Mesothelioma & Asbestos Cancer News: November, 2008
At a recent Community Advisory Group Meeting in Libby, Montana, the safety of the schools there was debated. The entire town has been contaminated by asbestos, and many residents have undergone testing and treatment for asbestos-caused diseases as a result of the presence of the W.R. Grace mine where asbestos-containing materials were mined. Now the health and safety of the students attending Libby schools is in question.
For the second time in as many weeks, victims of asbestos and their family members were disappointed by a ruling from the Ohio Supreme Court. The first ruling from the week of October 13th added another requirement to being able to file an asbestos claim even for those submitted prior to a 2004 law change.
Chrysotile is the most prevalent form of asbestos in use in the modern world, and it joins two pesticides — endosulfan and tributyl tin compounds — that will be examined to determine if their toxicities warrant them all places on the United Nations (UN) watch list of hazardous materials.
A drug developed by the Proteolix, Inc., pharmaceutical company, carfilzomib, has shown promising results in its first round of clinical trials. Carfilzomib acts as a proteasome inhibitor, which targets specific aspects of the cancer without doing excessive harm to noncancerous cells.
When renovations at the Bourbonnais (Illinois) Terrace Nursing Home released asbestos dust, residents found themselves looking for other accommodations after the Illinois Department of Public Health closed the facility. Currently, the former Bourbonnais residents are living in temporary shelters at the Kankakee County Fairgrounds with little word on when they can return to the nursing home.
On October 14, 2008, 150 plaintiffs were named in a one-count lawsuit filed in a Madison County, IL, civil court against Metropolitan Life Insurance Co. and John Crane. Damages were not being sought, but the claimants accuse the companies of providing misleading information that led to the use and exposure to asbestos for thousands over the course of several decades.
In AUSTRALIA, families in New South Wales (NSW) for the first time have been told by the state government that 1300 public primary and secondary schools are contaminated by the dangerous toxin asbestos.
In Niles, IL, the principal of Gemini Junior High allowed students to use the gymnasium of the school, which continues to be closed due to ongoing asbestos abatement.
After having once been convicted for violating part of the federal Clean Air Act dealing with illegal asbestos removal and disposal, Paul Mancuso (45) of Utica, New York, again committed and was charged with the same crimes.
The Premier of Victoria, John Brumby, made a public apology to all of the workers exposed to asbestos from the state-controlled power plants.
In a 5 to 2 ruling, the Ohio Supreme Court recently ruled it constitutional for the lower courts to apply a 2004 law that made filing asbestos lawsuits more difficult to suits filed prior to that law being passed. More than 40,000 asbestos victims and their families were affected by the ruling, and many of them will likely not see any recompense for their suffering and anguish from being exposed to the known carcinogen, asbestos.
At a BoRit asbestos area Community Advisory Group (CAG), EPA representatives spoke to members concerning asbestos removal in the area around Wissahickon Park in West Ambler, PA. CAG members asserted that the area surrounding the park is run-down and full of low-income housing because of the asbestos contamination of Wissahickon Park. They feel that removal of the toxin would help to improve the safety and value of the neighborhood.
On October 2, 2008, Evaline Semter, sued 65 companies for wrongfully exposing her to asbestos, claiming that it resulted in her April 18, 2008, diagnosis of mesothelioma.
In DENMARK, Jens Ersbøll, head of the Danish Medicines Agency, has put a public broadcasting documentary under scrutiny for changing the facts to give the illusion that there was a single drug treatment available for mesothelioma.
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Many fail to remember that asbestos victims are more than just names. They are people who have families, friends, and associations. Mesothelioma touches many lives, not just the patient’s. Asbestos-caused diseases do not discriminate. They occur worldwide in all classes of people, in all age groups. Sometimes one must stop and pay tribute to those victims who unwittingly find themselves in the fight for their life through no fault of their own. Below are some of their personal stories:
In a lawsuit filed with the Madison County, Illinois, Circuit Court on September 29, 2008, Bruno Dobler claimed that his diagnosis of mesothelioma on October 31, 2007, was caused by wrongdoing from 13 of his former employers. He is seeking damages, compensation, and punitive damages from the corporations for his pain, suffering, and anguish.
In order to gain approval for any new drug, it must undergo years of testing and clinical trials. The newest drug to treat mesothelioma, Onconase (ranpirnase), proved to be no different in this requirement.
In a continuation of the diligent work of Dr. Irving Selikoff, the town of Baie Verte has begun searching for former employees of the Baie Verte Asbestos Mine in order to compile a database of those who avoid and those who develop asbestos related diseases.
EnPro, a subsidiary of Goodrich founded in 2002, has found its short history riddled with dealing with asbestos claims against it. EnPro makes bearings and gaskets, and when it was spun off from Goodrich in 2002, it immediately had to settle thousands of asbestos claims against it.
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