Posts Tagged ‘cancer lawyer dallas’
Wednesday, July 21st, 2010
Indian Workers Protest Asbestos
Despite proven links to cancer, a ban in the European Union and restrictions in the United States, industry lobbyists have ensured that asbestos is still very much in demand in the developing world, a report out today shows.
An investigation conducted by the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists and the BBC, Dangers In the Dust: Inside the Global Asbestos Trade , found that the asbestos industry has ignored waves of asbestos-related disease around the world that have led to bans or restrictions in 52 countries, and continues to ply the mineral in developing nations.
More than half of the two million metric tons of asbestos that were mined worldwide in 2009 was exported to developing countries India and Mexico, where demand is high for cheap building materials.
Most of the asbestos sold in those countries is used in cement for corrugated roofing, in water pipes and for home construction.
The asbestos industry’s growth has been fueled by an marketing campaign of international industry groups and led by the Canadian government backed Chrysotile Institute.
Asbestos fibers when inhaled can cause a variety of diseases in humans, including lung cancer and mesothelioma, a cancer of the lining of the lung. The continued export of asbestos to developing countries will tragically create a new generation of asbestos victims far into the 21st century.
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Saturday, July 10th, 2010
Montana’s congressional delegation is seeking assurances from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency that the government will not leave the asbestos-contaminated town of Libby before its cleanup is complete.
At least 400 people have died in rural Libby from contamination caused by a now-closed W.R. Grace vermiculite mine. Vermiculite from the Grace mine was contaminated with naturally occurring asbestos .Exposure to asbestos can cause a number of diseases in humans including lung cancer and mesothelioma .
U.S. Sens. Max Baucus and Jon Tester and Rep. Denny Rehberg have asked the EPA to clarify its plans for the 3,000-person town. In separate letters sent in recent weeks, the lawmakers prodded the EPA to complete a long-delayed study of Libby asbestos.
They also wanted the EPA’s pledge to return to areas already cleaned if the study shows the health danger is worse than previously thought.
A June report by the Government Accountability Office listed Libby as one of 75 Superfund sites across the United States with health risks that are considered unacceptable. For Libby, that public danger is expected to last through at least 2015.
Last year, Libby became the first Superfund site ever declared as a public health emergency.
Agency spokesman Ted Linnert said the cleanup method proposed for the town park — placing a soil “cap” over what was once a processing site for Grace vermiculite — should be effective no matter the results of the risk assessment.
The cap is meant to keep people from inhaling or ingesting asbestos, which can cause cancer, lung scarring and other health problems.
Linnert added that the first two areas slated for cleanup would be reviewed after no more than five years to make sure the agency’s actions were effective.
Asbestos containing vermiculite was sold as attic insulation to millions of homes across the United States. Locally, in Libby, the material was used across the town in numerous applications including in homes, businesses, baseball diamonds, the running track at the high school and tilled into backyard gardens. Decades of activity at the Grace mine produced so much dust that hazardous asbestos is now embedded in the barks of trees that cover the surrounding mountains.
Tags: asbestos emergency, asbestos lawyer dallas, asbestos lawyer texas, asbestos superfund site, cancer lawyer dallas, dallas asbestos lawyer, EPA cleanup, Libby asbestos, lung cancer lawyer dallas, pennsylvania mesothelioma lawyer, texas asbestos lawyer, texas mesothelioma lawyer, vermiculite, WR Grace, zonolite
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Wednesday, June 30th, 2010
Canadian national health organizations are now joining the international call for the Canadian government to ban the use and export of asbestos. Today, the Canadian Public Health Association (CPHA), the Canadian Medical Association (CMA) and the National Specialty Society for Community Medicine (NSSCM) are calling on the federal and provincial governments to stop mining asbestos and to ban its export.
Canada continues to provide financial support for the asbestos industry and actively promotes Canadian exports to the remaining markets for asbestos – developing countries that lack regulations, work place safety regulations and public awareness to protect asbestos workers and their families.
More than 40 countries, including all member states of the European Union, have banned the use of all forms of asbestos. Earlier this year, scientists from around the world issued an open letter imploring Canada to stop exporting this deadly mineral to other parts of the world.
“It’s inconceivable that we would restrict the use of asbestos in our own country but continue to export this hazardous product around the world,” says Dr. Anne Doig, President of the Canadian Medical Association.
For more information see Canadian News Wire article. Want to do more to stop the export of asbestos from Canada? See International Ban Asbestos Secretariat
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Posted in Mesothelioma, asbestos, dallas mesothelioma lawyer, news | 1 Comment »
Friday, June 18th, 2010
James Hardie, an Australian maker of fiber cement building products, which generates most of its earnings from US sales, has completed the restructuring of the corporation as an Irish entity for tax and management reasons, says a Hardie spokesman.
The company, which originally moved from Australia to the Netherlands in 2001, had also become involved in disputes with Australian and U.S. authorities over its asbestos liabilities.
