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Archive for March, 2010
Tuesday, March 23rd, 2010
The Kansas department of corrections is being investigated by the EPA in connection with an asbestos abatement project they oversaw at the Topeka prison several years ago in 2005. Asbestos abatement must be performed by specially licensed contractors according to state and federal laws, but workers and inmates who witnessed the 2005 abatement project claim that properly licensed professionals were not used, and that the working conditions were very hazardous. During the years after the 2005 project, follow up asbestos abatement projects were conducted for which there exists evidence that the proper contractors were used. The potential trouble for the Kansas department of corrections lies in the fact that they can’t produce such evidence for the 2005 project.
The reason that asbestos abatement is required by law to be performed by licensed professionals is because of the serious health hazard that the substance poses to workers or building inhabitants. Among other risks, exposure to asbestos fibers has been positively linked to the development of mesothelioma, an aggressive and terminal cancer. When an individual is exposed to asbestos fibers, the tiny, needle like particles pass through the respiratory or digestive tract and become lodged in a soft tissue known as the mesothelium. After years or even decades of lying dormant, the scarring caused in the mesothelium can develop into malignant tumors.
According to the workers and inmates who were at the Topeka prison during the 2005 abatement project, the amount of asbestos dust in the workplace was very far from a safe level. The workers claim that they were instructed to handle and dispose of asbestos contaminated debris with simple implements like shovels and brooms, and that they were not provided with sufficient safety equipment. The amount of asbestos dust in the workplace was described by some of those who were present as “horrendous”. Some workers remarked that their clothes were completely coated in dust and that the building’s furnace filter became clogged repeatedly. Additionally, the asbestos contaminated debris was allegedly disposed in regular collection dumpsters, which could mean that garbage collection personnel were also placed at risk.
EPA investigators conducted some research at the facility earlier this year to determine to what extent the allegations were true. They have since released their findings to federal attorneys. As of yet, no legal action has been taken against the Kansas department of corrections.
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Monday, March 22nd, 2010
Contractors working to redevelop a RAAF (Royal Australian Air Force) base in Edinburgh have expressed some anxiety concerning the working conditions of the project. They claim that the presence of high quantities of toxic substances including asbestos fibers could pose a potential hazard to their health. Union officials are said to be planning a meeting to discuss the potential hazards.
Australia successfully established a complete ban on asbestos in 1991, the exact same year that the United State’s own asbestos ban was overturned in a legal battle between an asbestos giant and the US Environmental Protection Agency. Asbestos bans in Australia and around the world were put into place as a result of more than half a century of collecting evidence of the material’s health hazards. The fight to ban asbestos in developed nations worldwide was an uphill battle due to the size and profitability of the asbestos industry.
Exposure to asbestos fibers has been linked with dangerous diseases since the early 1900’s, and more recently has been indicated as the almost exclusive cause of mesothelioma. Mesothelioma is a rare and incredibly aggressive cancer that claims the lives of more than three thousand Americans annually. Some estimates place the total number of mesothelioma deaths worldwide in the range of ninety thousand.
After entering into a person’s body via ingestion or inhalation due to a contaminated environment, asbestos fibers pass through the lung or intestinal walls where they become lodged in the mesothelium, a protective soft tissue which surrounds our vital organs. The microscopic, needle like fibers case a scarring reaction in the mesothelium, which after years or even decades of can lead to the development of malignant tumors. These tumors then grow and spread rapidly, often causing death in less than two years. Mesothelioma is incurable, and while some palliative treatments exist to improve the quality of life for patients, the prognosis is often quite dismal.
Asbestos contamination continues to be a problem today, especially in developing nations. Asbestos bans and strict regulations throughout North America, the European Union and other select areas has created a vacuum in the industry’s demand which developing nations have been quick to fill. Asbestos products continue to be exported to nations such as India, Mexico and China at alarming rates, and public knowledge of their danger in these countries and implementation of safe handling procedures remain dangerously scarce.
Jason Wilder, the Electrical, Communications and Plumbing Union organiser for the various contractors in the Edinburgh project, voiced his concern regarding the efficacy of the safe handling procedures in place. “The workforce is not confident in those procedures,” he said,”there seems to be quite a significant amount of asbestos in that area built up over the years.”
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Monday, March 15th, 2010
After struggling with mesothelioma for some time, Merlin Olsen passed away on Thursday, March 11. Olsen was a well known man, having been a football Hall of Famer with the Los Angeles Rams, an icon for community and family values, and an accomplished TV personality and sports broadcaster. He acted in two TV series, “Father Murphy” and “Little House on the Prairie”, and co-hosted the Children’s Miracle Network Telethons. Olsen was just 69 years old when he passed, and is survived by his wife and three children.
Mesothelioma is a rare, aggressive and terminal form of cancer that has been linked with exposure to asbestos fibers. The tragic disease takes some three thousand American lives each year, and its diagnoses continue to rise both in the USA and around the world. Individuals that develop mesothelioma are often exposed to asbestos fibers or products either at home or in the work place. The fibers can enter the body through inhalation or ingestion, and due to their microscopic size and peculiar needle like shape, they pass easily through the bodies defenses against foreign debris. After entering the body, asbestos fibers pass through the walls of the lung or intestines and become entangled in the mesothelium, a soft tissue that encases our vital organs. Once lodged in the mesothelium the fibers cause severe scarring which can develop over time into malignant tumors. The prognosis for mesothelioma is very grim; patients often die within eighteen months of diagnosis.
