 AM | Permalink

A worrying report from the BBC today that casts doubt over the efficacy of chemotherapy for mesothelioma.

A study in British medical journal, The Lancet, reports on a trial of hundreds of meso patients who experienced no benefit from their course of chemotherapy. A US expert said that a combination of drugs is more effective.

The study involved 409 patients (mostly from the UK) who were treated with the standard steroid medication and radiotherapy treatments. Some participants were also treated with chemotherapy and, apparently, they did live for slightly longer. However, the researchers say that this prolonged life could be misleading, and it did not represent statistical proof. They also said that the quality of life of the chemo patients was not improved.

Kate Law, Cancer Research UK's director of clinical trials, added: "These results showed no real benefit from adding these chemotherapy drugs compared with just treating the symptoms of the disease."

In the same issue of the magazine, Dr Nicholas Vogelzang, from the Nevada Cancer Institute, said that results from other trials using different combinations of chemotherapy drugs had been more positive.

BBC

Posted by Dianne Sandland at 06:35 AM | Permalink

Following the 2004 hurricane, Heta, there are reportedly sheets of asbestos lying around on the island of Niue in the South Pacific Ocean. Opposition MP, Terry Coe, says he wants these to be dumped at sea.

Apparently, sheets of asbestos are stacked in containers near the airport, while some houses, occupied and unoccupied still have asbestos roofs that need removing, but the government has not yet come to a decision regarding their removal.

Coe is reported as saying, "The Forum’s coming and the place looks so untidy with all this fibre-lite that’s stored around the villages that’s been taken out. The best idea is the same as the Cooks - is that we take it out to sea and dump it in the sea. We could put in containers and then hull the containers, take them out and just sink them out there."

I'm sorry, but I think untidiness is the least worrying of the issues that need to be addressed.

Radio New Zealand International

Posted by Dianne Sandland at 09:38 AM | Permalink

Following recent news on this blog about the asbestos scare on the Church of Scientology ship, Freewinds, there is news today that actor Tom Cruise has been advised to seek medical care.

Cruise is, of course, a leading light in the Scientology movement and has spent many hours about the cruise ship at conferences and meetings. Strangely, given the publicity surrounding the discovery of 'blue' asbestos on board shop, Cruise's spokesman says he has no knowledge of the case.

Now Magazine

Posted by Dianne Sandland at 02:33 AM | Permalink

Mackay, in Quensland, Australia, was subjected to flash floods back in February this year and it was declared a disaster area.

Now, as the clean-up operation moves up a gear, asbestos removal expert Jayson Maskell-Drew says he is horrified to discover that Mackay families are being poisoned. Apparently, some builders are ripping down asbestos-laden walls in their rush to rebuild the city. And nobody seems to care.

Mr Maskell-Drew said flood-damaged homes were being repaired without the proper precautions, with sheets of asbestos regularly seen discarded on people's lawns, putting neighbourhoods at risk of contamination. He blames uncaring builders for putting themselves and residents at risk of asbestosis or mesothelioma.

The report on this matter says that when Queensland Asbestos Related Diseases Support Society were told about builders tearing asbestos out of houses and leaving them in the open, their spokeswoman sounded panicked.

Oh dear. Of course, one of the problems is that it will be twenty years or so before the repercussions are felt.

Daily Mercury

Posted by Dianne Sandland at 08:58 AM | Permalink

John Chick, a former carpenter, pleaded guilty in January 2007 to conspiracy to violate the federal Clean Air Act. He admitted illegally removing asbestos-laden boiler parts from the county Board of Elections building in Auburn in February 2006. The boiler parts were buried in the city landfill.

There has been a delay in sentencing to allow Chick to serve his time in a facility close to Central New York; he was initially sentenced to go to a prison in Virginia - a 6 hour drive away from his home. Chick will now serve his sentence in Canaan, Pennsylvania, which is just a 3 hour drive from his home.

