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Concerns Over Asbestos Abatement Continue at Lafayette Academy

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We recently posted a blog about substandard asbestos abatement work at the Lafayette Academy Charter School and, at a meeting with school officials and representatives from the Recovery School District (RSD) and the Louisiana Department of Environmental Quality (LDEQ) on July 27th, it was evident that parents’ concerns over asbestos abatement continue due to the possible exposure to their children.

The first abatement was conducted from March through the summer of 2017. The LDEQ inspected the work and found many faults, including children walking the halls around the work area and “sticking their heads in” to see what was happening behind the improperly installed plastic sheeting. This work was supposed to be started in May after school was dismissed for the summer.

The second abatement began in May of this year. Again, LDEQ inspectors found issues with the removal process, including workers walking about the campus wearing the clothes and shoes they wore in contamination areas, thus spreading fibers wherever they walked. The plastic sheeting material was found with holes allowing asbestos to spread.

Concerns over asbestos abatement continue

The Choice Foundation, overseer of the academy, was informed on July 16th by the RSD that the abatement did not follow protocol once again. At that time, the school was closed until it is proven safe for students and faculty.

Meanwhile, school officials, as well as representatives from LDEQ and RSD, continue to claim there was no risk to children during the abatements of 2017 or 2018. They stress air quality tests were far below any dangerous levels.

Next steps

The current abatement should be completed by mid-August, but students will not return until all buildings, contents, and grounds are declared safe which means they will be located at alternate locations throughout much or all of this coming school year.

Students from pre-K – 4th are expected to attend Paul Dunbar school this coming year.

The 5th – 8th grades are targeted to attend the historic McDonogh 35 building on Kerlerec Street. Parents see this as a possible extension of the problem as the McDonogh building is much older that the original uptown Lafayette Academy building and it also contains asbestos. This building is now also undergoing renovation and abatement to prepare for the new students. Though all areas are monitored each day for any sign of mishandling of asbestos-containing materials, confidence is low among parents. Construction on this building should be complete by August 13.

Parents were told the probability classes would resume in alternate locations by August 27 was “extremely high.”

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.

Lung Cancer Vaccine from Cuba Will Have Trial in New York

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lung cancer vaccine to block cancer growthA Cuban lung cancer vaccine will have a trial in New York at the Roswell Park Cancer Center in Buffalo. The trial will begin in approximately 30 days with 60 to 90 lung cancer patients. The drug being tested, Cimavax, has already gone through testing in Cuba, Colombia, and Paraguay.

This drug is not new to many lung cancer patients in the US as the Internet is full of information on it and on locations within Cuba and Colombia, Peru, Bosnia-Herzegovina, and Paraguay where patients can get treatment. The initial treatment consists of four injections: two in the arms, and two in the buttocks. Many patients with Stage 4 non-small cell lung cancer used the 2014 lessening of travel restrictions to travel to Cuba for treatment with the vaccine and to acquire a supply to bring home. Currently this vaccine is not approved by the FDA and is unavailable in the US. The tightening of travel restrictions in 2017 has made traveling to get the vaccine more difficult. Even in the days of easier access to Cuba, the trip is not cheap. Between the administration of one dose of Cimavax, airfare, lodging, and vaccine vials to take back to the US, the cost is over $10,000.

What is Cimavax?

In the mid 1990s, Cuban researchers began work on a vaccine targeting lung cancer. The most recent trials in Cuba show that the vaccine is not a cure, but extends life three to five months. Researchers in Cuba are working on ways to increase these results and extend the use to other cancers. While patients see value in Cimavax, some American doctors are cautiously optimistic while others remain skeptical and believe much of the talk is hype and marketing with many more studies needed.

Cimavax, as well as the newer vaccine Vaxira, work by encouraging the patient’s immune system to fight the disease, but in different ways. Cimavax starves the cancer through antibodies binding to epidermal growth factor (EGF) – and cancer cells need EGF to grow. Vaxira, on the other hand, works by triggering an immune response against several cancers using a certain molecule that, hopefully, blocks the cancer’s growth.

Vaxira, since it is more recently developed, does not have the studies behind it to begin a trial at Roswell, though researchers are studying Vaxira with animals to learn if a clinical trial with humans is warranted.

Why Cuba?

While Americans often think of Cuba along with classic cars, cigars, and beautiful beaches, Cuba is much more. Their biotechnology industry is flourishing with top-level researchers. A number of factors led to this including the US embargo, the Soviet collapse, and Fidel Castro’s plan to make biotech one of the building blocks of Cuba’s economy. Cubans, being on their own, started making knockoff drugs that were so good they were the foundation of this industry. Cuba is the largest exporter of medicine within Latin America with over 50 countries as clients, and medications that are far less expensive than those from first-world countries.

Moving forward with lung cancer vaccine

The collaborations between the dedicated researchers at Havana’s Center of Molecular Immunology and those at Roswell Park Cancer Center began in 2011. They have often spent time in each other’s labs which has already led to ideas for other potential vaccine treatments. In the Roswell trial, Cimamax will be combined with a checkpoint inhibitor, Opdivo, to block proteins on cancer cells. Combining the expertise of such diverse scientists can exponentially increase the possibility of new and better treatments – and possibly cures – for lung cancer, and other cancers.

If the trial goes well at Roswell, it will attract more researchers to lend their knowledge and brain power; patients from around the world will have easier access to treatment; and hopefully American citizens will have access to this vaccine in the US.