Mesothelioma Archive
A curious liking for asbestos
FOR more than a decade, workers in hazmat suits have been boring into the walls and ceilings of Canada?s parliament buildings to remove tonnes of asbestos insulation. This tedious and expensive work is to protect the health of lawmakers and their staff: even limited exposure to asbestos can cause lung cancer or mesothelioma, a deadlier cancer. These risks have prompted most rich countries, and many poor ones, to ban all forms of asbestos.
But they have not stopped Canada from exporting large quantities of the mineral to developing countries, especially in Asia, nor discouraged the government from paying to promote its use abroad. This is ?corporate welfare for corporate serial killers?, says Pat Martin, a former asbestos miner who is one of the few members of parliament to denounce the hypocrisy. ...
Injected into mice, nanotubes triggered the kind of cellular reaction that typically leads to the fatal cancer mesothelioma, the study, published online in the journal Nature, found. The scientists found that only longer strands of nanofibers have that effect and further research on the impact of inhaling nanotubes is called for, the scientists said.
The risk of inhaling nanotubes is so great that the government needs to aggressively do follow-up tests and issue guidance for factory workers, the scientists said. Indeed, nanotubes are likely a latter-day version of asbestos -- a mineral with long, thin fibrous crystals that was widely used in industry and which causes mesothelioma. The cost of asbestos litigation is currently estimated at $250 billion.
'Assume the Worst'
"The problem of asbestos was caused when it was released into the air, if it was handled inappropriately or incorrectly," said Andrew Maynard, chief science adviser to the Project on Emerging Nanotechnologies and one of the study's authors. "Carbon nanotubes could do the same."
In light of this study, "we should assume the worst," Maynard said, until further research provides grounds to "relax that point of view."
The good news is that we have a solid understanding of the dangers relatively early in the industrialization of nanotubes, said study contributor Anthony Seaton of the Institute of Occupational Medicine in Edinburgh, Scotland. "In a sense, we are forewarned and forearmed now with respect to nanotubes," he said. "We know that some of them probably have the potential to cause mesothelioma. So those sorts of materials need to be handled very carefully."
While scientists are warning that nanotube workers should...
Read the full story at http://www.prweb.com/releases/Mesothelioma/lawyers/prweb774704.htm
Alfacell Corporation (Nasdaq: ACEL) announced that in vitro and in vivo data presented at the 5th Cancer Drug Research & Development conference show the genes affected and biological pathways impacted by ONCONASE stimulated intracellular events as revealed by expression profiling of human malignant mesothelioma cell lines.
"Acne" is the most popular search query on search engine FyberSearch in 2007. This is followed by "mp3," "airfare," "cellphones," and "hunting." Also included in its list of 23 most searched words is "mesothelioma," a lung tumor caused by exposure to asbestos.
Alfacell Corporation has entered into a distribution agreement with BL&H for the commercialization of Onconase in South Korea, Taiwan and Hong Kong. Onconase is currently being evaluated as a treatment for unresectable malignant mesothelioma in a confirmatory Phase IIIb clinical trial.
ACandS Inc. is an insulation contractor that voluntarily entered Chapter 11 in September 2002. The company is a unit of Lancaster, Pa.-based Irex Corp. At the time it filed for Chapter 11, ACandS had already settled 247,000 asbestos claims, but had 300,000 left to deal with. The company now is in the final stage of its reorganizing.
The reorganization plan calls for $500 million in insurance settlements to resolve the asbestos liabilities. ACandS says no one has objected to the plan. The company expects a smooth end to a long-running bankruptcy case. That clears the way for U.S. Bankruptcy Judge Judith Fitzgerald to authorize ACandS to send the plan to its creditors for a vote. If the Chapter 11 plan is confirmed, ACandS's asbestos liabilities would be placed in a trust funded largely by a unit of Travelers Cos.
ACandS's plan calls for an estimated 6 percent recovery for people with asbestos-related injuries, including mesothelioma and lung cancer, according to court documents. That percentage reflects a deal made with Travelers Casualty that ended decades of litigation over the insurer's obligations to cover asbestos claims against ACandS. The money Travelers will have set aside, $449 million, is expected to earn another $10 million in interest by the time ACandS's Chapter 11 plan is confirmed. Additionally, ACandS stands to collect about $44 million under a settlement with a unit of ACE Ltd., if its Chapter 11 plan is confirmed. Most of the money from Travelers, ACE and other sources will go to a trust to be set up under the Chapter 11 plan to pay claims.
