The president of a Methuen, Mass. asbestos abatement school that granted scores of certificates to illegal immigrants, allowing them to become asbestos workers and supervisors, has been indicted in U.S. District Court.

According to an article in South Coast Today, Albania Deleon was first indicted last August for submitting fraudulent documents to the Massachusetts Division of Occupational Safety. She was charged this week in a superseding indictment with one count of conspiracy to make false statements, encourage illegal aliens to reside in the United States and to hire illegal aliens.

According to federal affidavits, Ms. Deleon “routinely issued asbestos certificates to people who did not attend required training courses or pass the test.” She allegedly arranged for them to receive fraudulent certificates in exchange for paying a $400 fee. The regular cost of the course and exams was $350.

Prosecutors have noted that several of those who received the fraudulent certificates were illegal immigrants from New Bedford. They worked across Massachusetts at demolition and construction sites, overseeing asbestos removal, the article notes.

Many of the untrained certificate recipients were directed to work for Methuen Staffing, Ms. Deleon’s temporary services company that specialized in asbestos removal, court records said.

The alleged scheme enabled Ms. Deleon to save over $1 million in tax and insurance payments while placing unskilled and untrained workers in the asbestos abatement field, court records said.

If convicted, Ms. Deleon faces up to five years in prison, followed by three years of supervised release and a $250,000 fine.

A French court of appeals in Douai announced last week that they are upholding a ruling to fine the manufacturer of power generation equipment for exposing its workers to dangerous asbestos dust.

According to an article in Safety and Health Practitioner Magazine, the ruling is a first in France, because the company has also been ordered to pay damages to all employees exposed to the risk, regardless of whether they have been directly affected or not.

The company in question is Alstom Power Boilers in the town of Lily-lez-Lannoy. It was alleged that from 1998 to 2001, the company exposed employees to asbestos dust in what the court described as a “deliberate violation” of the firm’s health and safety obligations. Alstom was also accused of not providing sufficient information for workers regarding protection from asbestos exposure including the failure to provide any sort of protective clothing or masks.

So far, seven of the company’s employees have died and about 30 percent of Alstom’s workforce has developed some sort of asbestos-related illness.

“On Thursday, 6 March, the French Court of Appeals ruled to uphold Alstom Power Boilers’ €75000 fine - the maximum penalty available,” the article notes. However, at the same time, former plant manager Bernard Gomez had his suspended prison sentence reduced from nine months to just three months. His €3000 fine, however, was upheld at appeal.

In a settlement announced on Tuesday, W.R. Grace and Company has agreed to pay the federal government $250 million for environmental cleanup around its mining operations in Libby, Mont.

According to an article in the New York Times, this is the largest payment ever ordered under the Superfund program, which identifies and cleans up areas that are contaminated with dangerous toxic waste.

The article notes that “the settlement requires the approval of a federal judge overseeing the company’s bankruptcy proceedings and does not resolve a separate criminal case in Montana also arising from Grace’s alleged asbestos contamination of Libby.”

To date, hundreds of workers who toiled at W.R. Grace’s vermiculite mine in the small central Montana town have died of asbestos-related diseases as have many community members.

A Grace spokesman, Greg Euston, said the company was pleased with the settlement but that he could not comment further on orders of the judge in the criminal matter.

Though the company filed for bankruptcy in 2001, extensive clean-up was already under way in 2000. Three years later, in 2003, a Montana federal court ordered Grace to pay $54 million to the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) for investigation and cleanup costs incurred to that point, but the money has not been paid because of the bankruptcy proceeding.

The article explains that the settlement announced on Tuesday takes into account that previous payment and specifies that future payments be directed to a special EPA account to be used to clean schools, homes and businesses in Libby that are contaminated with asbestos dust, which is known to cause cancer and other pulmonary diseases.

A scientist from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency says that Chicago’s Oak Street Beach needs to be retested for asbestos because tests weren’t done properly the first time.

According to an article in the Chicago Sun-Times, University of Illinois scientists first found asbestos on this popular Chicago urban beach in 2004, when they tested 12 samples and came up with 11 that were positive for asbestos. The scientists also noted that the type of asbestos fibers found in the sand at Oak Street Beach was amphibole, the deadliest type of the hazardous mineral.

After that, the Chicago Park District ordered new tests and these found only extremely low levels. At that point, residents were told that Oak Street Beach, which attracts hundreds of thousands of beachgoers every summer, was safe.

But EPA scientist James Webber, who teaches at the State University of New York in Albany, and the members of the Illinois Dunesland Preservation Society doubt the veracity of those tests and are demanding that a new batch of tests be performed at the beach.

Both Weber and the watchdog agency believe the tests were performed improperly. Webber explains that during testing, the air-filter pumps used by the company hired by the park district became clogged and inoperable. So the company switched to air filters that wouldn’t clog so easily - but which, as a result, might not be sensitive enough to detect most asbestos, according to Webber.

