The Watford Observer reports that a local man who worked for 30 years as an air conditioning engineer has died of mesothelioma, caused by on-the-job exposure to asbestos.

In a country plagued by an increasing rate of asbestos deaths, the case of Roger Keegan, age 64, is just another in a long line of casualties caused by England’s rampant use of the toxic material during the last five or six decades.

Keegan seemed to have no health concerns before he was diagnosed with mesothelioma, an asbestos-caused cancer, in the summer of 2004, his widow Pauline pointed out.

“He was a very fit and healthy man. That is why this is so hard to take,” explained Pauline. “He didn’t smoke and didn’t really drink either but we knew he’d been exposed to asbestos. We first knew he was ill when he started getting short of breath.”

“In older days, asbestos was used all the time,” she continued. “He could remember laggers’ mixing up huge dust bins of asbestos - nobody knew it was dangerous then.”

“But Roger kept going right to the end. I remember he gave up work for about two weeks before he told his oncologist he would go mad if he stayed at home any longer, so he went back.”

A press release issued by the Asbestos Disease Awareness Organization (ADAO) reports that Linda Reinstein, the organization’s executive director, was honored in the UK with an award that acknowledges her work on behalf of asbestos disease sufferers in the U.S. and beyond.

The Forum of UK Asbestos Support Groups presented the award to Reinstein during a session of the House of Commons on May 16th. The award was part of a special educational asbestos seminar hosted by the All Party Parliamentary Group.

“The Parliament passed a Resolution in June, 1806 about the abolition of slavery, but its message could easily be replaced with a message about the abolition of asbestos,” said Reinstein after receiving her award.

“I would like to see a similar resolution that reads: ‘That this House, conceiving asbestos to be contrary to the principles of justice, humanity and sound policy…and the same is hereby utterly abolished, prohibited, and declared to be unlawful.’ Clearly, this is a message we need to implement not only in the UK or the U.S. - but worldwide - that asbestos will not be tolerated and that victims deserve justice and humane treatment,” added Reinstein.

“I am honored to receive this special award from the Forum of UK Asbestos Support Groups, which have worked tirelessly to evoke positive change for asbestos victims and I thank them and other victims groups, including the International Ban on Asbestos Secretariat (IBAS), headed by Laurie Kazan-Allen, for the important work they are doing. It is incredible for ADAO to be included in this movement.”

The ADAO was established in 2004 and consists of family members and friends of those stricken with asbestos-related diseases. The group was formed to provide a united voice for all those touched by these diseases.

The Kansas City InfoZine, an online newspaper, reports that engineers and scientists from the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) have completed their first project using a new method of asbestos removal. This new technology, dubbed the Alternative Asbestos Removal Method (AARM) was successfully used at a building at the now-defunct Fort Chaffee, Arkansas.

To conduct studies on the new method, EPA employees cleared one Fort Chaffee building using the new method and another using the standard method of asbestos removal, also known as the National Emissions Standards for Hazardous Air Pollutants (NESHAP) method. As they were demolished, environmental emissions were monitored to determine if the alternative protected the environment as well as the NESHAP method, reports the article.

The old NESHAP process demands that some asbestos be removed prior to the demolition of the structure. It can be very time consuming and expensive, note experts. After the demolition, both the structure and the asbestos inside are taken to a landfill that is licensed to handle asbestos.

With the new AARM method, some friable asbestos is also removed before demolition but some asbestos-containing materials are allowed to remain, the article explains. The structure is then wetted with amended water to control asbestos fiber release prior to and during demolition. Demolition debris and several inches of affected soil from this process are disposed as asbestos-containing debris at an approved landfill, much like the first method.

The initial study indicated that levels of airborne asbestos were lower than expected with AARM, therefore providing a safer work environment for abatement professionals. There was also evidence that cost and time-saving would be substantial with the new method.

The Kansas City InfoZine, an online newspaper, reports that engineers and scientists from the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) have completed their first project using a new method of asbestos removal. This new technology, dubbed the Alternative Asbestos Removal Method (AARM) was successfully used at a building at the now-defunct Fort Chaffee, Arkansas.