Jack K Clapper
Clapper, Patti, Schweizer & Mason
415-332-4262
800-440-4262
jkc@clapperlaw.com
THE Federal Government subsidy of the mesothelioma drug Alimta has paved the way for a national clinical trial of follow-up treatment using the controversial drug Thalidomide.
Federal-Mogul Corp. has 45,000 workers worldwide and 1,300 employees in Michigan. It makes a range of auto parts including pistons, windshield wipers and bearings for sale to automakers and in stores. Federal-Mogul emerges from Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection on December 27th. This will end a six-year reorganization of the auto-parts maker. The company is expected to exit bankruptcy under the control of Carl Icahn. Icahn will own a quarter of Federal-Mogul when the company exits. Icahn also will have options to buy a total of 76% of the company's stock.
Federal-Mogul filed for bankruptcy Oct. 1, 2001, due to mounting asbestos litigation. The lawsuits stemmed from businesses that had used asbestos to make items such as gaskets and brakes that Federal-Mogul acquired. Six years later, the process has allowed Federal-Mogul to shift asbestos liabilities into a trust responsible for paying current and future plaintiffs. That trust will hold a little more than half of Federal-Mogul's stock.
Claims to the trust will be made by victims of asbestos-related diseases, such as mesothelioma and lung cancer. Asbestos lawyers anticipate that the trust will process the claims efficiently in the future.
Jack K Clapper
Clapper, Patti, Schweizer & Mason
415-332-4262
800-440-4262
jkc@clapperlaw.com
Recent tests have shown that a toy fingerprinting kit contains asbestos. Planet Toys is the manufacturer of the kit. Planet Toys has asked stores to stop selling its CSI Fingerprint Examination Kit. The company is planning to investigate the health risk posed by the kit. The U.S. government has not yet decided whether to issue a recall of the asbestos-containing kit.
Asbestos lawyers contend that exposure to even a small amount of asbestos increase the risk of developing serious diseases, including mesothelioma and lung cancer. Mesothelioma is a terminal cancer of the lining of the lungs caused by breathing in asbestos fibers.
Jack K Clapper
Clapper, Patti, Schweizer & Mason
415-332-4262
800-440-4262
jkc@clapperlaw.com
Asbestos fibers, if inhaled, can lead to serious lung illnesses such as lung cancer and mesothelioma. Medical experts believe it takes 20 years or more before symptoms of asbestos-related diseases begin to appear.
It was recently discovered that the heating ducts in a Highlands Elementary School classroom were wrapped in asbestos even though a federally required inspection in 2005 gave the school a clean bill of health. On Oct. 5, a worker removed a piece of pipe insulation and the district had it tested by the HB&T Environmental firm. District officials received a report saying that the pipe covering contained asbestos. The affected room has been closed.
Jack K Clapper
Clapper, Patti, Schweizer & Mason
415-332-4262
800-440-4262
jkc@clapperlaw.com
Federal-Mogul Corp. makes a range of products including pistons, windshield wipers and Champion spark plugs. The company filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection on Oct. 1, 2001. The Southfield Michigan based auto supplier has been in bankruptcy more than six years. It has settled hundreds of thousands of asbestos lawsuits stemming from asbestos-containing products manufactured by companies that Federal-Mogul had acquired. The lawsuits were brought on behalf of people with asbestos diseases, including mesothelioma and lung cancer, which were caused by exposure to asbestos.
Federal-Mogul said Tuesday that the company expects to emerge from bankruptcy on Dec. 27. It plans to allocate 50.1% of the stock in the reorganized company to pay asbestos claims. Financier Carl Icahn is expected to then buy 43% of Federal-Mogul from the asbestos trust, supplying the trust with cash to distribute and making Icahn the controlling shareholder.
Jack K Clapper
Clapper, Patti, Schweizer & Mason
415-332-4262
800-440-4262
jkc@clapperlaw.com
Studies confirm that breathing asbestos fibers is linked to increased risks of lung cancer, and mesothelioma - a cancer of the lining of the chest and abdominal cavity. The risk of lung cancer and mesothelioma increases with the number of fibers inhaled. The Environmental Protection Agency and the Consumer Product Safety Commission have banned several asbestos products and manufacturers have voluntarily limited asbestos use.
