An article in The Pipe Dream, Binghamton (NY) University’s on-campus newspaper, reports that asbestos is common in many of the buildings located throughout this upstate New York institution of higher learning. But, says the article, officials aren’t worried.

That’s because the asbestos remains undisturbed and the college has an “asbestos coordinator” on campus that keeps tabs on the state of the dangerous material. As a matter of fact, the campus is the only with the State University of New York (SUNY) system to have such a person on staff.

“Students are never at risk,” said John Price, BU’s asbestos coordinator, because to prevent asbestos particles from entering the air, the University follows strict federal and state regulations and has been conducting asbestos removal projects. In addition, he says, all asbestos on campus is “sealed.”

“Either asbestos is meshed into the matrix of a building material or it is encapsulated,” said Stephen Endres, training coordinator and industrial hygienist for Binghamton’s Office of Environmental Health and Safety. “It’s painted or sprayed over, so basically all the fibers are locked in place.”

Because the university is home to a number of pre-1970s buildings, asbestos is commonplace. “It can be found in areas such as pipe insulation, floor and window caulking or sprayed on steel beams (fire proofing),” says Karen Fennie, Physical Facilities spokesperson.

State regulations require that asbestos be removed if it’s going to be disturbed by new construction or renovation. Otherwise, stresses Fennie, it’s no problem.

Price and his assistants make sure that any abatement being conducted on campus is done by licensed experts and that during the process, the building is properly sealed off and students, faculty, and staff are kept away from the area in question.

Currently, abatement is taking place at the Engineering Building and will continue at the Old Union after school lets out in May 2008. Workers take measures like sealing off work sites, showering before putting on their civilian clothes, and conducting air tests before, during and after removal, says Price.

An abandoned asbestos mine in the middle of Montana’s Gallatin National Forest will not be cleaned up, say officials speaking on behalf of the forest service.

Despite concerns of contamination by those who frequent the park, the Bozeman Daily Chronicle reports that, instead, the trail leading to the old Karst Asbestos Mine has been re-routed in order to skirt the area. The trail, currently known as the Asbestos Mine Trail, will also most likely be renamed.

“We’ve basically determined that the site is not a problem,” said Mary Beth Marks, the Gallatin’s geologist. “Based on doing that work, we believe we’ve taken care of the hazard,” she said.

The mine was first opened in 1901 by pioneer Pete Karst. It operated sporadically through World War II. During those years, hundreds of tons of asbestos were excavated and shipped, first by tram and then by truck. The shipments often traveled through the city of Bozeman, resulting in the need to clean up several sites there. The mine closed in 1975.

Nearby residents say the National Park Service’s refusal to clean up the former mine surprises them. But Department of Environmental Quality officials say there should be no concerns.

“I go up there two or three times a year and I don’t feel at any health risk,” said Pierre Amicucci, a geologist who works in the asbestos control program of the Montana Department of Environmental Quality. However, if the site was in a residential area, it likely would be approached differently, he said.

At the 12th World Conference on Lung Cancer, drug maker Eli Lilly and Co. touted the benefits of the use of their drug ALIMTA to treat patients with malignant pleural mesothelioma.

Data from two large, open label studies was presented at the conference. According to the reports, patients involved in the trials experienced one-year survival rates above 50 percent when treated with ALIMTA or ALIMTA-based regimens for malignant pleural mesothelioma (MPM) in both a first-line and second-line setting.

One of the largest studies ever conducted among mesothelioma victims, the triple-arm, first-line study involved 2,023 patients who received either ALIMTA alone, ALIMTA combined with cisplatin, or ALIMTA and carboplatin. All three arms demonstrated clinically similar one-year survival rates with ALIMTA plus cisplatin producing slightly better results.

“The initial clinical trial results for ALIMTA in malignant pleural mesothelioma were definitely considered a medical breakthrough when they were unveiled just three years ago,” said Richard Gaynor, M.D., vice president, cancer research and global oncology platform leader for Lilly. “It is encouraging that these open-label studies show real world patient treatment outcomes that are consistent with those from the controlled clinical research environment. In my opinion, this is clinically meaningful information to the practicing oncologist.”

Following concerns raised in July by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) about the safety of the beach at Illinois Beach State Park near Zion, a new round of testing began on Wednesday to determine the levels of asbestos there.

NBC5 Chicago reports that over the next eight days, EPA officials will try to mimic a typical day at the beach, participating in activities such as volleyball, Frisbee, and – of course – sunbathing. What they hope to determine is just how human activity can stir up asbestos fibers from the large pieces found on the beach.

