Mesothelioma & Asbestos Cancer News: April, 2009
HELENA, MT–At Ash Grove Cement Company near Helena, Montana, workers are being paid not to work.
The presence of asbestos has been identified in one section of the company’s limestone quarry, three miles from the Montana City cement plant itself and is being investigated. That section involves about 10 acres, company spokeswoman Jacqueline Clark said. The quarrying has involved digging or other disturbances on 100 acres or more.
BOSTON—Asbestos-removal businesswoman did not attend a court hearing yesterday, where she faced sentencing of up to 230 years in prison, according to United States Attorney Michael Sullivan’s office.
MISSOULA, MT—A former employee of W.R. Grace & Co., the chemical conglomerate that is now accused of knowingly endangering residents of Libby, Montana due to its asbestos mining operations there, claims that he warned supervisors of asbestos hazards as far back as 1976.
CAPE GIRARDEAU, MO—The Army National Guard Armory is about to undergo a major renovation, which will not only improve the facilities aesthetically but will also remove a potential health hazard: asbestos.
The Cape Girardeau armory, which is home to several National Guard units, was built in 1953. At the time, asbestos materials were extremely common in building products, due to its strength and resistance to fire and acid. Yet asbestos can become carcinogenic if its fibers are disturbed and become airborne.
The Age, an Australian news agency, disclosed that thousands of defense personnel had likely been exposed to asbestos because the Navy was still illegally using asbestos parts on ships and bases.
Morristown, Tennessee—The improper handling of asbestos by a salvage company at the bankrupt Liberty Fibers rayon plant in Morristown has become so hazardous to workers and public health that the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has ordered the company to stop operations immediately. The salvager is required to submit a work plan for cleanup of the asbestos that is scattered around the property and buried in waste piles.
Jamestown, NY—The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) recently cited a Jamestown sheet metal and steel fabrication company for 18 violations of asbestos violations.
Blackstone Business Enterprises, Inc., is alleged to have willfully violated OSHA standards by failing to protect contract employees against hazards of asbestos.
ATLANTA, GA—In a move heralded by environmental activists and mesothelioma patients alike, the federal Environmental Protection Agency has announced that it will vouchsafe the implementation of Clean Air Act Asbestos regulations in Georgia. The state had previously discontinued asbestos abatement programs, including inspections, complaint follow-up and enforcement, because of budget problems.
MISSOULA, Montana—Jurors in the W.R. Grace environmental trial heard evidence Thursday that a 1977 chest X-ray study of a group of Libby miners showed a high incidence of asbestos-related disease.
Dr. Daniel Teitelbaum, a toxicologist, oversaw the study commissioned by Grace. The Missoulian newspaper reported his testimony on its Web site.
LOS ANGELES—In a statement released earlier this week, Attorney General Eric Holder announced that federal authorities would no longer conduct raids on dispensaries of medical marijuana. This constitutes a shift from previous Justice Department policy, which maintained zero tolerance for marijuana, despite state laws that allowed its sale and use for medical purposes.
ROCHESTER, NY—Earlier this month, while on a visit to Rochester, New York Governor David A. Paterson announced that the state would make an estimated $55 million in funding available for the removal of asbestos at Midtown Plaza.
SPOTSWOOD, NJ—A New Jersey appeals court has reaffirmed a decision by a New Brunswick judge denying two corporations access to the body of Harold St. John for autopsy purposes.
St. John died in February, at the age of 67, from the asbestos-related cancer known as mesothelioma.
Barron & Budd announced that lawsuits brought by the families of six Pennsylvania men, who died of malignant mesothelioma, were awarded last week. The deceased men—a carpenter, pipe fitter, electrician, maintenance worker, Navy sailor, and weekend home remodeler—all had been exposed to asbestos through their occupations.
Libby, Montana—On Monday, March 16th, a key medical witness in the federal trial of W.R. Grace was excused from the stand. Dr. Aubrey Miller had testified over the course of three and a half days, during which time defense lawyers tried to cast doubts upon his credibility.
Suffering from asbestosis, Richard Pullman sought to warn the public about his employer who he alleges knew about the presence of the asbestos 16 years before workers were told about it. However, he claims to have been penalized by his employer for being a whistleblower. Pullman’s employer is the Smithsonian Institution, and the building in question is the popular National Air and Space Museum.
BAGUIO, Philippines–On Saturday, officials of Mankayan in Benguet province notified the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) and urged them to come down on the country’s biggest gold producer due to their throwing of hazardous substances into the town’s dump.
Planet Toys filed for Chapter 7 bankruptcy in New York after facing a class action lawsuit that would have had the company paying millions. The lawsuit, not filed by the time the company put in their bankruptcy petition, was based on the possibility of asbestos in the company’s “CSI” fingerprint kit.
Workers at the Ash Grove Cement Company in Helena, Montana, were sent home on Monday, March 16, 2009, after tremolite was found in the quarry where they were working. Samples of the tremolite were taken immediately for testing to determine if the tremolite was a form of asbestos.
NEW YORK—Columbia University is enrolling participants in a Phase II clinical trial in order to determine the effectiveness of a chemotherapy drug treatment program whose aim is to treat patients with malignant pleural or peritoneal mesothelioma.
In HUNTINGTON, WV, Friday, March 20, 2009, the students of Beverly Hills Middle School had an unexpected holiday after asbestos was discovered at their school the day before.
The Beaver Dam, Wisconsin, City Council was scheduled to vote on a large remodeling plan for its downtown area on March 16, 2009. Among the planned projects in the renovation is the abatement of asbestos in nine downtown buildings that were set to be demolished.
In GREAT CLIFTON, UK, asbestos dumping near a primary school angered local residents.
One finding of asbestos was locked in concrete and removed from a hedgerow 60 feet from the Derwent Vale Primary School. A second discovery of roof sheeting was found in a field 500 meters from the school.
A complaint against C and O Enterprises and its president, George Clements, was filed by the Attorney General Martha Coakley in Suffolk Superior Court on March 20, 2009, for neglecting to pay $108,000 in fines from the Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection (MassDEP).
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