Recently, asbestos has been found to be present in many toys and consumer products. Among the asbestos contaminated toys is the CSI Fingerprint Examination Kit. This product is of great concern to public health experts because the fingerprint kit includes fine powders which make them more likely to be inhaled
Health experts feel any asbestos is potentially hazardous so that all asbestos, at any level, should be banned. A spokesperson for the U.S. Public Health Service found the test results inexcusable since children have more time to exhibit the health effects from exposure to the asbestos fibers.
Jack K Clapper
Clapper, Patti, Schweizer & Mason
415-332-4262
800-440-4262
jkc@clapperlaw.com
Ten workers were allowed to return to their office in the Shasta County Courthouse two days after a warning of possible asbestos contamination in two offices. The employees had been ordered out after a construction worker renovating the offices suspected there was asbestos. An air quality sample was taken and the results came back showing no asbestos was present.
Inhaling asbestos has been found to cause a type of lung cancer called mesothelioma. In 1989, The Environmental Protection Agency banned all new uses of asbestos. Before being banned, asbestos was used in many forms for manufacturing.
The courthouse was built in the 1950s, but renovations have gotten rid of most of the asbestos. Still, this week's asbestos scare wasn't the first time parts of the courthouse have been closed because of possible exposure. In January, the criminal clerk's office was closed after asbestos was discovered.
Jack K Clapper
Clapper, Patti, Schweizer & Mason
415-332-4262
800-440-4262
W. R. Grace & Co. is a global supplier of products to refineries, catalysts for the manufacture of plastics, specialty materials for industrial applications, chemicals, additives and building materials for commercial and residential construction, and sealants for food and beverage packaging. Grace currently has annual sales of almost $3 billion, 6,500 employees and operates in ore than 40 countries.
Grace and its subsidiaries made asbestos containing products for many decades. Because users of these products developed disease as a result of breathing in the asbestos fibers, many lawsuits were filed against Grace. In order to delay paying settlements to asbestos lawyers representing the victims, Grace filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy.
Grace has disclosed that a joint proposed reorganization plan was filed on November 5, 2007, by the Official Committee of Asbestos Personal Injury Claimants and the representative of Future Personal Injury Claimants. Grace, the Official Committee of General Unsecured Creditors and the Official Committee of Equity Holders had already filed a proposed Plan of Reorganization in January 2005. Therefore, the bankruptcy court will now be required to consider the two competing plans of reorganization.
Jack K Clapper
Clapper, Patti, Schweizer & Mason
415-332-4262
800-440-4262
Asbestos is one of the most widely recognized carcinogens and its use has been banned in 40 nations. Canada, however, has not banned the mining and exportation of asbestos. Two mining operations in Quebec continue to extract a large volume of asbestos and export it to developing countries. Asbestos is now rarely used in Canada. Yet the government promotes shipping asbestos to countries that do not enforce the measures necessary to ensure its safe usage.
There are estimates that 20,000 people die each year from asbestos-related diseases. Asbestos causes cancer, including pleural and peritoneal mesothelioma, which are almost always fatal. Even with these statistics, the Quebec and Canadian federal governments continue to actively promote asbestos as a viable import to developing states.
Defenders of the state-sponsored industry cite its $93-million dollar revenue as one reason to uphold its production. This argument makes the government look like it has one thing in mind—money. The government defends the sale of asbestos to developing countries on the basis that asbestos is harmless as long as it is used it cautiously . It’s unrealistic to assume that these countries, such as India, have the infrastructure necessary to ensure its effects are harmless.
Jack K Clapper
Clapper, Patti, Schweizer & Mason
415-332-4262
800-440-4262
W.R. Grace & Co. is a specialty chemicals manufacturer. Many of its products contained asbestos. Grace filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection on April 2, 2001, in the face of mounting asbestos-related claims. Asbestos lawyers had filed many claims on behalf of their clients for diseases such as mesothelioma and lung cancer. Grace must set up a fund to pay the claims in order to emerge from bankruptcy protection.