In his defense, Chick said that he had only been carrying out the orders of his superiors. He was the only person involved in the scandal to be jailed.

Central New York News

Posted by Dianne Sandland at 08:39 AM | Permalink

More than a dozen senators, aided by an intense grassroots lobby, are pushing for funds to examine asbestos-related cancer.

Supporters argue that at least one-third of the people suffering from mesothelioma have either been in the Navy or worked in Navy shipyards across the country and, according to Chris Hahn, Executive Director of the Meso Foundation, scientists who would like to work in the field are deterred from doing so due to the lack of research funding. Hahn said mesothelioma is an orphan disease because its difficult to motivate researchers without consistent funding. The Foundation are not seeking earmarked funds, they simply want the disease listed as a priority part of the Pentagon’s peer-reviewed medical research program. Currently the Foundation funds $1million for meso research but Hahn estimates that, in order to make meaningful progress, a figure of $29 million is required.

The Hill

Posted by Dianne Sandland at 08:01 AM | Permalink

A government department has admitted "potentially losing" 1,000 detailed records that were collected in the 1980's for one of the world's most comprehensive surveys on mesothelioma.

The loss came to light when the records were requested by a geologist for a study on Australia's asbestos hot-spots - the Office of the Australian Safety and Compensation Council has been unable to find the 1,000 records.

AAP

Posted by Dianne Sandland at 08:53 AM | Permalink

Brian S. Johnson, a City of Jefferson resident, was convicted and sentenced Friday in Jefferson County Circuit Court for failing to remove asbestos before demolishing buildings and a second count of illegal open burning.

Judge Jackie Rohloff Erwin accepted the plea agreement of the parties and sentenced Mr. Johnson to a 20 day jail sentence.

According to the criminal complaint, Johnson purchased the old County farm and nursing home from Jefferson County in March 2005. He hired contractors to renovate, demolish, and burn buildings on site, but some of the agricultural buildings were not stripped of asbestos before being demolished. They were then burned in violation of Wisconsin's asbestos and burning regulations. Johnson was advised about the asbestos and the regulations for its removal when he purchased the buildings; hence the criminal charges.

Since the violations, Johnson has lost the property due to foreclosure - leaving the new owner to clear up the mess.

WKOW.Madison

Posted by Dianne Sandland at 08:07 AM | Permalink

British Columbia’s building trades unions are urging members of parliament from the federal Conservative, Liberal and Bloc Quebecois parties to support a New Democratic Party call for a total ban on the use or export of deadly asbestos mined in Canada.

Mesothelioma and other asbestos-exposure illnesses are expected to kill 1,500 British Columbia workers over the next five years, according to medical experts. The overwhelming majority of the deaths will come from the construction industry, says Wayne Peppard, executive director of the BC and Yukon Territory Building and Construction Trades Council.

Daily Commercial News and Construction Record

Posted by Dianne Sandland at 08:42 AM | Permalink

A cruise ship owned and operated by the Church of Scientology, MV Freewinds was been sealed and quarantined on Tuesday. The ship, which sails under the name of Majestic Cruise Lines, has been host to thousands of people attending Scientology training courses and functions. The quarantine comes following the discovery of significant amounts of blue asbestos in the structure. It has also been revealed that the lethal dust has previously been released into the ship's ventilation system.

Anyone who has been aboard MV Freewinds may wish to see their doctor to assess their level of exposure, and commence appropriate health monitoring and management.

Seven years ago, allegations were made that Scientologists aboard the Freewinds were being put at risk of asbestos exposure. An affidavit filed in 2001 by Lawrence Woodcraft, a former Scientologist and trained architect, claims that Woodcraft encountered the blue asbestos while working on the ship in 1987, and promptly informed Scientology leaders. It appears that for over 21 years, the Church of Scientology has knowingly exposed passengers to what is generally considered the most lethal form of asbestos.

I don't think any further comment is necessary really.

News Blaze

Posted by Dianne Sandland at 12:03 PM | Permalink