Guilty: Asbestos Exposure at Fault

In a rare instance, a business that was responsible for asbestos removal pled guilty to exposing workers and neighbors to asbestos fibers. The company failed to inspect the area, failed to plan for contingencies, and failed to protect the area.

The company hired four temporary workers hired to remove asbestos insulation from steam pipes and then to cut the pipes for scrap metal. All four workers were exposed to asbestos.

Breathing asbestos is linked to development of mesothelioma, a cancer of the lining of the lung or abdomen and other serious respiratory diseases. The cancer shows up 20 to 40 years later and is difficult to diagnose.

According to state and federal laws removal of asbestos requires contractors to conduct asbestos surveys to identity the material and contain it to prevent the potential release of toxic asbestos dust.

Mesothelioma Awareness

Mesothelioma Awareness

Every year, mesothelioma claims the lives of some 2,500 in America or 90,000 worldwide. Mesothelioma is 100 percent preventable. The cause of mesothelioma is exposure to asbestos, a toxic substance used in insulation, sealant, and certain building materials.

Meso awareness will get a boost from the Today Show as the Meso Foundation will display massive ads in the windows of 10 Rockerfeller Building during the week of September 26.

Activists for the Meso Foundation have been hard at work trying to champion a National Mesothelioma Awareness Day.

The foundation continues to sponsor conferences, marathons, races and publicity events that benefit victims and their families, raise money for research, and increase public awareness of the disease.

If you or a family member has been diagnosed with mesothelioma, considered contacting Anapol Schwartz, attorneys-at-law in Pa., NJ, and WVa.

9/11 Victims Still Suffer from Toxic Dust Injuries

Here's a deeply moving essay from across the pond (UK) about 9/11. Devasting side effects of toxic dust are still negatively impacting thousands of victims who are fighting for compensation and their lives.

These victims include office workers, shopkeepers, students and local residents – but the worst-affected are the emergency service, recovery and volunteer aid workers who were exposed to the site at close quarters. These people went to help – and are paying with their lives.

The New York City Department of Health has already recorded 817 deaths of World Trade Center responders from illnesses generated by working on the site. But as well as the official figures, there are currently another 20,000 recorded sick by the World Trade Center Medical Monitoring Treatment and Environmental programs.

On 9/11 the dust from the pulverized towers was thick and far-reaching. The cancer causing dust contained chemicals including asbestos, lead, dioxin and deadly PVCs, mercury, plus emissions from more than 200,000 gallons of diesel fuel smoldering underneath the site.

In the urgency of rescuing survivors from the rubble, crucial safety procedures seem to have been overlooked and conflicting instructions given by the authorities. People were operating without the correct protective clothing. Rescue teams were provided with paper masks that became clogged.

People worked zealously to clean up. About 70 percent of emergency service workers have been diagnosed with serious respiratory problems as a result of their involvement with Ground Zero. And the real scandal is that post-disaster health care has been so badly neglected that there is barely any provision for them.

Asbestos Exposure and Historic New Jersey Library

Asbestos used to be a common building material. Unfortunately, now many crumbling New Jersey public buildings and older residences are full of the material, literally from floor to ceiling. Asbestos has been directly linked not only to mesothelioma cancer, but also to lung cancer, asbestosis, pulmonary problems, and autoimmune disorders.

A 1914 vintage East Orange Public Library remains closed after a state health department inspection found exposed asbestos throughout the building, which could put employees and patrons at risk for mesothelioma cancer. The library was required to hire a professional abatement contractor to safety remove the dangerous material, but months after the job was started, there is no indication when the building will reopen.

Because of its heavy industrial background, New Jersey has also been the site of many companies which traditionally made heavy use of asbestos, including ship yards, power plants, chemical plants and oil refiners. These industries all used asbestos for its superior heat and fire-resistant properties which translates into more past and present NJ workers may have a higher incidence of mesothelioma and other asbestos-related diseases.

Asbestos dust caused woman's cancer

Asbestos dust caused woman's cancer

You've heard of second hand smoke but now here's second hand asbestos dust.

A former Los Angeles woman, the wife of a Los Angeles Department of Water & Power employee, was awarded by a jury $8.8 million because she developed mesothelioma or asbestos cancer from inhaling asbestos dust when washing her husband's contaminated clothes when he worked at DWP.

The jury also levied $200 million in punitive damages against CertainTeed, the asbestos cement water pipes company.

A jury awarded a woman more than $200 million after it found that her rare form of mesothelioma cancer was caused by exposure to asbestos from washing her husband's contaminated work-clothes.

During the trial, the jury learned CertainTeed had knowledge that asbestos caused cancer in the early 1960s but the company continued to manufacture the asbestos pipes and did not place a cancer warning on them until 1985.

Sex, Asbestos, and Mesothelioma Cancer

Sex, Asbestos, and Mesothelioma Cancer

No, you cannot get mesothelioma cancer from sexual contact.

But in the case of the late Sex Pistols manager who died recently from a rare form of cancer known as mesothelioma, Malcolm McLaren allegedly died from asbestos exposure in his fashion shop known as SEX.

McLaren spent a lot of time in the shop and the ceiling was exposed to resemble a bomb shelter.

Friends of McLaren said they were very upset with doctors who failed to diagnose the mesothelioma cancer sooner. Doctors at first said the spots were benign and not to worry. Does this constitute medical malpractice or a failure to diagnose mesothelioma cancer?

A few months later McLaren's lungs filled with fluids and he was properly diagnosed with mesothelioma. He deteriorated quickly and died within weeks of the diagnosis.

Can mesothelioma vaccine save lives?

According to the American Journal of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine, the first vaccine for mesothelioma has been developed by Dutch scientists.

The vaccine uses tumor lysate-pulsed dendritic cells whichs uses the body’s immune system to manufacture mesothelioma specific antibodies.

Treatment is a series of three vaccinations administered intradermally and intravenously over a two week period after chemotherapy.

The results were 80 percent effective in the test group. The earlier a person received the treatment the greater their chances were to be free of mesothelioma. The only side effects were a skin rash and flu like symptoms that lasted a day or two.

Mesothelioma is a cancerous disease of the lungs that results from exposure to asbestos. The disease can remain dormant for as long as 50 years before becoming active. Survival times are a year to fifteen months with radiation treatment.

Alabama has one of the highest rates of mesothelioma and one of the greatest potentials for new cases of mesothelioma because of the number of plants that used asbestos or buildings that contained asbestos.