Grace filed a reorganization plan in January 2005 along with the Official Committee of General Unsecured Creditors and the Official Committee of Equity Holders as co-proponents. That plan caps asbestos liabilities at $1.6 billion, to be paid for through a trust. That plan was opposed by several parties. As a result, in July of 2007 Judge Judith K. Fitzgerald, the U.S. bankruptcy judge presiding over the case ended Grace's exclusive control over its reorganization. The decision allows creditors to file competing plans.
Now, committees representing current and future asbestos-related claimants have proposed a reorganization plan that estimates Grace’s asbestos liability to be "at least" $4 billion. The Official Committee of Asbestos Personal Injury Claimants and the Future Personal Injury Claimants filed a joint plan in the U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Wilmington, Del. This plan proposes that the company set aside cash and equity to settle claims of at least $4 billion.
The two sides have yet to agree how big a fund needs to be to cover Grace’s liabilities. An expert hired by the creditors earlier this year estimated Grace's liability to be between $4.7 billion and $6.2 billion. An expert hired by the Grace estimated liabilities at between $385 million and $1.3 billion. Ultimately, the court - not Grace - will decide which reorganization plan to implement.
Jack K Clapper
Clapper, Patti, Schweizer & Mason
415-332-4262
800-440-4262
W.R. Grace & Co. is a specialty chemicals manufacturer. Many of its products contained asbestos. Grace filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection on April 2, 2001, in the face of mounting asbestos-related claims. Asbestos lawyers had filed many claims on behalf of their clients for diseases such as mesothelioma and lung cancer. Grace must set up a fund to pay the claims in order to emerge from bankruptcy protection.
Grace filed a reorganization plan in January 2005 along with the Official Committee of General Unsecured Creditors and the Official Committee of Equity Holders as co-proponents. That plan caps asbestos liabilities at $1.6 billion, to be paid for through a trust. That plan was opposed by several parties. As a result, in July of 2007 Judge Judith K. Fitzgerald, the U.S. bankruptcy judge presiding over the case ended Grace's exclusive control over its reorganization. The decision allows creditors to file competing plans.
Now, committees representing current and future asbestos-related claimants have proposed a reorganization plan that estimates Grace’s asbestos liability to be "at least" $4 billion. The Official Committee of Asbestos Personal Injury Claimants and the Future Personal Injury Claimants filed a joint plan in the U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Wilmington, Del. This plan proposes that the company set aside cash and equity to settle claims of at least $4 billion.
The two sides have yet to agree how big a fund needs to be to cover Grace’s liabilities. An expert hired by the creditors earlier this year estimated Grace's liability to be between $4.7 billion and $6.2 billion. An expert hired by the Grace estimated liabilities at between $385 million and $1.3 billion. Ultimately, the court - not Grace - will decide which reorganization plan to implement.
Jack K Clapper
Clapper, Patti, Schweizer & Mason
415-332-4262
800-440-4262
Federal-Mogul Corp. has reached agreements to resolve objections to its Chapter 11 reorganization plan. The auto-parts maker has been in Chapter 11 for several years. It sought relief in bankruptcy from thousand of lawsuits filed by asbestos lawyers on behalf of their clients suffering from various asbestos-related diseases, including mesothelioma and lung cancer. Federal-Mogul could emerge from bankruptcy by year's end.
Federal-Mogul’s insurers were the only remaining holdouts on its reorganization plan. On Monday papers are expected to be filed in which the insurers agree to drop their objections to all issues. The issues include whether the company is entitled to assign rights under its insurance policies to a trust for asbestos-related illnesses, such as mesothelioma, under the reorganization plan. Federal-Mogul's plan has the support of asbestos claimants and banks and bondholders. The broad outlines of the plan were hammered out years ago in negotiations between investor Carl Icahn, a major debt holder, and asbestos-injury lawyers. Icahn intends to acquire half of the reorganized Federal-Mogul that will be owned by the asbestos claimants under the plan.
However, two judges must sign off on Federal-Mogul's Chapter 11 proposal before the end of the year, if the company is to meet the deadline on its exit financing. The possibility of appeals could delay confirmation, unless objections are withdrawn before the judge signs off.
