On Monday, July 7, an old building in Anderson, Indiana finally gave up the ghost and collapsed. A woman who lived close to the building said that she had been complaining to the city about the state of disrepair for fifteen years but her complaints were fruitless.

Another neighbor said that he had filed a petition with city concerning the building, even taking photographs. His efforts had also been fruitless.

The city has built a fence around the property in an effort to keep people away - not much protection against the asbestos that the rubble is known to contain.

The clean up is expected to cost the city around $300,000. The rubble consists of hazardous materials such as used tires and asbestos. Underground, there are large gas tanks that will have to be removed.

A case of watch this space.

Newslink Indiana

Posted by Dianne Sandland at 09:47 AM | Permalink

A new diagnostic test, designed to differentiate between squamous and non-squamous adenocarcinomas, has begun moving through the approval process, and may eventually be available for use in the United States.

The test is the result of research by Rosetta Genomics, an Israeli company, and Columbia University Medical Center. Differentiation between squamous and non-squamous has been submitted for approval from the New York State Department of Health.

The New York State Department of Health Clinical Laboratory Evaluation Program have already approved a Rosetta product for clinical use; the approved product assists medics to distinguish between two common types of lung cancer.

The new diagnostic test, which can distinguish between mesothelioma and adenocarcinomas will be submitted for regulatory approval during the fourth quarter of 2008.

Asbestos.com

Posted by Dianne Sandland at 09:14 AM | Permalink

Paid researchers representing the automotive, chemical and mining industries are urging the EPA to 'water down' the asbestos regulations. They argue that asbestos fibers are not as dangerous as the medical community have claimed since the asbestos regulations were first introduced in the 1980's.

This is despite the fact that both The International Agency for Research on Cancer, OSHA, and The World Health Organization have long agreed that there is no safe level of asbestos, and that the use of asbestos-containing materials should be banned.

A meeting between the EPA and Office of Solid Waste and Emergency took place in Washington on Monday 21st July 2008. At that meeting a 29 page report was released by Dr. Michael Silverstein of the University of Washington. The paper was signed by 83 public health officials and was presented to EPA. It revealed details related to this "science-for-hire" practice, including the payment of scientists to "minimize public health and environmental concerns" surrounding asbestos.

Transworld News

Posted by Dianne Sandland at 08:46 AM | Permalink

Patients are being recruited for a clinical trial of a new targeted radiation and chemotherapy protocol for pleural mesothelioma. Currently, the standard treatment for this type of cancer is to remove the lung. A radical treatment which has not been shown to prolong survival. The new study will investigate whether a combination of chemotherapy and radiation targeted directly at the lung's lining will improve outcome - and avoid surgery.

Patients aged 18 and older who have not had recent radiation therapy or chemotherapy and have not received prior Alimta chemotherapy will be considered for the study

" Patients enrolled in the study will receive several rounds of targeted chemotherapy using the drugs cisplatin and doxorubicin via surgically implanted catheters. Some patients will be randomly selected to receive additional systemic (intravenous) chemotherapy using the drugs cisplatin and pemetrexed. All patients will receive targeted radiotherapy using the P-32 radioisotope. Patients may elect to receive additional surgical treatment, including removal of the affected lung lining or lung."

For further information: Chemo-radiation therapy looks to kill cells on organ's surface, spare surrounding tissue

Posted by Dianne Sandland at 09:53 AM | Permalink

Kyla Sentes, who is a member of the 'Ban Asbestos Canada' group, has been angered by city officials claim that roads containing asbestos do not pose a health hazard.

PhD student Kyla Sentes' father died eight years ago of asbestosis, so the topic is close to her heart.

A recent report measured core samples from 34 roads in Alberta, Sentes' home city, and found the majority, including some main routes, contained some levels of asbestos.

City officials maintain their 'no risk' stance but will do more testing.

