Source: Alfacell Corporation

Dr. Michele Carbone, one of the world's leading mesothelioma researchers, has discovered that Alfacell Corporation's ONCONASE has great potential as a chemopreventative agent for mesothelioma. ONCONASE triggers apoptosis, the natural death of cells, in cancer cells and has been shown to block the pathway that causes asbestos carcinogenesis. Dr. Carbone's initial research has shown that ONCONASE may be used as a chemopreventative agent for people who are at-risk for developing mesothelioma or it could be used to reduce the doses of cytotoxic agents in those who've already developed the disease. Dr. Carbone hopes to start clinical trials on this topic soon.

"The potential of ONCONASE as an early first-line preventative treatment for mesothelioma is an exciting development that we plan to investigate through clinical trials," said Dr. Carbone. "With approximately more than 25 million asbestos exposure cases reported worldwide, we believe that ONCONASE might play a greater role in the treatment protocols for a much larger population than was originally envisioned for this dismal disease."

Labels: asbestos, mesothelioma

Source: InsuranceNewsNet

The Asbestos Disease Awareness Organization (ADAO) has released its latest report on the patient profile of asbestos victims. Contrary to what many people's view are on asbestos exposure, ADAO reported that the average victim is aged 50, which is younger than what has been previously been reported, is a woman, also contrary to the expectation of men as the primary victim class, and, perhaps most disconcerting, that nearly forty percent had exposure that was environmentally-based and not work-related. Dr. Robert Taub, Milstein Professor of Clinical Medicine and Director of the Columbia University Mesothelioma Center in New York City, reported that the average age of peritoneal mesothelioma patients at his clinic is 51.7 and that less than fifty percent had immediately recognizable asbestos exposure.

These results from ADAO show that the patient profile for asbestos-related disease is changing. They note that in 1986 the Center for Disease Control (CDC) reported that the median age was nearly 70 and another study estimated that eighty percent of patients were men. According to ADAO, studies estimate that as many as 100,000 victims in the United States alone will die of an asbestos-related disease over the next ten years.

Labels: asbestos, mesothelioma

Source: National Underwriter

In a ruling made public on Wednesday, May 9th, 2007, The New York Supreme Court held that aggregate limits in insurance policies do not apply to all possible claims arising during business operations. The ruling, which upheld the claims against CNA of thousands of individuals seeking coverage for asbestos-related personal injuries, is considered to have broken legal ground by establishing that operational claims are not subject to the aggregate limits clauses regarding a products hazard. August J. Matteis Jr., lead trial counsel for the claimants, argued that "their claims were not barred by the aggregate limits in the policies because claims that arise out of exposure to asbestos during the installation process are considered 'operations' claims—therefore not subject to aggregate limits."

The ruling is considered a victory for policyholders as it expands the domain of coverage that insurers are responsible for fulfilling.

Labels: asbestos

Source: World Health Organization

The World Health Organization is calling on governments to enact meaningful reform to workplace safety laws and to increase the measures used to protect workers from work-related injury or death. At least 200,000 people die every year from work-caused cancers and millions more are regularly exposed to carcinogenic agents that can dramatically shorten their life expectancy. Mesothelioma, lung cancer and leukemia are just three examples of work-related cancers that can be prevented with the passage and enforcement of meaningful reform.

Specific WHO recommendations include:

• Stop the use of asbestos;
• Introduce benzene-free organic solvents and technologies that convert the carcinogenic chromium into a non-carcinogenic form;
• Ban tobacco use at the workplace; and
• Provide protective clothes for people working in the sun.

The majority of workplace-related deaths currently occur in the developed world, but developing nations represent a new horizon of workplace health epidemics. The WHO's policy recommendations are made to governments in both the developed and the developing world in order to protect workers everywhere.