Jack K Clapper
Clapper, Patti, Schweizer & Mason
415-332-4262
800-440-4262
jkc@clapperlaw.com
Quigley Company for many years made asbestos-containing products. Pfizer bought Quigley in 1968. People exposed to the asbestos in Quigley’s products developed asbestos related diseases, including mesothelioma and lung cancer. Lawyers representing clients with mesothelioma and lung cancer began filing claims against Quigley and Pfizer in the 1980s.
In 1992 Quigley sold its assets and began concentrating on resolving its asbestos liabilities. Then in September of 2004 Quigley sought Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection. Shortly before Quigley sought Chapter 11 protection, Pfizer agreed to pay those claimants who agreed to settle, who totaled more than 80 percent of the personal-injury claimants, a total of $430 million. Pfizer paid half of that settlement in 2005 and agreed to pay the rest when Quigley's plan is confirmed.
Judge Stuart M. Bernstein of the U.S. Bankruptcy Court recently ruled that Quigley's current plan to repay creditors and compensate asbestos claimants can go forward to a vote. An earlier version of Quigley's plan failed when a judge ruled that Pfizer's pre-bankruptcy arrangements with asbestos claimants unfairly tainted the balloting. Under the new plan, Pfizer agreed to kick in an extra $100 million - in addition to the $550 million it had already set aside - to fund the payments to asbestos victims.
A group of asbestos personal-injury claimants who had opposed the current plan called it an attempt to avoid responding to "countless dying cancer victims." The committee argued that the proposed plan treats creditors who settled with Quigley and Pfizer before the bankruptcy filing more favorably. The group argued that Quigley's plan lumps both settling and non-settling asbestos claimants into the same class, even though the settling claimants will get money from both Pfizer and the Quigley trust.
Bernstein agreed that the plan raises questions about the treatment of asbestos creditors, but said that its disclosure statement does provide creditors with enough information to make informed decisions. Bernstein added that Quigley's classifying the settling and non-settling asbestos claimants together doesn't mean the plan is unconfirmable. "The fact that some members of the class may also look to third parties for payment, while others in the class do not have the same right, does not mandate separate classification," he said. Also, the non-settling creditors can still pursue claims against Pfizer for damage inflicted by Pfizer’s own asbestos products, while those who settled with the drug maker are barred from pursuing any claims against Pfizer in the future, according to the judge. Those asbestos claimants who settled with Pfizer prior to Quigley filing for Chapter 11 "assumed a risk" the non-settling claimants avoided. The settling claimants "surrendered their rights to pursue any claims against Pfizer."
Bernstein's ruling means Quigley can send the plan to creditors for a vote.
Jack K Clapper
Clapper, Patti, Schweizer & Mason
415-332-4262
800-440-4262
jkc@clapperlaw.com
While clearing a back up in the sewer lines, clean-up crews discovered asbestos in the city’s fire offices on October 12th. As a result, the fire offices have been closed. The city is accepting bids on asbestos removal.
Because asbestos causes serious diseases, including mesothlioma and lung cancer, it must be removed from the building so that the occupants will not be exposed to it. Even a small amount of asbestos is sufficient to cause mesothelioma, according to asbestos attorneys representing victims of mesothelioma. Asbestos removal crews must wear protective clothing and respirators while doing their work.
Jack K Clapper
Clapper, Patti, Schweizer & Mason
415-332-4262
800-440-4262
jkc@clapperlaw.com
Thorpe Insulation Co. is a California based insulation supplier. The insulation contained asbestos for many years. Asbestos causes serious diseases, including mesothelioma and lung cancer. Asbestos lawyers have sued Thorpe on behalf of clients who developed asbestos related diseases.
Yesterday Thorpe filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Central District of California. Thorpe estimated that it has more than $100 million in assets.
Jack K Clapper
Clapper, Patti, Schweizer & Mason
415-332-4262
800-440-4262
jkc@clapperlaw.com
Federal-Mogul Corp. is an auto parts maker. Many of the parts contained asbestos. Asbestos lawyers filed thousands of cases against Federal- Mogul alleging that the asbestos had caused mesothelioma and lung cancer. The company filed for Chapter 11 protection, and has been in Chapter 11 for more than six years.
