Part of Interstate 75 in Plano, Texas will be closed this week as two contractors work to remove asbestos-laden paint from overpasses that stretch above the busy highway.

According to an article in Pegasus News, the Texas Department of Transportation will intermittently close two lanes at a time on US 75 at Parker Road in Plano beginning on or about April 1. The department notes that they will be performing the maintenance work during less busy times, namely between the hours of 8 pm and 4:30 pm, when traffic is minimal.

“Performing asbestos removal requires extra safety precautions and is highly dependent on weather conditions,” the article notes. “For this reason, contractors will not be allowed to perform work if winds exceed 25 miles per hour or if forecasts indicate a high chance for rain. To ensure public safety, work will be performed using a chemical application versus the traditional sandblasting method, and crews will monitor air quality in and around the work zone.”

“The actual lane closures should only take about six days; however, due to the unpredictability of the weather, the project may not be completed for several weeks,” said TxDOT Collin County Area Engineer Ron Johnston, who notes that lanes will be closed two at a time until the overpass has been painted in its entirety.

According to an article in the South African newspaper The Mercury, final regulations for the banning of asbestos in that country will come into effect today, Environmental Affairs Minister Marthinus van Schalkwyk reported.

Addressing a media briefing in the city of Pretoria on Thursday, Van Schalkwyk said the regulations would “prohibit the use, processing, manufacturing and import and export of any asbestos or asbestos-containing materials.” Exemptions would be granted only in very specific circumstances and, where this was the case, they would be strictly controlled, he added.

Penalties for the continued use of asbestos would include a fine which would not exceed R 100,000 (about $12,000 USD) and/or imprisonment of less than 10 years.

Van Schalkwyk pointed out that the country began phasing out the use of asbestos about five years ago, so he expects that the final legislation will not adversely affect the economy of the country.

South Africa mined crocidolite, amosite and chrysotile asbestos extensively from the late 1800s until 2001. Many of the country’s miners have been sickened by or died from ongoing exposure to asbestos.

By issuing a total ban on the use of asbestos, South Africa joins approximately 50 other countries that have done the same, including all the countries of the European Union.

The mayor of Houston told residents of a senior housing community, which suffered a fire in November, that he believes they should be able to retrieve their belongings from their damaged apartments as long as they don’t hold the Houston Housing Authority responsible for damages, even though many of the items are covered with thick asbestos dust.

According to an article in the Houston Chronicle, Mayor Bill White told residents of the Bellerive Apartments on Tuesday that City Attorney Arturo Michel would consult with the housing authority’s attorneys to draft a legal waiver that tenants could sign to get their belongings back.

Kim Szeto, a leader of a social service agency working with the Bellerive tenants, said she believes that the dust won’t be a deterrent and that most of them would be willing to sign the waiver just to be able to get their treasured belongings back into their possession. The authority says items in 61 of the project’s 210 apartments are potentially contaminated with asbestos.

Residents say they don’t have the estimated $3,400 it would cost to remove asbestos fibers from clothing and furniture, as the housing authority says is necessary before they can be returned. However, Mayor White urged the housing authority not to destroy tenants’ belongings until the city has time to work with the agency to find a solution. He said it was “pretty intrusive” for a government agency to prevent anyone from recovering personal items from the scene of a fire.

Joe Rafferty, the president and owner of DSM Environmental Services, told the housing authority that he believes only two units need to undergo the expensive cleaning. But the agency disagrees with Rafferty’s assessment, noting that exposure to any level of asbestos is hazardous.

A Food Lion store in the popular tourist town of Myrtle Beach, South Carolina was closed yesterday after the South Carolina Department of Health and Environmental Controls (DHEC) determined that asbestos dust may have been released during a renovation project.

According to an article posted on South Carolina Now, officials say that anyone who was in the store between Feb. 18 and March 25 may have been affected.

“A contractor began removing floor tiles last month with a process that is suspected to have released asbestos fibers from the mastic used to secure those tiles,” said Myra Reece, chief of DHEC’s Bureau of Air Quality in a new released issued Wednesday by DHEC. “The process that was used should have been done in a manner that limits the amount of asbestos released into the air, thus protecting the workers, store employees and customers.”

“Our concern is that people who were in the store during this time may have breathed in asbestos fibers or purchased food products that may have asbestos-containing dust on them,” Reece added. “While air samples in the store during the project showed no asbestos, other DHEC samples on store surfaces found evidence of chrysotile, an asbestos mineral.”