660 News

Posted by Dianne Sandland at 08:33 AM | Permalink

In the Bronx earlier this week, a man pleaded guilty to unsafe handling of asbestos. He had removed asbestos from a church using unsafe methods and, in doing so had released asbestos dust and fibers into nearby areas, including a day care center. Tyron Maple is a member of the church and is employed as a boiler man in New York. Following his guilty plea, he faces a sentence of up to three years in state prison

Maple, who did not have a license for asbestos removal, removed a quantity of the deadly material from the Friendship Baptist Church on Park Avenue in Paterson. He did not follow the strict state and federal laws that are designed to protect public safety.

Complaints from a member of the church congregation led to the air being monitored in February of this year, the results showed an increase in asbestos levels throughout the first floor of the church. Subsequently the church remained closed while the dust was removed by a licensed contractor.

Man Exposes Children to Asbestos

Posted by Dianne Sandland at 12:00 PM | Permalink

After a great deal of what can only be described as 'hustling,' Dr. Michele Carbone, a Turkish expert in Mesothelioma, has managed to secure funding to look for a genetic component in Mesothelioma. So successful was Dr Carbone in his 'hustling' that he managed to secure funds for a purpose-built hospital for the research program!

The inspiration for Dr Carbone's research interest came when he visited Turkey as a keynote speaker. He discovered a small epidemic in several villages where 50 percent of residents die of mesothelioma. Houses in these villages were constructed from soft volcanic rock containing erionite, a naturally occurring fibrous mineral similar to asbestos.. However,while in some houses, everyone died, in others, made from the same material a few yards away, everyone remained healthy. As Carbone remarked "you can see the danger of averages."

Carbone's research has now traveled to the United States; where the team is now studying three families with a high incidence of mesothelioma.

Star Bulletin

Posted by Dianne Sandland at 10:06 AM | Permalink

Randal J. Ecker, a retired teacher, pleaded guilty on Thursday to a federal regulatory violation, admitting that he failed to send the Environmental Protection Agency a written notice of a cleanup plan in 2003.

Ecker, from Bridger, Montana, had five special education students remove asbestos floor tiles from a bus barn. The project was approved by a superintendent who was unaware of the asbestos content of the tiles. The students wore protective clothing, but the face masks and respirators were not designed to protect against asbestos contamination.

The parents of the children sued the school district, which settled the civil lawsuit with a $250,000 payment to each student. Ecker will be sentenced on August 21.

What price for a healthy life?

Great Falls Tribune

Posted by Dianne Sandland at 09:08 AM | Permalink

In 1979 the U.S. Consumer and Product Safety Commission received an independent analysis which confirmed that asbestos fibers emitted from hair dryers could pose a significant health threat to consumers. Asbestos-containing dryers were recalled and pulled from shelves, but by that time it was estimated that 90% of consumer-grade hair dryers already in existence did contain asbestos fibers. According to the Consumer Product Safety Commission, the majority of hair dryers tested emitted asbestos fiber levels comparable to or greater than those found in certain school buildings and near construction sites.

Because hair dryers are most commonly used by women, some researchers believe that they will see an increase in cases of females diagnosed with mesothelioma over the next few decades.

Asbestos-containing hair dryers were manufactured and sold by the following companies:

Andis, Bonat Inc
Clairol, Conair Corporation
Dominion Division of Scovill Manufacturing
General Electric Company
The Gillette Company
Hamilton Beach Division of Scovill Manufacturing
J.C. Penney
Korvette
Montgomery Ward & Company
Norelco
North American Philips Corporation
Presto
Schick Inc.,
Sears, Roebuck & CO
Sperry Rand Corp. (Remington)
Sunbeam Corporation

The original 1979 Press Release: Commission Approves Corrective Plans For 26 Manufacturers Of Asbestos Hair Dryer

Posted by Dianne Sandland at 02:07 PM | Permalink

Researchers from Italy have reported that the combination of Alimta® (pemetrexed) and Paraplatin® (carboplatin) is effective palliative therapy for elderly patients with mesothelioma.