Federal-Mogul wants to end its stay in bankruptcy by Dec. 31 to preserve favorable pricing on $3.5 billion worth of exit financing. However, the reorganization plan could not be finalized because of numerous objections that had been filed by various entities. Most of these objections had been resolved. PepsiAmericas was the only entity still objecting to part “B” of Federal-Mogul's Chapter 11 plan. PepsiAmericas recently withdrew its objection.
U.S. Bankruptcy Judge Judith Fitzgerald said she is likely to recommend that the "B" version of Federal-Mogul's Chapter 11 plan be confirmed. Objections remain to other parts of the plan. However, settlements are pending that could end all opposition to Federal-Mogul's Chapter 11 reorganization plan.
Jack K Clapper
Clapper, Patti, Schweizer & Mason
415-332-4262
800-440-4262
jkc@clapperlaw.com
Asbestos is still an ingredient in about 3,000 products that are currently available in the United States. Asbestos causes serious diseases, including mesothelioma and lung cancer. On Thursday, October 4th, the Senate voted unanimously to pass a bill banning asbestos. If approved by the House the United States will join more than 40 other nations that have banned the cancer causing material.
The legislation bans the importation, manufacture, processing and distribution of products containing asbestos. It orders the Environmental Protection Agency to ensure that asbestos containing products are no longer available within two years of the bill's enactment. It also creates ten centers which will try to find better treatment of asbestos-related disease.
Patty Murray, Democratic Senator from Washington, was a leader in getting the ban passed. Her efforts were initially stymied by a Republican effort to pass legislation that would have prevented people injured by asbestos from suing the companies involved. The White House did all it could to stymie discussion of the ban. Corporate opposition to the ban was enormous.
Connecticut schools were recently issued a warning that clay used in art classes might be contaminated by asbestos. State officials sent a letter to school districts in June, 2007, warning that a type of clay used in art classes contains talc that might be contaminated with asbestos. An epidemiologist with the state Department of Public Health reported conflicting interpretations of whether the clay contains asbestos.
Exposure to asbestos can cause serious diseases, including mesothelioma and lung cancer. Asbestos lawyers representing plaintiffs have alleged in several lawsuits that the talc found in some clays used in schools is contaminated with a form of asbestos. These allegations have been disputed by asbestos attorneys defending the distributors of the talc.
RPM International Inc. is a holding company that owns subsidiaries which make specialty coatings and sealants for both industrial and consumer markets. RPM's industrial products include roofing systems, sealants, corrosion control coatings, flooring coatings and specialty chemicals. RPM's consumer products are used for home maintenance and improvement, automotive and boat repair and maintenance, and by hobbyists.
RPM has reported record sales, net income and diluted earnings per share for its fiscal 2008 first quarter ended August 31, 2007. First-quarter net sales increased 10.2% over that reported a year ago.
However, partly because of higher cash outlays for asbestos defense, RPM businesses had negative cash flow from operations in the fiscal 2008 first quarter. RPM drew down more of its asbestos reserve to pay indemnity and defense costs during the current quarter, than it did a year ago. RPM has paid settlements for mesothelioma and lung cancer claims made by asbestos lawyers representing victims of asbestos diseases.
Asbestos lawyers are filing lawsuits against the employers of workers because of secondhand exposure to asbestos brought into the home on clothing. In a typical case, the worker is male and s exposed to asbestos at his workplace. The asbestos fibers cling to his work clothes which he brings home. His wife lauders the clothes and is exposed to asbestos by doing so. The wife develops mesothelioma as a result of this exposure.
If the worker developed mesothelioma due to his exposure at work, the worker himself would be barred from suing his employer because of workers compensation rules in most states. However, family members are not barred since they were not employees of the husband’s employer.
These asbestos lawsuits are getting mixed results in different states. A Washington state court of appeals recently ruled that families of workers who bring asbestos home on clothes may file suits against the employer. Rochon v. SaberHagen Holdings Inc., No. 58579-7-I (Wash. Ct. App.). A Louisiana appellate court upheld a trial verdict in which a wife died from mesothelioma after exposure from cleaning her husband’s work clothes. Chaisson v. Avondale Indus. Inc., 947 So. 2d 171, 183 (La. Ct. App.). The New Jersey Supreme Court ruled that a company can be liable for a wife's secondhand exposure to asbestos. The case involved a husband who was exposed to asbestos at work, and whose wife died of mesothelioma due to the washing his clothes. Olivo v. Owens-Illinois Inc., No.a-23-05 (N.J.).