Erik R. Svendsen, PhD, the DHEC’s state environmental epidemiologist believes that even for those who frequented the store between the two dates in question, exposure risk would have been minimal. However, he notes that for those with further concerns, the DHEC has prepared a fact sheet with answers to questions customers may have about the issue and what to do with food items purchased from the store between Feb. 18 and March 25. That information can be found at DHEC’s Web site at http://www.scdhec.gov.

The Asbestos Disease Awareness Organization (ADAO) will be sponsoring its 4th annual Asbestos Awareness Day Conference on Saturday, March 29, 2008. According to a press release by the organization, which provides information and support to asbestos-related disease sufferers and their families, this year’s event will be held at the Barbara Ann Karmanos Cancer Center in Detroit, Mich.

The conference, notes the release, will include “weekend events to enhance awareness, education and outreach to those affected by asbestos exposure and asbestos-related disease.” These events will include a welcome reception, international conference and a special remembrance celebration that will launch National Asbestos Awareness Week.

The organization is expecting more than 100 attendees, including families, employers, employees, physicians, scientists and healthcare providers, all of whom have been touched by asbestos and asbestos-related diseases in some way or another.

“The weekend activities are part of ADAO’s continuing efforts to educate the public about the dangers of asbestos, advocate for asbestos-free products, and encourage research efforts to improve treatment options for those with asbestos-related diseases,” the press release explains, noting that the conference is a collaborative partnership of ADAO, the Barbara Ann Karmanos Cancer Institute and the International Ban Asbestos Secretariat.

Keynote speaker for the event will be Terry Lynch, International Association of Heat & Frost Insulators and Asbestos Workers Union. Other speakers include mesothelioma and asbestos experts from around the world.

Even though British citizens who’ve developed mesothelioma due to on-the-job exposure can claim compensation for their injuries, those who contracted the disease through home projects or by secondhand exposure have been unable to collect similar compensation.

But last year, hope was on the horizon for these victims, with a promise from government ministers that they would extend compensation to people who had been exposed to the fibers at home or elsewhere in their environment, such as those who breathed in dust off the clothes of their partners.

According to an article in The Observer, mesothelioma sufferers are now worried that a time limit is going to be placed on the deal, which will stipulate that they have 12 months from the diagnosis to file their claim. If that’s the case, thousands of victims who’ve already been diagnosed will be unable to receive compensation.

“The proposal to bring in compensation for non-workers is included in the Child Maintenance and Other Payments bill now going through Parliament,” the article noted. “It is likely to receive royal assent later this year, and initial plans suggest that compensation would be tied to a 12-month limit.”

A spokeswoman for the Department for Work and Pensions said no final decision has been made as to whether to initiate the 12-month limit.

The installation of pollution controls at Mirant’s Morgantown (Md.) Power Plant had to be temporarily halted last week due to the presence of asbestos.

According to an article in the Washington Post, already-present asbestos materials may have been disturbed during the installation process, causing an immediate work stoppage until levels of the hazardous fibers could be checked.

“The construction to install the Selective Catalytic Reduction System, which is a pollution control technology, was temporarily halted due to a potential concern of asbestos in the construction work area,” said Misty Allen, a Mirant spokeswoman.

“Once we brought in the equipment to do the testing and analysis, all the testing results came back favorable and well below any limits that would have triggered concern or additional required action,” she added.

Allen notes that the asbestos in question served as insulation for an industrial fan. Though it was clearly marked, a contractor broke a barrier that surrounded it, causing damage to the material. Contract workers were immediately evacuated and a third party was brought in to properly remove the asbestos.

Some of the contractors were concerned about exposure during this incident and throughout the three weeks they’ve been working at the plant. Power plants once made widespread use of asbestos for thermal insulation purposes.

“I don’t think it was a big contamination, but it could be,” said one worker from Kentucky, who added that workers told their superiors twice, on different days, that the barrier had been disrupted before testing was done. “Somebody needs to complain because people go home to their families after they work,” he said.

An official complaint has now been filed with the Maryland Occupational Safety and Health division with the state labor department, said Rhonda Wardlaw, a spokeswoman for the agency. Nevertheless, some workers continue to express dismay about the incident.

“Asbestos ain’t nothing to play with,” said one worker. He and others who commented asked not to be named for fear of job repercussions.