Labels: asbestos, lung cancer, mesothelioma

Source: Syracuse.com

Aapex Environmental Services is contesting the recent fine by the Occupational Safety and Health Association (OSHA) of $57,000 for allegedly violating six occupational health standards relating to asbestos exposure. The alleged citations occurred during Aapex's cleanup of the former Agway building in DeWitt, New York. Aapex and the U.S. Labor Department, which OSHA is a member of, are now entering a litigation period. If they are unable to agree to a settlement, both parties will be able to present their cases to a judge in the Occupational Safety and Health Review Commission.

Labels: asbestos

Source: Billings Gazette

Libby, Montana is the location of what the EPA calls "the worst case of community-wide exposure to a toxic substance in U.S. history." One of Libby's major revenue sources was its vermiculite mine, but in 1990 it was discovered that the mine was contaminated with asbestos and that this contamination had exposed thousands of people to the many dangers of asbestos exposure, such as lung cancer and mesothelioma. There have now been over 192 deaths and 345 other cases of people made ill because of exposure to the asbestos-contaminated mine.

The primary responsibility for care and screening for these victims has been The Center for Asbestos Related Disease, a 2003 spin-off from the hospital in Libby. While the Center's main goal has been the care and screening of more than 1500 patients, the Center is also dedicated to researching new treatments and diagnostic techniques. The Center works in conjunction with other organizations, such as the Mesothelioma Applied Research Foundation, on a variety of research projects. One of its current projects is studying the actual asbestos-subtype found in Libby, as it differs in significant ways from the most common form of asbestos, chrysotile. Unlike chrysotile, whose fibers are serpentine-shaped and flexible, the type of asbestos found in Libby has hard, needlike fibers.

In 2001 the federal Agency for Toxic Substances Disease Registry completed a study which found that fully 19 percent of the population in and around Libby had physical signs of health-related abnormalities consistent with asbestos exposure.

Labels: asbestos, lung cancer, mesothelioma

Source: NY Post

John Kielbasa, a pipefitter with twenty-one years of experience in the Department of Education, alleges that even though he discovered loose asbestos in at least seven public schools and one DOE office, the Department won't remove the cancer-causing agent because of cost issues. When DOE spokeswoman Marge Feinberg insisted that the city's schools were safe, Mr. Keilbasa and his attorney, Peter Gleason, hired a lab to collect samples and conduct a site analysis of the areas Mr. Keilbasa identified as contaminated. According to Mr. Kielbasa, the lab confirmed the presence of asbestos at each location.

The site locations where the asbestos was allegedly found:

1. PS 102, 315 E. 113th St. in Manhattan
2. PS 72, 131 E. 104th St, in Manhattan
3. PS 18, 502 Morris Ave. in The Bronx
4. Manhattan Center HS, 116th Street and Pleasant Avenue in Manhattan
5. Park East HS, 230 E. 105th St. in Manhattan
6. Samuel Gompers HS, 455 Southern Blvd. in The Bronx
7. South Bronx HS, 701 St. Ann's Ave
8. The Division of School Facilities' headquarters, Vernon Boulevard in Queens

Labels: asbestos

Source: ScrippsNews

The Utah Department of Health has concluded that people who lived within two miles of two old vermiculite plants with heavy asbestos contamination in Salt Lake City have a fifty percent greater chance of developing lung cancer than people who live in other parts of the state. While the data didn't conclusively establish a causative relationship between the asbestos contamination and the lung cancer incidents, the high correlation rate has prompted the state to become more concerned about the potential health risks posed by these old plants. Two years ago the state, along with federal agencies, spent more than $7 million in a Superfund cleanup of the two plants.

Utah's Department of Environmental Quality, in partnership with the EPA, is now launching a search for people who have worked at the plant or lived in the surrounding neighborhoods.

The vermiculite plants received their stock from Libby, Montana, whose vermiculite mining industry was destroyed when large-scale asbestos contamination was discovered in its vermiculite ore mine in 1990. There have been more than 200 asbestos-related casualties from the mine itself, and many others have been sickened by the asbestos exposure. The EPA declared Libby, Montana to be the "worst-case of community-wide exposure to a toxic substance in U.S. History."
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Libby,_Montana)

Labels: asbestos, lung cancer, mesothelioma

Source: eMaxHealth

The Minnesota Department of Health (MDH) is embarking on two long-term studies of mining activities in the northeastern part of the state.

