California lawmakers advance law to dump asbestos mineral as official state rock

Posted by Ed Smith on August 12, 2010

Lawmakers in California are working on a new bill (PDF) that would strip serpentine—a naturally occurring mineral that often contains a type of asbestos known as chrysotile—of its status as the official state rock.

In a recent Associated Press article, Senator Gloria Romero, who proposed the bill, states that having an asbestos-containing substance as the Golden State’s official rock sends a poor public health message due to the link between asbestos and mesothelioma:

This is a question of health and public awareness. We know that California has the highest rates of mesothelioma deaths in the nation and we don’t think it’s appropriate to be celebrating as the state rock something which contains asbestos.

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Calif. court rules that U.S. Navy can be apportioned 'fault' in mesothelioma lawsuits

Posted by Andrew McEnaney on June 16, 2010

On June 3, the California 1st District Court of Appeals ruled that the United States Navy could be allocated a share of “fault” when apportioning fault between defendants in a mesothelioma lawsuit.

The case, Collins v. Plant Insulation Co. [PDF], was filed by family members of former Navy shipyard asbestos worker Ulysses Collins, who died in May 2005 from mesothelioma caused by asbestos exposure.

Over a period of nearly 35 years, Collins was employed at several jobs that required him to work extensively with asbestos. These included four years as a boilermaker welder at a Standard Oil refinery and more than 30 years at the Hunters Point Naval Shipyard and Mare Island Naval Shipyard, where he also worked as a welder.

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Obama cancer panel finds asbestos, other carcinogens still pose risk

Posted by Andrew McEnaney on June 07, 2010

The President’s Cancer Panel and the National Cancer Institute recently issued a new report, “Reducing Environmental Cancer Risk: What We Can Do Now [PDF],” which examines the effect that environmental factors have on cancer risks. The report also contains recommendations from the Panel on lowering the risks posed by many cancer-causing substances, including bisphenol A (BPA), chromium and asbestos.

The panel found that despite efforts to reduce exposure to cancer-causing products, these substances continue to jeopardize the health of American workers and consumers:

With nearly 80,000 chemicals on the market in the United States, many of which are used by millions of Americans in their daily lives and are un- or understudied, exposure to potential environmental carcinogens is widespread.

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