Attempts to cover up a costly asbestos problem is leading to the demise of a small northern California Christian school, say those closest to the situation.

According to an article in the Record, the discovery of asbestos on President’s Day weekend in February at the Mokelumne River School has resulted in “declining enrollment, infighting on the board of trustees, the firing of a principal and worries that the 35-year-old institution may not survive.”

The article notes that since the asbestos incident, more than 20 percent of the school’s students have been removed by their parents and more are expected to follow. In addition, four board members have been removed from their seats by the board president, a handful of teachers have resigned, and the school’s K-8 principal Nadine Zerbe has been fired.

A parents’ organization, led by Gary Silva and Kevin Schwemley, blames the rapid deterioration of the school on school founder Clifford Goehring’s attempts to cover up the asbestos discovery to avoid paying what has been estimated at $50,000 in clean-up costs.

“I deny those allegations,” Goehring said. “We’re doing everything we can to clean up. I did make some missteps, and if I could do it over, I would do things differently. I have some regrets. Now, I want to regroup and move on.”

Asbestos tiles were exposed when Goehring and a number of volunteers were pulling down tiles in the school’s breezeway. Volunteers left the tiles exposed, unaware that they were bound in asbestos.

Days later, Shane Jones, an asbestos expert who is also the parent of a Mokelumne River student, tested the materials for asbestos. The results were positive so Jones advised the principal to evacuate the school.

“He told me to keep quiet, and he wanted my son to lie about it,” Jones said. “That’s what bothers me so much. It’s the ethics of it.”

According to the San Joaquin Valley Air Pollution Control District compliance manager John Cadrett, the school did test positive for asbestos, but nobody at the school was in danger because the asbestos was found in a non-friable state.

Still, parents are angry at how the situation was handled. “I can deal with a lot of things,” parent Tammy Johnson said. “But when someone has that type of disregard for my child’s safety, I don’t tolerate it.”

A Department of Education spokesperson announced that Staten Island’s New Dorp High School would be temporarily closing its doors for asbestos abatement, but parents, students, and faculty shouldn’t worry, she added.

“Whenever we do any kind of renovation, there’s always some type of asbestos abatement to ensure that every safety method is followed,” said Marge Feinberg in an article in the Staten Island Advance, noting that she was unsure of the type of renovation the high school plans on doing.

“It’s not clear if there really is asbestos,” said Ms. Feinberg, who added that if the toxic mineral is indeed present, it’s likely embedded in the floor, is not exposed, and does not present a danger in its current state. “They’re just following all asbestos abatement regulations, just as a precaution,” she explained.

Feinberg also added that the work would be performed by a state licensed asbestos abatement team that is well-versed in all the particulars of asbestos removal and knows what precautions to take to ensure safe removal.

Feinberg said the School Construction Authority for the district would be monitoring the abatement and any subsequent repairs. “Although class is dismissed due to Easter break, students and faculty will not be able to enter the high school beginning Friday at 7 a.m.,” Feinberg explained. The precautionary abatement process will conclude the following day. The athletic field will not be affected and if all goes as planned, classes will resume on Monday.

Teachers unions in the U.K., startled by yet another death of a teacher due to asbestos exposure, have issued a decree demanding that all asbestos be cleared from schools by 2010.

According to an article in the Daily Post, a Welsh newspaper, as the Association of Teachers and Lecturers (ATL) began their annual conference in Torquay yesterday, delegates were expected to back demands for the government to survey all schools for asbestos.

In a written statement, delegates to the ATL conference called for “the complete removal of asbestos from all educational establishments” by 2010.

“We are deeply concerned about the continuing risk to teachers, support staff and pupils from asbestos,” said ATL general secretary Dr. Mary Bousted.

“We don’t know how many schools still contain asbestos, so most teachers have little idea of whether they or their pupils are being exposed. Schools should keep and maintain asbestos registers to record the locations and condition of any asbestos and let staff know,” she suggested.

“Over 400 ATL members know they have been exposed to asbestos in their school or college. But this is the tip of the iceberg. Many teachers and pupils will be unaware, and because asbestos related illnesses take between 15 to 60 years to develop it is difficult to know how many will become ill or die as a result of exposure.”

NUT, the National Union of Teachers, have also called for similar actions. “[Authorities] are duty bound by law to ensure schools under their control are hazard free,” said David Evans, NUT Wales secretary.