Does the world face a Mesothelioma spike?

WHO ( World Health Organization) stats ( 125 million people exposed yearly) were released on October 30th, 2008 according to asbestos.com, which says that 90,000 people yearly die of asbestos poisoning.

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North Carolina Textile Workers Exposed to Carcinogen

The intent of the study was to describe mortality among workers and examine possible relationships between exposure and mortality rates.

Mortality in the Vital status of workers employed for at least 1 day between 1 January 1950 and 31 December 1973 in four North Carolina plants was compared and tracked.

Of 5770 workers, 2583 deaths werefrom all causes; 277 from lung cancer. Mortality from all causes, (all cancers and lung cancer was significant higher than expected).

The risk of lung cancer and asbestosis increased with cumulative fibre exposure. Details of the study are available from the source listed below.

Duke Univerity Study OEM.BMJ

Sewell Jones, spent his final days at the Hospice of St Francis in Berkhamsted.

On February 2007, Sewell Jones died of mesothelioma.

His daughter Wendy Jones is looking for other workers from ” the pulp house” where Jones was exposed to asbestos.

If you worked at “the pulp house,” (Nash Mills Paper Factory of Belswain Lane in Kings Langley)please come forward and contact 0844 854 3096 or email susan.dawson@fentons.co.uk

Maine now has the highest death rate from mesothelioma in United States according to the National Institute for Occupational Health and Safety (NIOSH).

The U.S. Centers for Disease Control (CDC) agency NIOSH indicates twenty seven asbestos-related deaths per million. As that turns out to be about 80 deaths a year, it may indicate a risk factor especially for high risk groups.

Chile–JAMES HARDIE Industries diverts 35 per cent of its cash flow into the Asbestos Injuries Compensation Fund. This Chilean court judgement against them may put a strain on Hardie to meet that number.

The judgement against JAMES HARDIE is based on a business related charge of predatory pricing.

The Damages (Asbestos-Related Conditions) Bill passed its second stage and is close to becoming British law. Westminster unanimously passed the bill to restore pleural plaques compensation. Pleural plaques is asbestos-caused lung scarring which affects thousands in the UK.

Many victims were knowingly exposed by employers who knew the dangers.

New Brunswick-Friday, March 13, 2009–Chrysler Motor Corp. and Honeywell International were blocked in their attempt to obtain lung tissue from mesothelioma victim St. John in their attempt to prove themselves innocent of causing the subject’s mesothelioma.

Superior Court Judge Philip Paley ruled in favor of the family’s moral and religious objections.

Two days before the lawsuit began, 67 year old St John died. St. John worked in a family-owned auto repair shop in the 1950s and 1960s, and as a United Airlines baggage handler.

Sinisgalli is a demolition contractor, of Sinisgalli, Inc is under investigation for alleged illegal dumping of asbestos. Allegations are that workers dumped asbestos and other demolition debris in High Acres Landfill in Perinton, New York without proper permits, which means they kept money meant to pay for dumping fees, and jeopardized the health of the general public as well as landfill workers.

As retired teachers are dying from mesothelioma, mesothelioma rates are “far higher than should be expected” among teachers according to a recent conference on occupational health. Schools built in the 1960s and 1980s are likely to contain asbestos.
Zoe Brewis, research and information officer at education union ATL Cymru is quoted as saying that “many education staff are unaware that asbestos is present in their workplace until repairs or renovations are undertaken.”

The Association of Teachers and Lecturers is pushing the agenda. We should see that teachers are made aware of this hazard, not only in Wales, but everywhere that the hazard exists. Delegates to the Association of Teachers and Lecturers conference are calling for “the complete removal of asbestos from all educational establishments” by 2010. Someone should consider that if the teachers are exposed, so are the children.

For more information, read:

• http://www.dailypost.co.uk/news/north-wales-news/2008/03/14/asbestos-fears-as-flintshire-teacher-dies-55578-20622263/
• http://www.walesonline.co.uk/news/wales-news/2009/03/27/asbestos-exposed-as-the-hidden-killer-in-welsh-schools-91466-23243923/
• http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/wales/north_east/7296471.stm

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
TUESDAY, MARCH 11, 2008
WWW.USDOJ.GOV

WWW.USDOJ.GOV

W.R. Grace to Pay for Cleanup of Asbestos Contamination in Libby, Montana

WASHINGTON—W.R. Grace, a global supplier of specialty chemicals, has agreed to pay $250 million, the highest sum in the history of the Superfund program, to
reimburse the federal government for the costs of the investigation and cleanup of asbestos contamination in Libby, Mont., the Justice Department and Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced today.

The action settles a bankruptcy claim brought by the federal government to recover money for past and future costs of cleanup of contaminated schools, homes and businesses in Libby.

The EPA has been removing asbestos-contaminated soils and other materials in and near Libby since May 2000. The federal government filed suit against W.R.
Grace in March 2001 to recover its investigation and cleanup costs under the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act (CERCLA),
commonly known as the “Superfund” law. The lawsuit also named Kootenai Development Corporation—a W.R. Grace subsidiary—as a defendant due to its ownership of three contaminated properties in Libby.

In 2003, the federal district court in Montana awarded EPA over $54 million for cleanup costs incurred by EPA through Dec. 31, 2001. That award has not been paid due to W.R. Grace’s bankruptcy. Today’s settlement resolves the 2003 judgment as well as continuing cleanup costs EPA has incurred since Dec. 31, 2001 and will incur in the future. EPA will place the settlement proceeds into a special account within the Superfund that will be used to finance future cleanup work at the site.

W.R. Grace owned and operated a vermiculite mine and vermiculite processing facilities in and near Libby from 1963 to 1990. The vermiculite ore was
contaminated with asbestos. Vermiculite and asbestos have been found in various locations in and around Libby.

Asbestos, a recognized human carcinogen, is known to cause lung cancer and mesothelioma, a lethal tumor of the lining of the chest and abdominal cavities.
Exposure to asbestos can also cause asbestosis, a disease characterized by scarring of the lung.

W.R. Grace and 61 affiliated companies filed for bankruptcy in April 2001. In March 2003, EPA filed a bankruptcy claim against the company to recover past and future cleanup costs. W.R. Grace has corporate headquarters in Columbia, Md., and employees in nearly 40 countries. The company manufactures construction
chemicals, building materials and chemical additives, among other things.

The settlement requires W.R. Grace to pay the $250 million within 30 days of bankruptcy court approval. The settlement agreement will be lodged in the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the District of Delaware and is subject to court approval after a 30-day public comment period. A copy of the settlement agreement is available on the Justice Department Web site at
http://www.usdoj.gov/enrd/Consent_Decrees.html.