Dick Enberg, a fellow sports broadcaster and friend of Merlin Olsen’s said this about his death:
“God doesn’t create perfect men, but he came mighty close when he brought us Merlin Olsen… How privileged I was to call his games as an All Pro, Hall of Famer-to-be Los Angeles Ram, and then to work at his side in the broadcast booth for 12 years. He was meticulous and thorough in his preparation, lessons he had learned as an all A student in high school and college. He was perhaps the brightest to ever play his position in the NFL. He was just as generous as a broadcaster as he was tough as a defensive tackle. I was privileged to be his TV colleague and his friend. I seriously doubt that I shall ever meet another that will measure up to his complete character. He was every part of a gentle giant.”
The outlaw of asbestos manufacturing throughout the majority of the developed world as well as the enforcement of regulations requiring its safe handling are greatly reducing asbestos exposure throughout the US. Because of the disease’s several decade latency period, that is, the time it takes form initial exposure to tumor development, diagnoses are unlikely to decline for several more years.
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Sunday, March 14th, 2010
In the aftermath of the catastrophe that took place on September 11, 2001, thousands of workers struggled to locate and save trapped victims, demolish and clear sites of razed buildings, and clean up the enormous amount of debris from the city. The firefighters, police, rescue workers, volunteers and others that gave their time and energy for the good of the city and the nation never suspected that their long term health would be jeopardized by their to help.
Dangerous substances, chemicals and debris around “Ground Zero” caused countless damages to these men and women and continue to wreak havoc years after the perceived risk. Workers suffering have suffered from a variety of health issues ranging from psychological trauma through respiratory diseases and even including mesothelioma, an aggressive cancer caused by asbestos exposure. These people have been seeking damages from the city of New York for some time, claiming that the safety measure in place to protect them from the dangerous substances present in the debris were inadequate.
A New York judge recently stated that he may soon be approving a settlement of more than $650 million for the workers that cleared the debris and labored in the ruins of the World Trade Center after the incidents of September 11, 2001. The settlement is in response to a lawsuit that was brought against the city of New York by the aforementioned individuals affected by the insufficient enforcement of safe handling procedures during the rescue and cleanup work.
Next week the U.S. District Judge Alvin Hellerstein will hear the testimony of individuals among the first to respond to the collapse of the World Trade Center buildings. Avelino Montalva, an injured medical response worker, will be one of those giving their testimony at the hearing.
“Six months after, I was diagnosed with asthma, PTSD,” says Avelino, “throughout the years upper respiratory and mesothelioma. Everyday I’m suffering. I am on 17 medications. I’m on disability.”
Mesothelioma is an aggressive and terminal cancer caused by exposure to asbestos fibers. The dangerous fibers are often found in various components of buildings constructed during the twentieth century. When such buildings collapse or are demolished, the asbestos fibers can become airborne which can result in inhalation and subsequent contamination. Proper use of safety equipment such as dust masks and respirators can greatly reduce the risk of contamination.
Payments made to individuals if the settlement is reached will vary from thousands to more than one million dollars, according to sources.
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Monday, March 1st, 2010
Two couples have filed lawsuits against more than 150 companies in West Virginia’s Kanawha Circuit court for a number of causes relating to negligent asbestos exposure. Robert L. Wood of Wheeling, West Virginia, and John D. Kontra Sr. of Glendale, Arizona and their respective wives filed the lawsuits separately in the belief that their exposure to asbestos fibers in their workplaces contributed to their current health. Both men are cancer patients.
Together, the lawsuits implicate a wide range of companies including such well known enterprises as General Electric Company, Ford Motor Company, 3M Company, and Metropolitan Life Insurance Company. Local news sources claim that the men and their wives are suing the companies for “negligence, contaminated buildings, breach of expressed/implied warranty, strict liability, intentional tort, conspiracy, misrepresentations and post-sale duty to warn”.
Asbestos was used eagerly throughout much of the twentieth century as a building material and insulator. Due to the substance’s abundance, incredible heat resistance and non-conductive property it was incorporated into a wide variety of fabrication and manufacturing industries as early as the first World War. While medical studies began to show asbestos’s potential hazards as early as the 1930’s, restrictions on the use of the substance in the workplace did not begin in earnest until more than thirty years later. Today, as mesothelioma and other asbestos related diseases are diagnosed more and more frequently, federal and state laws restricting the mineral’s use and promoting its safe handling are becoming more commonplace.
Exposure to asbestos fibers has been linked with the development of various types of diseases, and most specifically with mesothelioma. Microscopic asbestos fibers are too small for the human body to properly dispose of through normal mechanisms. When the fibers are inhaled or ingested they can pass easily through the lung or intestinal walls and become lodged in the mesothelium, a soft tissue that lines many of our body’s vital organs. The fibers cause a scarring reaction in the mesothelium which, over time, can develop into malignant tumors. The length of time between asbestos exposure and development of mesothelioma can vary greatly, but often takes several decades. This latency period means that many employees who were negligently exposed to asbestos fibers in the middle and late twentieth century are just now suffering the consequences.
Both Mr. Kontra and Mr. Wood admit to a history of smoking, a practice which is known to contribute to many types of cancer and specifically to aggravate and advance mesothelioma.
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