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On September 26th We Remember Asbestos Victims and Push Forward for a Ban

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The Asbestos Disease Awareness Organization (ADAO) takes asbestos exposure seriously as they have heard the stories of thousands who have died, and so each year on September 26th they remember asbestos victims and push forward for a ban on this deadly mineral.

While many countries around the world have banned the use and import of asbestos, it is still legal in the United States. It is proven to be a cancer-causing substance for those exposed as there is no safe level of exposure to asbestos.

Mesothelioma Awareness Day

This year the ADAO has moved from a Mesothelioma Awareness Day on September 26th to proclaiming September a Mesothelioma Awareness Month to increase the reach to people that can be educated to the threat of asbestos use and the need for caution when working with any material that may contain asbestos.

How can we remember asbestos victims and push forward for a ban?

• Right now you can sign a petition to ban asbestos. By clicking this link, you’ll be directed to a page where you can sign. The more legislators who see the interest of citizens for a ban, the more they can push the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to increase the current rules, recognize the dangers, and get to the point of an outright ban.

• Join the chat on Twitter September 26th, from 12-1 PM ET. Go to #ENDMeso – for that hour, you’ll find questions about asbestos awareness as well as comments from people personally affected by asbestos exposure and mesothelioma, a deadly disease directly connected to exposure. The purpose is to create a global conversation between experts, victims, advocates, and anyone concerned about the dangers and the long delay in stopping the use of asbestos in the US.

• Light a candle on September 26th for the Mesothelioma Warriors lost to the disease and those who continue to fight for their lives.

• Participate in the 9th Annual Miles for Meso 5K Race and 3K Walk/Fun-Run. Last year $30,000 was raised to help fund awareness and education efforts. The race in in Alton, Illinois, but is available to anyone through the ADAO’s Virtual Team where you can join in from the front of your computer.

The urgency of a ban

Mesothelioma is a disease that often takes decades to appear after exposure. It currently has no cure. Because of the long lag between exposure and diagnosis, people exposed today may not develop the disease until 2050! This cycle needs to stop now and asbestos must be banned to stop it.

In addition to the steps you can take outlined above, you can donate to the ADAO as a partner in the fight for a ban. You can directly contact the EPA and your legislators. You can be an advocate for the health of many by adding your voice to stop the import and use of asbestos now.

Will Elephants Help Scientists Find a Way to Combat Human Cancers?

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New cells going awry as they replace older cells in the body can often lead to cancer, but a study in the Cell Reports journal describes a way that elephants may lead scientists to new ways to combat human cancers.

Bigger may be better

Since cells are a critical component of acquiring cancer, it is reasonable to think that a large mammal, such as an elephant, would develop more cancers than a smaller mammal, such as a human, since it would clearly have hundreds of times more cells in its large body. However, elephants rarely get cancer in any form.

A paper published by Joshua Schiffman, a pediatric oncologist at the University of Utah, and his team, pointed out an interesting finding showing organism size and cancer rates are the reverse of what rational thought would suppose. In our bodies is a tumor-suppressing gene – P53. Whereas humans have one copy of this important gene; elephants have 20.

The purpose of P53

P53 acts as a genetic triage manager, recognizing abnormal DNA and determining whether to repair or destroy the cell. This is where elephants excel with their overload of P53. For the most part, damaged cells in elephants are killed, not repaired, while other mammals – including humans – tend to try to repair first. Since these damaged cells are killed immediately in elephants, they don’t have time to become cancerous.

Vincent Lynch, who led the study team and is an evolutionary biologist at the University of Chicago, stated, “Elephants are weird. Their cells just die if you give them DNA damage.” He wanted to know why. This quest lead to finding the answer in LIF genes.

What are LIF genes?

He found this strange phenomenon by looking for what genes might be genetically different between an elephant and other small-bodied mammals. Primarily they were looking for genes with extra copies. That’s when he found that one gene, Leukemia Inhibitory Factor, or LIF – known for enhancing fertility – also killed aberrant cells. Almost every mammal, including humans have one copy of LIF, but elephants, manatees, and the hyrax, have many. Elephants have anywhere from 7 to 11 copies. LIF6 is the only gene that appears to act as the executioner when P53 orders a cell killed and only elephants have that specific gene.