According to NBC5, officials say they are trying to prove their hypothesis that the beach is safe.

“We are trying to look and assess is there any danger out here for the public,” said Richard Karl, who is with the EPA.

“Why wasn’t that done last time,” asked NBC5 political editor Carol Marin.

“That I don’t know,” he said.

“Every time they test the air, they find asbestos,” said Jeff Camplin, an asbestos professional who has battled with state and federal authorities over how safe the beach is.
“We have enough data to close down the beaches.”

Residents and environmental activists say the problem at the beach is two-fold: some asbestos is already buried in the sand and additional pieces are washing up on shore. Beach officials must keep tabs on both.

The story points out that despite a recommendation by an attorney general’s task force that three beach sweeps occur each week, the State Department of Natural Resources was only doing one. After the media picked up the story, the state finally upped that to three beach sweeps a week during summer months.

This entry was posted on Friday, September 7th, 2007 at 12:48 pm and is filed under News. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.

The former superintendent of buildings and grounds for Cayuga County (NY) may be under federal investigation after he admitted under oath Tuesday that he knew of illegal asbestos removal at the county Board of Elections building, reports the Auburn (NY) Citizen.

Superintendent Ernie DeCaro made the admission during testimony this week at the sentencing hearing of John Chick, a county employee who has admitted to illegally removing asbestos from the Board of Elections building last year. Chick pled guilty earlier this year and was convicted of violating the federal Clean Air Act.

Tuesday’s hearing, notes the newspaper account, was held “to determine the extent of Chick’s responsibility for the crime.” At this time, no one else has been charged in connection with the asbestos removal, which occurred while an old boiler was being replaced. Environmental officials believe the illegal act caused airborne asbestos fibers to circulate throughout the building.

Federal prosecutors have called Chick an “unreliable witness” and note that he has not taken “full responsibility” for his actions.

DeCaro’s admission, however, may throw a monkey wrench into the proceedings. The former superintendent said he knew of Chick’s illegal activity and did not stop him. “I didn’t want to be the one that turned him in,” he said on the stand.

At that point, the judge halted the hearing and advised DeCaro to retain an attorney. The sentencing hearing was rescheduled for late October.

Following concerns raised in July by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) about the safety of the beach at Illinois Beach State Park near Zion, a new round of testing began on Wednesday to determine the levels of asbestos there.

NBC5 Chicago reports that over the next eight days, EPA officials will try to mimic a typical day at the beach, participating in activities such as volleyball, Frisbee, and – of course – sunbathing. What they hope to determine is just how human activity can stir up asbestos fibers from the large pieces found on the beach.

According to NBC5, officials say they are trying to prove their hypothesis that the beach is safe.

“We are trying to look and assess is there any danger out here for the public,” said Richard Karl, who is with the EPA.

“Why wasn’t that done last time,” asked NBC5 political editor Carol Marin.

“That I don’t know,” he said.

“Every time they test the air, they find asbestos,” said Jeff Camplin, an asbestos professional who has battled with state and federal authorities over how safe the beach is.
“We have enough data to close down the beaches.”

Residents and environmental activists say the problem at the beach is two-fold: some asbestos is already buried in the sand and additional pieces are washing up on shore. Beach officials must keep tabs on both.

The story points out that despite a recommendation by an attorney general’s task force that three beach sweeps occur each week, the State Department of Natural Resources was only doing one. After the media picked up the story, the state finally upped that to three beach sweeps a week during summer months.

According to a recent press release on PR Web, a Phase III clinical trial is underway at the National Institutes of Health Clinical Center in Maryland to determine the effectiveness of the drug Vorinostat in treating patients with pleural malignant mesothelioma.

Manufactured by Merck, Vorinostat – marketed under the brand name Zolinza – is a prescription medicine most commonly used to treat cutaneous T-cell lymphoma in patients where the cancer worsens, does not go away, or returns after treatment with other medicines. Zolinza is taken in capsule form.

According to the article, candidates for the trial must “have a histologically or cytologically confirmed diagnosis of pleural mesothelioma, which may be of the epithelial, sarcomatoid or mixed sub-type. All patients must also have previously gone through 1 or 2 standard systemic mesothelioma treatments that included pemetrexed disodium and either cisplatin or carboplatin.”

The clinic hopes to enroll 660 mesothelioma patients in this trial, which will also attempt to ascertain the level of toxicity as well as any side effects that occur in patients who have been prescribed Vorinostat and compare these results against those of patients who have been administered a placebo.

