Possible asbestos contamination in Rochester, NY hospital

Posted by Allison Sass on May 17, 2013

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Strong Memorial Hospital in Rochester, NY has sent a letter to patients detailing the possibility of asbestos contamination. Asbestos was recently found on drywall in a demolition area close to the hospital’s rehab unit.

Asbestos is a carcinogenic building material used most prevalently from the 1940s through 1970s. Asbestos use is currently heavily restricted due to its link to life-threatening diseases such as asbestosis and mesothelioma cancer.

Mesothelioma cancer attacks the lungs or abdominal cavity and can take decades to develop and diagnose. Many patients consider filing a mesothelioma lawsuits after they are diagnosed with the disease.

 

U.S. Surgeon General issues statement for asbestos awareness week

Posted by Jeremy Burchard on April 09, 2013

U.S. Surgeon General Doctor Regina Benjamin has issued a statement for asbestos awareness week, which took place from April 1-7. Benjamin has urged all Americans to educate themselves on the dangers and prevalence of asbestos and diseases associated with asbestos exposure.

Benjamin labeled the asbestos problem as one that can affect anybody and promoted a recent federal report detailing how to deal with problems that can jeopardize healthy households, such as asbestos. The carcinogenic fiber was used heavily in industry and construction from the 1940s through the 1970s, and can be in thousands of buildings and homes in every city.

Asbestos exposure is the leading cause of mesothelioma cancer, a deadly form of cancer that can take decades to develop and attacks the lungs or abdominal cavity. Thousands of mesothelioma lawsuits have been filed on behalf of people exposed to asbestos at their jobs.

 

New York legislator to undergo mesothelioma treatment

Posted by Jeremy Burchard on March 11, 2013

Man In Breathing Suit Holds Asbestos FibersA New York legislator from Suffolk County was accepted into an experimental mesothelioma treatment study in Maryland. William Lindsay will begin the study, which consists of weeks of treatment separated by weeks of rest, at the National Institutes of Health.

The 67-year old Lindsay is believed to have contracted mesothelioma during his time as an electrician and labor leader. Many mesothelioma patients similar to Lindsay were exposed to cancer-causing asbestos during industrial jobs and construction work.

Mesothelioma is a fatal form of cancer that can take decades to develop and attacks the lungs or walls of the abdominal cavity. The most common cause of mesothelioma is exposure to asbestos — a carcinogenic substance used in construction and insulation prominently from the 1940s through the 1970s.

 

Air Force vet alleges company's products exposed him to asbestos

Posted by Jeremy Burchard on February 18, 2013

A former United States Air Force worker has filed a mesothelioma lawsuit against a company, alleging that its products exposed him to the asbestos that led to his mesothelioma diagnosis. Walter Leggett has claimed that United Technologies Corporation (UTC) is responsible for his asbestos exposure and subsequent cancer.

Leggett was a mechanic, electrician and machine operator for the Air Force from 1955 through 1977. He was diagnosed with mesothelioma in 2011. Mesothelioma is a deadly form of cancer attacks the lungs or abdominal cavity and can take decades to develop.

Asbestos is a cancer-causing material used in construction and insulation most heavily from the 1940s through the 1970s. Thousands of workers are affected every year by asbestos exposure, and lawyers predict companies could face thousands of asbestos lawsuits after exposing employees to the substance without warning or safety gear.

 

New York company faces more than $80,000 in fines for asbestos exposure

Posted by Jeremy Burchard on January 25, 2013

A New York company has been ordered to pay $83,000 in fines related to asbestos exposure. The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) investigated Lorice Enterprises in August 2012 after the state raised health concerns, eventually finding nine violations.

Lorice allegedly did not test the levels of asbestos in the area or provide its workers with any safety gear to prevent asbestos exposure. The exposure was classified as willful, meaning the company knowingly broke the law and exposed its workers to potential health problems related to asbestos.

Asbestos exposure has been directly linked to severe diseases, including asbestosis and mesothelioma cancer. Mesothelioma is a lethal form of cancer that can take decades to develop and attacks the lungs or walls of the abdomen.

Ohio school under criminal investigation after having students remove asbestos

Posted by Allison Sass on January 10, 2013

Asbestos ExposureOhio students as young as 13 spent several weekends removing asbestos from a YWCA at the direction of their school. The students from the Buckeye Education School were allegedly not provided any protection or told that the debris contained the cancer-causing material asbestos.