The first study will be a detailed account of the health of mine workers in the region. There have been over 50 diagnoses of mesothelioma among people who worked these mines between the 1930s and the 1980s. This new study follows one completed in 2003 that showed 17 cases of mesothelioma among mine workers. The 2003 study was the first to conclusively show the presence of mesothelioma among Minnesota miners. Since that time, an additional 35 cases of mesothelioma have occurred, prompting the State to begin this second, more comprehensive study. MDH plans to seek federal funds from the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health, as well as other sources. The study is expected to last three years.

The second study that MDH is pursuing involves documenting the health risks associated with airborne mineral fragments released during the mining of ore. The study has been commissioned to provide data for the development of regulatory controls regarding exposure limits for these airborne mineral fragments.

Labels: asbestos, mesothelioma

Source: PhillyBurbs.com

Pennsylvania State Rep. John T. Galloway has demanded that developer Stephen Ifshin of DLC Management Corp offer "immediate health examinations" and "pay all medical costs" to firefighters who performed a training exercise at Levittown Town Center, a 50-acre worksite owned by DLC and fined by the EPA for improper handling of asbestos, if the firefighters are found to have suffered from the exposure.

In 2002, members of various Bucks County fire companies took part in a training exercise where they had to cut through the Center's roof and fight a blaze inside of the building. The exercise took place after the EPA had found asbestos "strewn" over the entire site and had leveled a large fine against DLC and the subcontractor that worked the site. Even though the EPA had fined DLC, state, county and borough officials were never informed of the potential health risk and DLC let the scheduled exercise take place on their site without any warning.

Labels: asbestos

Source: TheHill.com

The Architect of the Capital (AOC), which is the organization responsible for the maintenance, operation, development, and preservation of the United States Capitol Complex, has announced that some of the Capital Power Plant tunnel workers who've been working in asbestos-contaminated tunnels below the Capital Complex, and are now showing signs of asbestos-related disease, will be reassigned to other duties.

The announcement comes in the wake of increasing congressional pressure on the AOC to transition this tunnel crew into less hazardous worksites. The AOC was made aware of the asbestos problems in some tunnels in 2000, but did not provide the requisite protective gear for the workers until 2006. Many of these workers are now exhibiting regular symptoms of asbestos-related diseases and members of Congress have become increasingly vocal in their criticism of how the AOC has handled the situation.

Labels: asbestos

Source: Insurance Journal

The federal Occupational Safety and Health Association (OSHA) has fined Aapex Environmental Services Inc. for $57,000 for allegedly violating six occupational health standards relating to asbestos exposure. The violations that allegedly took place during the contractor's work at the former Agway building in Dewitt, New York include:

1. Failure to conduct the required monitoring of employee exposure to asbestos, even though the company's records indicated the monitoring had taken places;
2. Failure to collect short term air sampling;
3. Failure to keep accurate exposure monitoring records;
4. Failure to notify employees of sampling results;
5. Failure to establish an asbestos containment system by trained employees;
6. Failure to prevent the leak of asbestos-contaminated water from a worksite.

Aapex has an upcoming meeting with OSHA to discuss the disciplinary actions.

These fines follow the recent admissions of a former Aapex supervisor regarding the improper disposal of asbestos fibers where fibers drained into pubic sewers and contaminated construction debris. The supervisor, Everette Blatche, has pled guilty to a felony conspiracy charge and will face sentencing in August.

Labels: asbestos

Source: The Citizen of Laconia

Town officials from Meredith, New Hampshire have fined an unidentified group of individuals after discarded asbestos was found in the town's transfer station. After the asbestos was discovered and then identified as such by the town's Code Enforcement Officer, it was traced back to the vehicle from where it was improperly disposed of. The owners of this vehicle have been charged with the costs of removing and disposing the sheet of asbestos. The vehicle itself has been impounded by the police.
New Hampshire law strictly regulates the handling, packaging and disposal of asbestos.

Labels: asbestos