James Hardie, for much of the 20th century, was involved in the manufacture, distribution and mining of asbestos and asbestos containing construction products. With numerous asbestos manufacturing plants in Australia, the James Hardie asbestos product line has been credited as a significant source of Australia’s asbestos epidemic. Australia has one of the highest rates of asbestos-related disease in the world; it is estimated that between 30,000 and 40,000 people will have contracted an asbestos-related disease in Australia (including mesothelioma and lung cancer) by 2020. See American Journal of Industrial Medicine
The company has said the move to Ireland will not affect its commitment to contribute to the Asbestos Injuries Compensation Fund.
For more information on the corporate move see the Wall Street Journal
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Tuesday, June 15th, 2010
Canadian Open Pit Asbestos Mine
In the face of international criticism, Quebec, Canada is poised to approve a $58 million loan guarantee to help continue the province’s ailing and controversial asbestos industry.
The proposed underground expansion of the Jeffrey Mine in the town of Asbestos, Quebec, on hold since 2002 because of a lack of funds, will move forward if union workers approve a five-year contract and if Quebec Premier Jean Charest’s cabinet OKs the loan guarantee.
The plan to increase production at the Quebec asbestos mine continues despite decades old knowledge of the mineral’s threat to human health. Since at least the 1950s, the link between lung cancer and asbestos has been known by science and industry. Mesothelioma, a cancer of the lining of the lung, was definitively linked to asbestos exposure by 1960.
More recently, the World Health Organization(WHO) has stated that all forms of asbestos have been shown to be deadly and that safe use of asbestos is impossible. Earlier this year, scientists from 28 nations around the world publicly appealed in an open letter to the Premier of Quebec to stop exporting asbestos to the developing word.
Despite mounting international scorn, and decades of science, the Quebec asbestos loan appears to be motivated by what else – money. The union mine workers stand to share in the profits of the 5 year mine expansion program in the government’s latest attempt to prop up a wider segment of the economy – the weakened Canadian mining industry.
Tragically, not only will the Canadian mine workers’ health be placed at risk, but Canada’s continued exporting of asbestos will harm new generations of unprotected workers in developing countries such as India, Mexico, and Brazil (see India’s 21st Century Asbestos Epidemic) where asbestos is still used in building construction materials. To learn more and to help stop the Canadian asbestos mines see www.bacanada.org
Tags: asbestos lawyer dallas, asbestos lawyer pennsylvania, asbestos lawyer texas, canadian asbestos, cancer lawyer dallas, mesothelioma lawyer dallas, mine worker safety, miner safety, mining industry, occupational health developing world, quebec asbestos
Posted in Mesothelioma, asbestos, dallas mesothelioma lawyer | 1 Comment »
Thursday, June 10th, 2010
Lawyers for New York City and about 10,000 Ground Zero clean-up and rescue workers have negotiated a new settlement which involves more money provided by NYC’s insurer and a reduced fee by the workers lawyers.
After nearly three months of negotiations, New York City’s insurer, the WTC Captive Insurance Company, has agreed to increase the funds available to these claims to $712.5 million. The previous terms called for $575 million.
In March, U.S. District Judge Alvin Hellerstein rejected the original settlement offer for first responders made ill by working at the World Trade Centers site , saying it did not adequately provide the more than 10,000 rescue workers with enough money and was too complicated.
Judge Hellerstein has indicated he believes the revised settlement proposal is “fair and reasonable,” according to a statement released by lawyers today. Final, official approval of the settlement by the Court is still pending.
The toxic dusts present in the ground zero rubble included: asbestos, heavy metals and various chemicals such as benzene from burning jet fuel, dioxins and PCBs. Exposure to these toxins can result in numerous respiratory diseases as well as cancers such as mesothelioma and other reproductive and neurological disorders. In the case of mesothelioma, it takes decades from that time of exposure to asbestos until the development of the cancer – a period of time known as the latency period. Accordingly, it will be decades before the extent of the development of cancer is known among the 9/11 rescuers and clean-up workers.
Tags: asbestos lawyer dallas, asbestos lawyer pennsylvania, asbestos lawyer texas, cancer lawyer dallas, ground zero asbestos, ground zero worker settlement
Posted in Legal News, Mesothelioma, Uncategorized, asbestos | No Comments »
Wednesday, June 9th, 2010
Congoleum Ad - 1930s
Flooring giant, Congoleum Corp.’s bankruptcy reorganization plan was approved Tuesday by a U.S. District bankruptcy court.
Congoleum sought Chapter 11 protection Dec. 31, 2003 as a result of its own asbestos-laden floor tiles which it sold for decades. As a result, thousands of asbestos victim claims were pending against the floor tile manufacturer at the time of the filing. Inhalation of asbestos fibers, even from the cutting, scraping or sanding of asbestos containing floor tiles, can result in malignant mesothelioma, a cancer of the lining of the lung as well as lung cancer.
Under the plan, the company will give 50.1% of the stock in the reorganized Congoleum to a trust to pay present and future asbestos victims. The trust will also get approximately $235 million from court-approved asbestos insurance settlement agreements as well as additional asbestos insurance coverage funds.