178 patients were included in the study, the median age of which was 65 years; 48 patients were aged over 70 at the commencement of the trial. Summarized results were:

- more severe hematologic toxicities in patients 70 years of age or older compared with younger patients
- disease control was 60% in the more elderly group compared with 67% in the younger group
- time to disease progression in the older group was 7.2 months compared 7.5 months for younger patients
- median survival was 10.7 for the younger group versus 13.9 months for the older age group

The authors concluded that, on the basis of this study, age is not a contraindication to palliative chemotherapy with Alimta and Paraplatin for patients with inoperable mesothelioma.

Conflict of interests: I am unable to find out who funded this study. Obviously, if it was funded by the manufacturing drug company/companies there is an inferred conflict of interest.

Reference: Ceresoli GI, Castagneto B, Zucali PA, et al. Pemetrexed plus carboplatin in elderly patients with malignant pleural mesothelioma: combined analysis of two phase II trials. British Journal of Cancer [early online publication]. June 10, 2008

British Journal of Cancer

Posted by Dianne Sandland at 12:28 PM | Permalink

Asbestos has been found at the site of the London 2012 Olympic Stadium, bringing work on part of the foundations to a halt.

Protective measures are being put into place in order to ensure the safety of workers. Work should recommence once these measures are in place.

As luck would have it, work started three months earlier than planned, so it the current delay is not thought to be critical.

Forbes

Posted by Dianne Sandland at 08:35 AM | Permalink

The National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) is seeking comments on its revised draft asbestos 'roadmap.'

The document Asbestos Fibers and Other Elongated Mineral Particles: State of the Science and Roadmap for Research, is intended to address scientific uncertainties about occupational exposure and toxicity issues related to asbestos fibers and other elongated mineral particles.

The document does not include any new recommendations but NIOSH will incorporate public comments on the revised draft into a final document that will inform national research.

See the full document for review here

NIOSH Seeks Comments on Revised Draft of Asbestos Roadmap

Posted by Dianne Sandland at 08:08 AM | Permalink

A new study is recruiting patients with malignant pleural mesothelioma to study a combination therapy of targeted radiation and chemotherapy.

The standard treatment for malignant pleural mesothelioma patients has often been removal of a patient's lung, a risky and debilitating surgery. Researchers hope combination therapy will give patients additional treatment options instead of drastic surgery.

Read more here

Posted by Dianne Sandland at 10:00 AM | Permalink

Following the publication of a study in the May edition of The Lancet, it is now recognized that adding chemo to symptom relieving treatments, such as steroids, does not prolong life expectancy or improve the quality of life. However, one chemotherapy drug - vinorelbine - has been deemed worthy of further study.

In a study that recruited 409 mesothelioma patients (average age, 65) from treatment centers in the United Kingdom and Australia between 2001 and 2006, patients were randomly divided into three groups and given either active symptom control alone (that means no attempt was made to cure the disease, just to manage it); active symptom control plus a combination of the chemotherapy drugs mitomycin, vinblastine, and cisplatin (MVP); or active symptom control plus the chemotherapy drug, vinorelbine. None of the patients had received prior treatment with chemotherapy.

Results from the study showed no real improvement in the first two groups of patients. However, those patients receiving active symptom control and vinorelbine lived, on average, two months longer (9.5 months compared to 7.6 months) than those in the active symptom control group. The patients on vinorelbine also experienced a longer period without their cancer progressing.

Future studies should identify which patients benefit most from treatment—and how much they benefit—so that doctors can better target treatments. Research is also required to test out different drug combinations; for example, adding vinorelbine to other chemotherapy drugs, such as cisplatin or pemetrexed.

The Lancet (Free registration required)

Muers MF, Stephens RJ, Fisher P, Darlison L, Higgs CMB, Lowry E, et al. Active symptom control with or without chemotherapy in the treatment of patients with malignant pleural mesothelioma (MS01): a multicentre randomized trial. The Lancet. 2008;371:1685:1694.

Posted by Dianne Sandland at 09:43 AM | Permalink