To conduct studies on the new method, EPA employees cleared one Fort Chaffee building using the new method and another using the standard method of asbestos removal, also known as the National Emissions Standards for Hazardous Air Pollutants (NESHAP) method. As they were demolished, environmental emissions were monitored to determine if the alternative protected the environment as well as the NESHAP method, reports the article.

The old NESHAP process demands that some asbestos be removed prior to the demolition of the structure. It can be very time consuming and expensive, note experts. After the demolition, both the structure and the asbestos inside are taken to a landfill that is licensed to handle asbestos.

With the new AARM method, some friable asbestos is also removed before demolition but some asbestos-containing materials are allowed to remain, the article explains. The structure is then wetted with amended water to control asbestos fiber release prior to and during demolition. Demolition debris and several inches of affected soil from this process are disposed as asbestos-containing debris at an approved landfill, much like the first method.

The initial study indicated that levels of airborne asbestos were lower than expected with AARM, therefore providing a safer work environment for abatement professionals. There was also evidence that cost and time-saving would be substantial with the new method.

Supporters of those with asbestos-related diseases see Australia’s proposal to close their asbestos register as a way to mask the ever growing problem in a country that’s suffered widely due to asbestos use.

The federal government recently announced its intention to put an end to the register, which serves to record new cases of mesothelioma as they arise. But New South Wales (NSW) Industrial Relations Minister John Della Bosca said the closure of the register “would only serve as a crude attempt to try and hide the full extent of those suffering from asbestos-related diseases,” reports a story on News Nine.

“You need look no further than the plight of the James Hardie workers … to see it is essential a register is retained,” he said in a statement. “Instead of abolishing the register, an improved model needs to be found to make the tracking and monitoring of asbestos-related diseases even more effective.”

However, the Australian Safety and Compensation Council (ASCC) says the register is inadequate. “The current collection (of information) was useful in the past, but no longer adequately takes into account changing circumstances,” an ASCC statement read.

The ASCC said it would instead publish an annual report on new cases and deaths, including trends over time, and a report on the circumstances of past exposure to asbestos.

An article in the News and Star reports that 300 men from the region of Cumbria, England have died of asbestos-related cancer in the last 19 years. These figures, recently released by the Health and Safety Executive, also indicate an upward trend in the rates of mesothelioma diagnosed among local men who have worked in this highly industrial area for most of their lives.

Ian McFall, head of asbestos policy at Thompsons Solicitors, said: “These figures once again highlight the devastation asbestos has inflicted on people in Cumbria. Many of those affected worked in shipyards, factories or building sites and were given no protection or warning about the risks of asbestos exposure despite their employers being fully aware of the danger.”

“Although shocking, these figures come as no surprise given the widespread use of asbestos in the past,” added McFall, who is representing the families of many mesothelioma victims in attempts to obtain compensation for their loss.

“Sadly, the number of people who will die from this disease will continue to rise until 2020,” he explained.

The report also broke down the number of cases into different areas. Figures showed as much as a 30% increase in many towns during the period 1985-2004 as compared to 1981-2000. The town of Barrow, where a large shipyard has operated for several decades, saw the largest increase in cases of mesothelioma.

An Oklahoma woman who has developed mesothelioma is filing suit against 84 defendants, alleging that she contracted the disease by being exposed to dangerous asbestos dust brought home on the clothing of both her father and husband.

Lisa Rawlings’ husband, Luke, worked as a welder at various locations across the country and her father, Harold Winton, was employed as a mechanic while Lisa was growing up.

According to the Madison County (IL) Record, the complaint states that “dust created by working with and around asbestos and asbestos-containing products would permeate the person and clothing of the plaintiff’s family members. This dust contained asbestos fiber.”

Rawlings, who worked as both a teacher and postal employee, was not directly exposed to asbestos at any of her jobs.

The complaint also alleges that “defendants failed to require and advise their employees of hygiene practices designed to reduce or prevent carrying asbestos fibers home.” As a result, Rawlings says she was “exposed to fibers containing asbestos, and developed a disease caused only by asbestos which has disabled and disfigured her.”