Australia’s Department of Defense has come under fire by asbestos-disease advocates for publicly stating that they want to continue using spare parts and equipment containing asbestos because they can’t find a reasonable alternative.

In 2004, notes an article in the Sydney Morning Herald, the department was given a three-year exemption from laws banning the use of products containing asbestos to give it time to replace existing parts. However, with that deadline on the horizon, Defense has asked for another three years. They want to keep using such asbestos-containing equipment as brake pads, gaskets, seals, fire barriers, insulation and packaging, the article points out.

“The navy has listed more than 130,000 items of equipment parts that contain asbestos. The air force and army have listed hundreds of products containing asbestos that are still in use,” says the article. “These include the P3 Orion aircraft, the Iroquois, Kiowa and Black Hawk helicopters, and a range of vehicles including Land Rovers, trailers and artillery pieces.”

Experts say alternatives are available to replace asbestos-containing parts but the Department of Defense has failed to make the change. Thousands of Department of Defense personnel have already been sickened with or died from asbestos-related diseases.

Executive director of the Asbestos Diseases Society of Victoria, Leigh Hubbard, said he was horrified Defense was seeking a further exemption.

“If this exemption goes ahead … we are likely to see several dozen more victims added to the list,” he said. They should be like every other workplace in the country that’s been forced to find non-asbestos substitutes and have a zero tolerance attitude.”

Tenants at Chicago’s historic Pittsfield Building, located on the city’s famed Loop, are still awaiting word on when they can return to their offices following a rushed evacuation due to the discovery of asbestos.

A story on ABC7 Chicago states that a month has now passed since the tenants – which include jewelers, clothiers, doctors, and dentists – were given just minutes to leave the building. Most weren’t able to grab computers, records, or other items important to maintaining their businesses.

Dr. Gary Grygotis has a dental practice on one of nine floors that were found to be riddled with asbestos. He estimates that his practice has lost about $100,000 thus far and is frustrated that he’s unable to retrieve his laptop computer, which contains patient records.

“They didn’t say how long we’d be out — whether it would be a day, two days, a week. We had no way of knowing,” said Grygotis.

The Illinois Department of Health sent inspectors to the building last month, acting on a tip that the old high-rise contained large amounts of exposed asbestos. A Department of Health spokesperson says authorities cannot allow any items to be removed from offices on contaminated floors because computers, patient files and other items may now be unhealthy because of their exposure to asbestos.

“I appreciate the Illinois Department of Health evacuating us, but this is still a sick building, it’s a remarkable building but it’s had its day and there’s asbestos still in it,” said John O’Connell, another Pittsfield Building tenant.

The building management team refused to comment on the progress of the clean-up and tenants are being told to check a Web site for updates. No return date has been set at this time, but late last week, the department agreed to try to help some tenants retrieve essential items.

Asbestos has been discovered for a second time at a Rutherford, New Jersey parochial high school where the hazardous material had been removed last November.

School officials at St. Mary’s High School reported last week that asbestos had once again been found in the wrestling team’s locker room and on a steam pipe in the cafeteria.

An article in the Herald News stated that parents of the 350 students who attend the school were informed of the asbestos discovery by letter. Many were concerned about exposure, but archdiocesan officials told the parents there was no reason to be alarmed.

“We addressed concerns that there could have been a possible episode,” said James Goodness, director of communications for the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Newark, which includes St. Mary’s Parish. “We were not aware that there was a concern before anybody called. We felt that we had done all we needed to do.”

Goodness explained that the archdiocese’s property maintenance team had scrubbed the steam pipe in the cafeteria at the high school on Chestnut Street, which had been originally wrapped in asbestos, after a leak in November 2006 and thought that the issue had been remedied. When EPA officials came to the school for inspection last week, they advised the archdiocese to take another look at the pipe.

“Although we believed that the scrubbing had removed all traces of asbestos, the investigator felt that some trace or residue might still exist on the pipe, and ordered a rescrubbing,” according to the letter from parish officials.

The letter to parents also indicated that pieces of asbestos found in the locker room may have been dislodged during renovations of a nearby bathroom.

“It is possible that the asbestos became detached while the tiles in the bathroom were being replaced or when some of those pipes were being replaced at an earlier time,” the letter said. “Since this situation created a potential ‘fiber release episode’ in the event ceiling tiles needed to be removed, however, it was determined that the school needed to arrange for removal of the fallen asbestos and recovering of the pipes.”

“The few loose pieces of asbestos sitting on top of the tiles are going to be removed according to the guidelines and replaced according to guidelines,” Goodness said.

The results of air quality tests taken at the school will not be available for about 6 weeks.