Jeff Camplin, an asbestos consultant with the Dunesland Preservation Society, agrees: “They just made the filters larger, therefore trapping less asbestos and therefore identifying that there would be less of an airborne hazard.”

The company that performed the tests has also been called into question. That company, Levine Fricke, is a consultant to manufacturer Johns Manville, whose closed Waukegan plant, now an EPA Superfund site, has been described by the Illinois attorney general’s office as “a potential source of asbestos pollution in Lake Michigan.”

Both the Park District and Levine Fricke have refused to comment on the request for retesting.

According to an article in the Rochester, Minn. Post-Bulletin, the Minnesota Partnership for Biotechnology and Medical Genomics has just announced that it will award nearly $6 million to seven teams doing research on heart disease, mesothelioma, infection prevention and epilepsy.

The partnership is a collaboration of the University of Minnesota, Mayo Clinic and the state of Minnesota and also includes money earmarked for projects dealing with nanotech medical sensors and human-safe pesticides designed specifically for use in the state of Minnesota.

“These new awards reflect the Partnership’s continuing focus on major diseases affecting Minnesotans, and break new ground with innovative biotech ideas that can have a major impact on a range of health issues,” said Dr. Mark Paller, partnership program director at the University of Minnesota.

Mesothelioma has been a growing concern in Minnesota, and has greatly affected the health of those who work or have worked in the taconite mines in the state’s Iron Range. Studies done in that region indicate that the area has a much higher rate of mesothelioma than anywhere else in the state.

The funding will be for two years and the partnership hopes that by the end of that time period, they can attract other federal or private sources that might want to contribute to research for these diseases.

An incident that occurred at Bethel High School in Bethel, Conn. on Tuesday night eventually resulted in the closing of the school on Thursday and Friday when the state Department of Health became concerned about the release of dangerous asbestos fibers.

According to an article in the News-Times, asbestos abatement workers who are working on a renovation project at the school were removing material on the second floor Tuesday evening when they dropped a science lab table top. An air sample was taken immediately after the accident and showed elevated levels of asbestos in the area.

The company responsible for the abatement, Eagle Environmental Inc., informed the state Department of Health of the test results and the agency requested that the school be closed until air quality levels were back to normal. However, school officials didn’t know about the incident until Thursday morning, when they received a fax from Eagle Environmental to inform them of the request by the health department.

Superintendent of Bethel Schools, Gary Chesley, says he’s not convinced that it was the table incident that resulted in the release of asbestos fibers.

“We found out about the testing results this morning (Thursday),” Chesley said. “And, frankly, we don’t know that this so-called ‘accident’ was the reason for the reading at all.”

He added that a meeting with Eagle Environmental cast doubt over the original explanation offered to the school.

“I think when they put all their heads together in one place at one time and began to figure out where this thing was dropped and where the bad reading was, they’re not convinced right now the two are connected,” Chesley said.

William Gerish of the State Department of Health said: “Our focus is to ensure there will be proper assessment and cleanup. What we’ll also be doing is reviewing the actions and evaluating the actions of the consulting firm to determine if appropriate steps were taken regarding its oversight of the abatement project, including the timeliness of reporting.”

“We had cleanup results indicating it was acceptable,” said Ron Folino of Eagle Environmental. “We have protocols we have to follow and sometimes the protocols kick in after the samples are analyzed, but you still have to follow the protocols.”

Jill Smith, who has a child in 10th grade, said she has every confidence the administration will appropriately handle the situation, but the apparent miscommunication between Eagle and the schools is of concern.

Britain’s leading asbestos association is standing behind the Housing and Safety Executive’s (HSE) efforts to teach young tradesman about the dangers of the toxic mineral, promoting the HSE’s latest video, Asbestos: The Hidden Killer, and offering other options to education these young workers about the health hazards associated with asbestos exposure.

According to a press release, the Asbestos Removal Contractors Association (ARCA) will be promoting specific asbestos awareness training courses throughout the United Kingdom.

“The courses are aimed at those trades who come into contact with asbestos during their daily work activity such as plumbers and electricians,” says the press release. “The asbestos awareness courses are tailored to each specific trade and will enable individuals to take the appropriate action should they encounter materials which they suspect to be asbestos.”

The asbestos awareness course offered by ARCA will be comprised of five core modules: 1) What is asbestos?; 2) the health effects of asbestos; 3) asbestos in buildings; 4) Legislation (industry and trade specific); and 5) the asbestos removal process. The aim of the course is to lessen exposure and hopefully prevent further deaths from asbestos exposure, especially in the plumbing and electrical trades. The HSE reports that in the UK, approximately 20 tradespeople per week die of asbestos diseases. They expect the number to grow.