Lynch and his team confirmed their suspicions by damaging DNA from African elephant cells in the lab. This pulled the trigger for P53 to give orders to the LIF6 gene, which then killed the damaged cells. But, when LIF6 was made non-functioning, the P53 had nowhere to turn and the elephant sensitivity to cell damage no longer worked, leaving the damaged cells free to roam and multiply.

Ways to combat human cancers are just beginning

P53 and LIF6 functions in elephants are remarkable finds, but there is more to study. In fact, one ongoing study focuses on a set of genes that works to repair elephant DNA instead of killing the cells.

Researchers hope that these in-depth studies of cancer defenses in elephants will be the start of finding additional treatments for cancer in humans.

New Orleans Workers at the W.R. Grace Vermiculite Exfoliation Plant Were Exposed to Asbestos

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New Orleans workers at the W.R. Grace vermiculite exfoliation plant were exposed to asbestos from 1965 to 1989. The facility is located in Jefferson Parish on River Road. During this time, the plant received 148,000 tons of asbestos-contaminated vermiculite from the Libby, Montana mine, also owned by W.R. Grace.

Libby, Montana

The vermiculite mine in Libby operated from the early 1920s until 1990, producing over 70% of vermiculite sold in the U.S. Though vermiculite is a naturally occurring mineral – in appearance, much like mica with multiple shiny layers – it was contaminated with asbestos in the Libby mine. W.R. Grace both mined and processed the ore and then shipped to locations all over the United States, including Louisiana.

The dangers of asbestos contaminated vermiculite

Inhalation is the primary means of exposure to asbestos. As tons of vermiculite were shipped to a location, processed, and shipped out to other locations, the ore released asbestos fibers into the air. These could also be released during the mining, milling, and exfoliation operations. Though workers were the most susceptible to exposure, people in nearby offices and residences could also be exposure, as well as their family members. In the case of W.R. Grace in New Orleans, there is a residential area a few hundred feet northeast of the site.

A report from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services states, “Some studies suggest that populations who live near asbestos mines and mills have experienced excess asbestos-related diseases, specifically mesothelioma.”

Workers at the W.R. Grace vermiculite exfoliation plant were exposed to asbestos

The W.R. Grace plant was an exfoliation facility. That process required vermiculite to be heated to high temperatures. The water contained in the mineral converted to steam and then separated the mineral into its layers, expanding the vermiculite into small worm-shaped pieces. By doing this, its bulk volume was expanded, or “popped,” and the mineral became a commercially valuable product – primarily for attic insulation, concrete aggregate, masonry insulation, horticultural soil conditioner, and a spray-applied fireproofing. But, in this process, asbestos was released and made available for human exposure.

There was a population of 5,047 within one mile of the facility in 1989, the time production ceased. Jefferson Parish still ranks 19th among all U.S. counties in deaths from mesothelioma.

W.R. Grace reported that at the time operations ceased, a remediation was conducted at the site including vacuum and water rinse of equipment, walls, and floors, and removal of equipment.

What to do if you think you were exposed

Diseases from asbestos exposure, such as mesothelioma, can take up to 50 years before symptoms appear. It has only been 30 years since Libby vermiculite processing ceased. If you think you were exposed, the first precaution would be to stop smoking as that can aggravate any potential lung disease. It would also be prudent to let your doctor know the timeframe and degree of exposure you experienced and have regular checkups.

Exposure from working with a product containing asbestos, such as Libby vermiculite, dramatically increases the risk of disease. The sad truth is that those exposed to vermiculite had no idea they were inhaling fibers that would potentially shorten their lives.

Lafayette Natural Science Museum and Planetarium Demolition Delayed Because of Asbestos

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The Lafayette Natural Science Museum and Planetarium demolition delayed because of asbestos, increased the time to tear it down from 72 days to a delay of seven months. It also added a 40 percent increase to the demolition contract, increasing it from $295,500 to $412,591.

Demolition delayed because of asbestos adds to history of the building

The building was constructed in 1969, a time when asbestos was widely used. However, by 2001 it had fallen into disrepair and was vacated in 2001. In the past 16 years, the place became a place for curiosity seekers and others who abused the abandoned structure.