The Ohio Environmental Protection Agency began investigating the school in December 2012 after receiving a complaint from the neighborhood. The agency reported that exposed pipes, flooring tiles, and duct fabric were all filled with asbestos.

Asbestos exposure is the primary cause of mesothelioma cancer, a deadly form of cancer that can attack the lungs and abdominal cavity. When disturbed, millions of asbestos fibers fill the air. If inhaled, the fibers can lead to asbestosis or mesothelioma, which may take decades to develop.

 

Insurance company estimates total losses associated with asbestos at more than $140 B

Posted by Jeremy Burchard on December 21, 2012

AsbestosInsurance rating firm A.M. Best has estimated that losses associated with asbestos will top more than $140 billion in the United States. The total includes nearly $85 billion in mesothelioma lawsuits brought on by victims of asbestos exposure, and more than $42 billion in environmental damage.

The firm concluded in its report that the asbestos problems will persist for many years to come. Asbestos exposure can lead to severe and deadly diseases, including mesothelioma cancer—which can take decades to develop.

Asbestos is a carcinogenic building material used prevalently in construction from the 1940s through the 1970s. Though the substance is now highly restricted throughout most of the world, thousands of employees are affected by asbestos exposure every year.

 

Potential mesothelioma drug receives orphan status

Posted by Jeremy Burchard on November 26, 2012

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has granted orphan drug status to amatuximab, a new drug developed to combat malignant pleural mesothelioma. Orphan drug status is given to a drug which aims to cure a disease that affects fewer than 200,000 patients. Roughly 3,000 patients in the U.S. receive a mesothelioma diagnosis every year.

Amatuximab is designed to prevent malignant mesothelioma from spreading and lengthen a patient’s survival rate. The 5-year survival rate for mesothelioma between 2000 and 2008 was 7%, according to the American Cancer Society.

Mesothelioma is directly linked to exposure to asbestos, a carcinogenic building material used in the 1940s through the 1970s. During that period, an estimated 27.5 million Americans experienced asbestos exposure. Workers continue to file asbestos lawsuits against companies that use products containing asbestos or hire workers to improperly remove the material from buildings.

British nuclear facility named biggest source of industrial deaths in UK due to asbestos

Posted by Jeremy Burchard on October 30, 2012

A British nuclear facility in Somerset has been named the biggest source of industrial deaths in the country due to deadly asbestos exposure. At least 26 former employees of the Hinkley Point A nuclear facility have died from asbestos-related mesothelioma cancer over the past 14 years, according to coroner Michael Rose.

Rose estimates that as many as 50 ex-workers were killed by diseases related to asbestos exposure over the past 25 years, while Virginia Chalmers, who represents the victims, has said that number could reach 100 when accounting for patients who moved away from the area. Asbestos removal efforts at the Hinkley Point A facility, which was built from 1957 through 1964, have yielded nearly 1,000 tons of asbestos so far.

Diseases related to asbestos exposure include asbestosis and mesothelioma and can take decades to develop after initial exposure. Workplace exposure to the carcinogenic building material is one of the leading causes of mesothelioma diagnoses, which affect thousands of U.S. workers every year.

EPA guidelines for Montana asbestos cleanup 5,000 times tougher

Posted by Jeremy Burchard on October 04, 2012

The Environmental Protection Agency’s guidelines for the cleanup of a Montana town plagued with asbestos will be 5,000 times tougher than any previous standard for cleaning airborne asbestos. The EPA’s proposal in ridding Libby, Montana of asbestos suggests that even the tiniest amount of asbestos can cause mesothelioma and other complications.

Libby is a small town of about 3,000 known for suffering from the long-term effects of a nearby vermiculite mine that contained asbestos. The EPA’s guidelines effectively ban the presence of asbestos in the air, determining that as much as two-100,000ths of an asbestos fiber per cubic centimeter could harm a person. Asbestos exposure in Libby has been blamed for more than 400 deaths and an additional 1,700 sickened residents.

Asbestos has been found to directly cause severe diseases, including asbestosis and mesothelioma cancer. Mesothelioma is a rare and often lethal form of cancer that can attack the lungs and walls of the abdominal cavity, taking decades to develop.

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