“We fully support the HSE’s campaign to highlight the dangers of asbestos in the workplace, we hope that by offering tradesmen the opportunity to learn about the precautions they need to make, it will result in a better understanding and awareness of the dangers of asbestos and in the long run reduce the number of deaths due to asbestos exposure,” said Satish Patel, ARCA’s training manager.

A federal judge ruled yesterday that the Sierra Club and Save Lake Superior Association can pursue their lawsuit seeking federal court action upholding the air standard that compares asbestos fiber levels near Silver Bay to the air in St. Paul. The ruling is based on a decision made by Mine Safety and Health Administration (MSHA) earlier this week which determined that mines should be held to the same standards as other industries when it comes to air quality.

According to a story in the Duluth News Tribune, the environmental groups sued the company alleging that violations of the control city air standard are a violation of the federal Environmental Protection Act and demanding that the court fine Northshore Mining.

Asbestos-like fibers have been found in the ore mined on the so-called Iron Range of Minnesota. The ore is processed into taconite by Northshore Mining Co. in Silver Bay. More than 30 years ago, the company was ordered to stop dumping taconite tailings into Lake Superior as it was created a serious environmental hazard.

Northshore Mining Co. is in the process of appealing a similar state court case to the Minnesota Court of Appeals. The case is seeking to remove the control city air standard from its state operating permits.

“The Minnesota Pollution Control Agency argues that the comparison with St. Paul air is needed because no other asbestos regulation is available to measure possible asbestos risk for Silver Bay area residents,” the article points out.

This week, the Asbestos Disease Society of Australia announced that cases of the deadly asbestos-caused cancer mesothelioma have quadrupled over the last two decades.

According to an article in Scopical Australia, cases of the disease continue to grow, with a peak expected in about 2020. The study also noted that 85 percent of all new cases were diagnosed in men, mostly those who have worked in the many industries in Australia that made widespread use of the toxic mineral before it was banned.

Leigh Hubbard, the Executive Director at the Asbestos Diseases Society, said that further investment was needed by both Federal and State Governments in removing asbestos from homes and workplaces around Australia.

“This requires pulling the States together and ensuring that there is a national plan to identify and eradicate asbestos from our workplaces, homes and community buildings over the next decade,” Mr. Hubbard said.

“While there is legislation to ensure home-owners put fences around pools, there is no requirement to audit their houses for asbestos and no legal obligation for them to warn tradespeople, tenants or prospective purchasers about the hazard.”

Hubbard called on the government to increase funding for research into more and better treatments for mesothelioma. Currently, most individuals who develop the disease die within a year or two of diagnosis.

“Researchers report significant advances, but they are working on shoestring budgets. The Howard Government put in $10 Million through the NHMRC in 2006/7 but we need triple that amount to make a real breakthrough,” he said.

Mr. Hubbard said that although there remained debate over the level of those affected, the group expected the numbers to rise to about 700-800 cases per year after 2020.

Last week, the U.S. Mine Safety and Health Administration (MSHA) set a new federal limit on asbestos exposure at mining operations nationwide, therefore aligning it with the standard for other industries.

According to an article in the Duluth (Minn.) News Tribune, the administration has raised protections for mine workers who may be exposed to asbestos, including steelworkers at Minnesota iron ore mines and taconite processing plants.

“The new rule lowers the permissible exposure limit for asbestos 95 percent, from two fibers per cubic centimeter to 0.1 fibers,” the article notes. “It also lowers the allowable limit for brief exposures to higher asbestos levels from10 fibers per cubic centimeter for 15 minutes to 1 fiber for 30 minutes.”

The mine safety agency, part of the U.S. Department of Labor, said the new limits “will significantly reduce the risk to miners.’’ The rules apply to U.S. iron ore mines, coal mines and other non-ferrous mines such as copper or nickel.

The article points out that Northeastern Minnesota mine workers have, over the past decade, shown a large increase in the development of mesothelioma, an asbestos-caused cancer. State and University of Minnesota health officials are trying to determine the source of exposure that may have triggered the deadly disease but many believe that asbestos-like fibers present in the iron ore mined in the eastern areas of the Mesabi Iron Range are responsible for the surge in asbestos-related illnesses.

Of particular concern are the mines of the closed LTV Steel Mining operation near Hoyt Lakes and the ore from a Babbitt mine still processed by Northshore Mining in Silver Bay.

“This final rule will help improve health protection for miners who work in an environment where asbestos is present,” said Richard E. Stickler, acting assistant secretary of labor for mine safety and health. “Furthermore, it will help lower the risk of material impairment of health or functional capacity over a miner’s working lifetime.”

The agency has said that only five of the 207 mines sampled since 2000 have had an asbestos exposure that would have violated the new limits. Because the new rules weren’t yet in place, no fines could be levied for violations.

Amy Louviere, an MSHA spokeswoman, confirmed in the News Tribune article that Northshore Mining was one of those five mines.