By 2015, the City-Parish Council approved demolishing the building and replacing it with a green space for residents. Delays occurred in the years since as drainage improvements were added to the scope of work, followed by the asbestos discovery.

A lesson for all

This type of scenario is not unique to Lafayette, Louisiana as thousands of buildings across the country were built during the years asbestos was freely used in construction of government, commercial, and residential building.

This unfortunate surprise happened because the city’s engineering department assumed that there was no asbestos since the air-conditioning system was reported to be clear of the mineral. However, because the Louisiana Department of Environmental Quality required a DEQ permit that included an asbestos assessment before demolition, asbestos was discovered in the walls as a waterproofing material.

The lesson for anyone who intends to disturb a building built from the 1930s through the 1970s, is to check for asbestos before any work is begun. Proceeding without an inspection, and possibly abatement, can cost considerably more than expected in both money and the lives of those who may be exposed to the fibers.

There is no safe level of asbestos exposure and the result can include lung cancer, asbestosis, and the fatal disease malignant mesothelioma.

Innovative Study that Inhibits Cancer Metastases

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Researchers at Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine, the National Cancer Institute, and Cleveland Clinic, as well as four other institutions, conducted an innovative study that inhibits cancer metastases through the use of epigenetics.

Epigenetics is the key

Epigenetics is the “study of biological mechanisms that will switch genes on and off.” That is an extremely simplified explanation, but that is the method used by these researchers. In the study, bone cancer (osteosarcoma) cells were halted in their spread to the lungs of mice. This is a major triumph as there is presently no widespread, approved and targeted anti-metastatic therapy for the disease. If metastases is prevented, fatalities from cancers can be reduced significantly.

Peter Scacheri, professor of genetics and genome sciences at Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine and member of the Case Comprehensive Cancer Center stated, “More than 90 percent of all cancer deaths are the result of tumor metastasis, not primary-site tumors. While many of the genes responsible for metastasis have been identified, the mechanisms that control these genes are not well defined. Our findings demonstrate that altered gene-enhancer activity is fundamental to a cancer cell’s ability to metastasize.”

These gene-enhancers, actually short segments of DNA, act like switches to activate genes. This is a necessary process for normal development. There are tens of thousands of these in a single cell! Sometimes, however, the process goes awry and contributes to the formation and spreading of tumor cells. This study showed that the on-off switches of metastasized cancer cells are in different positions than those in the primary tumor.

The experiment to inhibit cancer metastases

The researchers consistently noticed certain bunched groups of enhancers (metastatic variant enhancer loci – Met-VELs) were close to cancer genes in the lung metastases of patients with osteosarcoma. This indicated that were crucial to the metastatic process. They then saw that osteosarcoma cell growth in the lung can be diminished with BET inhibitors (current anti-cancer drugs in clinical trials). These interrupt the Met-VELs function in influencing gene expression. They also found that a certain Met-VEL-linked gene, Tissue Factor (F3), must be present for metastatic colonization. This interruption of signaling and the blood clotting factors of F3 prevented metastasis.

“Our experiments show that removing a single enhancer of the F3 gene in tumor cells virtually eliminates their ability to metastasize in mice,” said Scacheri. “Collectively, our findings establish that enhancer elements endow tumor cells with metastatic capacity and that targeted inhibition of genes associated with enhancer alterations, or deleting altered enhancers themselves is sufficient to block metastatic colonization and proliferation. While our work focused on lung metastasis in osteosarcoma, the findings have implications for other types of metastatic cancer as well.”

The benefits

This experiment changes the way researchers look at stopping cancer metastasis. Most research focused on gene mutation, not how – or even if – specific genes could be turned off or on. Studies in how tumors are formed and the differences in cancer cells versus normal cells has also been a primary area of study – usually in the early stages of a disease. At that point, treatment generally targets primary tumors, not those cancer cells that have traveled elsewhere in the body.

With this study, an entirely new treatment possibility may exist. This may not only affect osteosarcoma metastasizing to the lungs, but may mean the primary tumors of other cancers will be stopped before invading secondary areas of the body. This could be a new way to tackle the spread of mesothelioma and give hope to those diagnosed with this fatal disease.

The knowledge and creativity of scientists and researchers worldwide must be applauded as they continue to develop new and more effective treatments for cancers and other devastating diseases.