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Wednesday, May 26th, 2010
Prof. Pfau in her laboratory
The U.S. National Institutes of Health has awarded a $191,962 grant to an Idaho State University professor to explore the health effects of asbestos at the cellular level. “We’re trying to understand the way asbestos affects the immune system leading to systemic autoimmune disorders, such as lupus,” says Jean Pfau, assistant professor of biological sciences at Idaho State.
The grant, titled “The Role of System xc in Asbestos Induced Autoimmune Responses” funded by the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences will last two years.
Inhalation of asbestos fibers can cause cancer in humans including lung cancer and malignant mesothelioma, a cancer of the lining of the lung. Professor Pfau is of the opinion that tremolite asbestos found in Libby, Montana may, in addition to causing cancer, also be linked to increased autoimmune diseases. Autoimmune diseases arise from an overactive immune response of the body against substances and tissues normally present in the body. In other words, the body actually attacks its own cells. The immune system mistakes some part of the body as a pathogen and attacks it.
With respect to asbestos, the cells that first encounter asbestos after exposure are white blood cells called macrophages. Pfau believes that macrophages may use glutamate to signal the immune system to react. Pfau theorizes that after asbestos contaminant exposure, the macrophages engage in mistaken signaling, causing the immune system to become overactive and produce excessive antibodies, creating diseases such as lupus. She will look at how different forms of asbestos affect the immune system. All forms of asbestos cause cancer in humans. However, the exact correlation between asbestos fiber types and autoimmune disorders remains largely unknown.
Tags: asbestos cancer lawyer dallas, asbestos cancer treatment, asbestos medicine, asbestos research, cancer lawyer dallas, mesothelioma attorney dallas, pennsylvania mesothelioma lawyer, texas mesothelioma lawyer
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Friday, May 14th, 2010
The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) officially announced its plan for cleaning up areas around Libby, Montana – a community living in the shadow of the asbestos contaminated W.R. Grace vermiculite mine for close to a century.
Asbestos dust from the vermiculite mine drifted onto the town of Libby and the vermiculite was also used throughout the community including baseball diamonds, the high school running track, and homes. The latest cleanup plans are part of a massive effort by the Montana Department of Environmental Quality and the EPA to protect Libby residents from continuing asbestos exposure hazards.
People in Libby already suffer from asbestos-related diseases such as asbestosis and mesothelioma at a substantially higher rate than the national average. Mesothelioma is a currently incurable cancer typically located in the lining of the lung which is caused by inhalation of asbestos fibers. Even low levels of exposure can contribute to the development of malignant mesothelioma. Asbestos exposure also causes lung cancer and asbestosis.
Eight areas around Libby have been identified as danger zones by the EPA, although the former W.R. Grace plant itself is located just outside of town on the Kootenai River. The EPA is calling for removal of large amounts of soil in several sites. Where that is not practical, the agency is calling for soil containment. Each procedure is intended to lessen the chance for airborne asbestos particles to continue to be inhaled by town residents.
Unfortunately, W.R. Grace also exported its asbestos contaminated Zonolite vermiculite attic insulation to millions of homes across the United States during the 1960s and 70s. The size of vermiculite insulation ranges from very fine particles to large (coarse) pieces nearly an inch long. Vermiculite attic insulation is a pebble-like, pour-in product and is usually light-brown or gold in color. The pictures above show several samples of vermiculite attic insulation.
The EPA best practices for vermiculite attic insulation safety can be found by clicking here: http://www.epa.gov/asbestos/pubs/insulation.html
Tags: asbestos attic insulation, asbestos causes, asbestos lawyers dallas, asbestos lawyers pennsylvania, asbestos lawyers texas, cancer lawyer dallas, libby asbestos emergency, lung cancer lawyer dallas, lung cancer lawyer texas, safe insulation removal
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Thursday, May 13th, 2010
The Danvers, Massachusetts contractor William A. Berry & Sons, Inc. has received $136,000 in proposed fines from OSHA for 19 violations of workplace health and safety regulations during the removal of asbestos-containing materials at Beth Israel Hospital in Boston, Mass., last September.
“OSHA standards are designed to minimize the risk of exposure and its potential impact on workers’ health, but they are effective only so long as employers adhere to them,” said Brenda Gordon, OSHA’s area director for Boston and Southeastern Massachusetts. Inhalation of asbestos fibers can cause a variety of diseases including asbestosis, lung cancer and mesothelioma, a cancer most often located in the lining of the lung.
OSHA’s inspection found that Berry employees were removing laboratory ventilation hoods with asbestos-containing panels without proper respiratory protection and required safeguards. As a result, OSHA issued a series of citations including one for a willful violation.
OSHA defines a willful violation as one committed with plain indifference to or intentional disregard for worker safety and health. Detailed information about OSHA asbestos safety and asbestos regulations can be found at http://www.osha.gov/SLT/asbestos/index.html
Tags: asbestos abatement, asbestos lawyers dallas, asbestos lawyers pennsylvania, asbestos lawyers texas, asbestos removal, cancer lawyer dallas, OSHA safety regulations
Posted in Mesothelioma, Uncategorized, asbestos, dallas mesothelioma lawyer | 1 Comment »