On the other hand, the Michigan Supreme Court rejected a similar case against Ford Motor Co. The court held that Ford did not have a duty to protect a daughter from second hand asbestos exposure because Ford had no special relationship with the plaintiff. Miller v. Ford Motor Co., No. 131517 (Mich.). In California, a jury in October 2006 found that DaimlerChrysler Corp. had negligently exposed a woman to asbestos but wasn't responsible for her mesothelioma. The woman claimed she developed mesothelioma through asbestos exposure brought home by relatives who were as auto mechanics. Price v. DaimlerChrysler Corp., No. RG06254616 (Alameda Co., Calif., Super. Ct.).
In 1971, Quebec, Canada was the world's largest producer of asbestos. The fibrous mineral was used in thousands of products, from fire retardants to insulation. In Quebec asbestos is everywhere. The roads are actually paved with it - asbestos is used as a filler in asphalt. There's even a town in Quebec called Asbestos.
But in the late 1960s and early '70s, it became widely accepted that the handling of asbestos caused cancer. The international medical community, with the exception of Canada, determined that asbestos causes terminal illnesses, including mesothelioma and lung cancer. The asbestos industry peaked around 1973, then began to wind down. In the late 1990s, the Canadian industry was hit with a French ban on asbestos imports, and in 2005 a ban was enacted throughout the European Union.
In the United States, beginning in the 1980’s many lawyers became mesothelioma attorneys - representing victims of asbestos. A number of major corporations which had used asbestos in their products declared bankruptcy because of the asbestos litigation. Substitutes for the use of asbestos were developed.
In the past five years, asbestos sales in North America have shrunk. Today, many of the Canadian asbestos mines are bankrupt.
One Canadian company, LAB, continued to mine asbestos and has fought the ban. Their asbestos mine is currently going 24 hours a day. LAB plans to mine 120,000 tons of asbestos this year.
Canadian health authorities, under political pressure, have long refused to issue an opinion on asbestos. However, after an 18-month study, the Canadian Cancer Society finally has called for a ban on the use and export of asbestos. This may be a fatal blow to LAB. In recent years, LAB has struggled with stiff competition from foreign producers.
Simon Dupéré, the 27-year-old president and CEO of LAB thinks that there may be hope for the company by selling to Asia and the Middle East, where demand for asbestos products is growing. But a Canadian company is at a distinct disadvantage to big asbestos producing companies in nations like Russia, Brazil and Zimbabwe, which are closer to emerging markets and can mine asbestos more cheaply.
The 20-plus-story building at 2930 N. Sheridan in Chicago, Illinois is being converted to condominiums. The building has been evacuated due to alleged improper asbestos removal. Asbestos causes cancer and pulmonary problems. Asbestos attorneys have alleged in lawsuits that exposure to asbestos causes mesothelioma and lung cancer.
The Chicago Department of Environment alerted state public health officials who began evacuating the building Thursday afternoon. The property owner must hire a state-approved asbestos removal company to clean up before state health officials will allow the building to reopen.
Last month there was concern about improperly removed asbestos at another building in Chicago, the landmark Pittsfield Building, during rehabilitation work on that building.
San Francisco, California's Hunters Point Naval shipyard had operated for many decades. As a result of ship building and repair operations, the site was contaminated with asbestos. Hundreds of lawsuits alleging asbestos diseases have been filed over the past two decades on behalf of workers at Hunters Point. Asbestos lawyers have alleged that these workers contracted asbestos-related diseases, including mesothelioma and lung cancer, as a result of being exposed to asbestos at Hunters Point.
Hunters Point closed several years ago. After years of delay (in part because of the asbestos contamination) portions of the site are now being developed. The development requires grading. The site that is currently being graded is known as Parcel A.
Local residents have complained that the dust created by the grading is posing a health hazard. They have feared that the dust contains asbestos fibers. However, a recent survey by the Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry reported that the levels of asbestos measured at the excavation site were low and did not pose an asbestos health hazard.
W.R. Grace & Co. (Grace) operated a vermiculite mine in Libby, Montana for several decades. The mine was closed in 1990. Hundreds of people in Libby have become ill due to exposure to asbestos, which is a contaminate found in vermiculite. Asbestos causes serious, often fatal, diseases, including mesothelioma, lung cancer and asbestosis.