Rawlings is seeking compensatory damages in excess of $300,000 as well as punitive damages.

The town of Portsmouth, England, where many former dock workers at stricken with asbestos-caused mesothelioma, has decided that it will not fund the use of the drug Alimta© to treat local patients because it’s not “effective enough.”

Alimta, which in the U.S. is the only FDA-approved chemotherapy drug for the treatment of mesothelioma, is being denied to Portsmouth residents and to those in several other British towns, because the National Health Service (NHS) believes a drug that only prolongs life for about 3 months on average is not cost-effective. They also claim the drug has horrendous side effects.

Other places in the United Kingdom where hundreds were exposed to asbestos, including Liverpool, Scotland, and Newcastle, have allowed the use of the drug, which when combined with another chemo drug, Cisplatin, relieves many of the painful symptoms of the disease, including shortness of breath and chest pain.

According to Porstmouth Today, a local newspaper which recently profiled the dilemma, the decision angers residents like 75-year-old Roy Beane, who once worked at the town’s shipyard.

“I used to walk the dogs for two hours a day, now I can’t even walk up the hill. I haven’t worked near asbestos for 50 years,” says Beane. “The pain never goes away. It’s a constant reminder. My left lung has practically collapsed.”

His wife, June, 73, added: “He deserves to have Alimta. So do hundreds of other people with this terrible disease. Roy is my life. I would do anything for him – I would have this disease for him if I could.”

According to the article, Portsmouth has the sixth highest mesothelioma death rate among men in Great Britain and the figures are expected to continue to rise. The National Institute for Clinical Excellence has only currently recommended Alimta for use as part of on-going trials but will make decisions pertaining to further use later in the year.

“Perhaps there is a case to be made that because Portsmouth is a hotspot for mesothelioma the primary care trust should consider Alimta a top priority,” noted Portsmouth parliamentary member Sarah McCarthy-Fry. She has asked the health secretary to speed up the decision.

A settlement has been reached with the Architect of the Capitol, which demands that the asbestos-laden tunnels underneath the Capitol complex be fixed within the next 5 years.

According to an ABC-7 News report, the correction of safety issues in the tunnels is part of a settlement with the independent agency that enforces safety rules for Capitol Hill workers.

The Office of Compliance notes that they’ve been complaining about the state of the tunnels since 2000 but the problem just recently came to national attention when the 10 tunnel workers wrote letters to several Senators and Congress members, explaining their predicament.

The men have long been exposed to damaged asbestos, which lines pipes found in the tunnels. The pipes carry steam and cold water to the entire complex. The men have also complained of falling concrete and temperatures that reach in excess of 160 degrees.

Under the settlement, the architect must fix safety and health hazards within five years. The Office of Compliance will have someone monitoring the agreement full-time and can go to court to enforce the terms if they find the work is not being completed to their satisfaction.

Upon hearing of the settlement, one of the tunnel workers noted that the Architect of the Capitol “got off easy.”

A small town in England that has been deeply touched by the dangers of asbestos exposure is building a memorial in homage to its many residents who have passed on due to asbestos-related diseases, notes an article in the Barking and Dagenham Recorder.

The Barking and Dagenham Asbestos Victim Support Group will be placing a stone memorial at the site of the former Cape Asbestos plant, which stood on Harts Lane in the town of Barking until it closed in 1968. For decades, the factory produced asbestos and asbestos-containing products.

Locals have dubbed the former plant “an industrial killing machine,” believing it to be responsible for literally hundreds of deaths, including workers as well as those who merely lived in the vicinity of the plant.

“What we do not want is a little plaque, hidden away where no one can see it,” said Mick Connolly, chairman of the Barking and Dagenham Asbestos Victim Support Group, formed to bring the problems of local asbestos exposure to light.

“Obviously, we are dependent on planning permission, but it is hoped we can have a memorial that people will see and that they will take notice of.”

“Ideally we would be looking for a stone image of a man and woman working at the factory, with a carved explanation,” he added.

Great Britain currently suffers from one of the highest rates of asbestos-related diseases in the world. The British government has been trying to discern how best to compensate victims of mesothelioma and other asbestos-related illnesses.