A 2005 indictment by the U.S. government charged Grace and several former managers with conspiring to conceal the health risks. The case has been going forward with pre-trial discovery in Missoula, Montana. U.S. District Judge Donald Molloy has been overseeing the case and had made several pre-trial rulings on legal issues.
A trial had been scheduled for September. Prior to trial, several of the rulings by Judge Molloy had been appealed. A federal appeals court reversed a number of the pretrial rulings.
The 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals overturned Judge Molloy’s ruling that the five-year statute of limitations precluded the charge that Grace committed an overt act to knowingly endanger others. The three-judge panel disagreed, and found that the lower court incorrectly interpreted the federal statute. Thus, evidence of Grace’s overt acts may be admitted at trial.
The appeals court panel also reversed Molloy’s decision regarding the definition of asbestos.
Molloy had interpreted the term “asbestos” to only include the six minerals listed by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. His ruling excluded evidence of all other asbestiform minerals. "This ruling eliminated from trial evidence of releases of 95 percent of the contaminants in the Libby vermiculite _ which are asbestiform minerals but fall outside of the six minerals in the civil regulatory definition". The panel ruled that asbestos need not include "mineral-by-mineral classifications to provide notice of its hazardous nature, particularly to these knowledgeable defendants."
Molloy had issued a ruling allowing Grace to use an affirmative defense established by the Clean Air Act for air pollutants released under "National Emissions Standards for Hazardous Air Pollutants." The panel disagreed. "The plain language of the statute makes clear that the affirmative defense simply doesn't apply in this case," the panel wrote. "The district court's order to the contrary leaves us with a 'definite and firm conviction' that it got the law wrong."
The September trial date has been vacated and no new date has been set.
Prior to its being banned in the late 1970s, asbestos was widely used in roofing, insulation, gaskets, and other products. If asbestos is disturbed, microscopic asbestos fibers become trapped in the lungs for decades without symptoms but then result in serious health problems, including mesothelioma, lung cancer and asbestosis.
Many buildings on the Chico State campus in Chico, California contain asbestos. Because of the dangers of disturbing asbestos, there has been no remodeling in many of the older buildings. Students and faculty are now registering complaints about lighting problems. However, the presence of asbestos would make the repair of the lights difficult and expensive. If making the repairs requires workers to disturb asbestos-containing material, a licensed state contractor and a third-party overseer must check that required safety precautions are in place and that the work complies with all safety rules and regulations. This can cost up to $150,000, depending on the amount of asbestos that is involved.
The old Cambria Air Force station in San Luis Obispo County, California, has been the site of ongoing investigations into the improper use and disposal of asbestos-containing materials. Inhaling asbestos fibers increases the risk of mesothelioma, lung cancer and other breathing disorders. San Luis Obispo County officials have records of illegal asbestos removal beginning with an inspection in 2002. Then in 2003, another inspection found additional evidence of asbestos disposal violations. In 2004 the owners were fined and told to hire a licensed asbestos abatement company.
Last month a search of the 30-acre property indicated there had been illegal construction on the property. This has led to a request for further investigation. This month officials obtained a search warrant to look for more evidence of any illegal disposal of hazardous materials on the property. Asbestos is a known carcinogen, according to the officials.
The City of Oakridge, Oregon has been fined $9,600 for improperly disposing of asbestos-containing debris from mobile homes that it demolished this spring. Asbestos is a naturally occurring mineral. When mined and used in manufacturing products, such as insulation, the asbestos breaks into long, thin fibers. When inhaled, the asbestos fibers cause mesothelioma, lung cancer and other serious diseases. Mobile homes usually are constructed using asbestos-containing materials, including roofing, joint compounds and floor tiles. Therefore, strict precautions must be taken when demolishing them.
In addition to the $9,600 fine for improper disposal, Oakridge was fined $2,400 for failing to conduct an asbestos survey prior to demolishing the mobile homes. The city was also assessed $3,600 for allowing uncertified contractors to do the work on the abatement project and another $3,600 for allowing asbestos-containing waste material to accumulate at an unauthorized waste disposal site.














