James and Marilyn Gray of South Carolina filed an asbestos lawsuit against 119 corporations. The Gray’s claim that negligence on behalf of James Gray’s former employers caused his mesothelioma cancer. Gray was diagnosed in April.

Gray worked from the 1960s until 2001 in various professions, including millwright, maintenance worker, and Army laborer. The Gray’s claim that the health consequences of asbestos exposure were foreseeable and that the defendant corporations, including Uniroyal Chemical, should have taken appropriate safety measures to protect the health of their workers.

The suit also claims that several asbestos-manufacturing companies, including Sprinkmann Insulation, Inc. are responsible for Gray’s cancer. The Gray’s are seeking well over $500,000 in compensation.

Officials at Pennsylvania’s Steel Valley School District have put plans to renovate the Park Elementary School roof on hold after discovering that the roofing tiles were contaminated with asbestos.

District officials reportedly knew about the contamination as early as September 8th, but did not inform parents. In fact, Michael Cherpak, Director of Operational Services for the district, told reporters on September 11th that they “suspected” that the roofing tiles may contain asbestos but that the district was still waiting for asbestos testing results.

School board officials were apparently made aware of the problem on September 9th. Cherpak admitted that he “lied” to media because “not all of the school board members knew.”

Cherpak assured district residents that the contractor hired to renovate the roof would first implement an asbestos abatement plan before proceeding with renovations, and that “no asbestos is airborne.”

Parents and school board members are concerned about the way the Steel Valley District handled the issue of asbestos and are worried about the potential health risks, such as the eventual development of mesothelioma cancer, as a result of asbestos abatement that will apparently be conducted “evenings and weekends” at the elementary school.

The city of St. Louis, MO and officials at the Lambert-St. Louis International Airport have reportedly violated Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) regulations by improperly removing asbestos from several homes that had been demolished as part of an airport expansion project.

According to U.S. District Judge Carol Jackson, the city and airport officials were told by EPA that their asbestos-removal plans were “approved.”

Residents in Bridgeton who live nearby to the demolished houses prompted an investigation after they became concerned about the way that asbestos was removed from the demolished residences. Residents are seeking damages and demanding that contaminated soil be cleaned up. A federal judge ruled in favor of the concerned citizens.

Contractors allegedly used what they called the “wet method” of removing asbestos-contaminated materials from the demolished homes. This method is reportedly faster and cheaper than removing asbestos by hand. Contractors stated that their method involved spraying the contaminated structures with water to prevent the release of asbestos dust into the air.

EPA apparently banned the “wet method” in 2003 after a similar investigation, also in St. Louis.

Asbestos-contaminated materials at a former school on Elizabeth Street in the city of Oneida, NY will have to be removed, and several bids have been made by various abatement companies.

The lowest bid so far is around $279,400 and was made by a local company called Two Brothers Contracting. The highest bid was over a half of a million dollars. The city council of Oneida has yet to vote on the project.

The council will also vote on whether or not to move forward with a second asbestos abatement project at the former Stanton Box Company factory on North Warner Street.

The council meeting will be held at 7 PM on Tuesday, September 16th at Oneida City Hall.

Asbestos removal will begin at the Freewater school in Milton-Freewater, Oregon next week, and the abatement company that will be removing the asbestos has assured residents that the removal “will be done safely.”

3 Kings Environmental, Inc. began preparing for abatement at the end of last week by sealing off windows and setting up their equipment. Removal of asbestos will begin today.

Ed Woodward, Division Manager of 3 Kings Environmental, Inc. and several of his employees met with local media in an effort to reassure concerned citizens that abatement would be carried out in a “safe, timely and monitored manner.”

Woodward told the media that they will be removing asbestos from 50 feet of piping insulation, 5,000 square feet of roofing tiles and between 15,000 and 17,000 of contaminated floor tiles. Work will take a little over a week, Woodward stated.

The Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ) will be monitoring the project to ensure that all safety procedures are followed.

The Swiss Group for Cancer Research is seeking mesothelioma patients to participate in a clinical trial that will determine whether mesothelioma cancer symptoms can be better controlled with the use of a new electronic device.

The Electronic Tool for Monitoring Symptoms and Syndromes Associated with Advanced Cancer (called E-MOSAIC) is a small, handheld device that monitors and tracks symptoms. E-MOSAIC developers are hopeful that the device will improve communication between mesothelioma patients and their doctors and believe that the E-MOSAIC will become an important part of planning and assessing cancer treatments.

The E-MOSAIC trial will be a pallative treatment trial, and mesothelioma patients who are hoping to experience a reduction in the pain and discomfort associated with this disease are ideal candidates. Patients interested in participating in this trial must be 18 years of age or older and must also be suffering from cancer in the advanced stages. Patients must be undergoing pallative treatment on a weekly basis in order to qualify for this trial.

Dr. Florian Strasser of the Kantonsspital Hospital in Switzerland will be conducting the trial, which is expected to be completed by July 2010.

Yvonne Nannini, the widow of a former millwright and laborer, has filed an asbestos lawsuit in Madison County, IL after her husband William died of mesothelioma cancer on August 10th.

Mrs. Nannini’s lawsuit names over 70 defendant corporations, including Celotex Corporation and Wilson Trust, two of her husband’s former employers. William Nannini worked as a millwright, deckhand, maintenance supervisor and plant mechanic between 1960 and 1999. The lawsuit alleges that Mr. Nannini developed mesothelioma as a result of occupational asbestos exposure.

Mrs. Nannini is seeking over $300,000 in damages, including compensation for extensive medical bills.

The Tennessee Supreme Court has ruled that Alcoa, Inc. can be sued for the death of Amanda Satterfield, who at age 25 died of mesothelioma cancer that was caused by second-hand exposure to asbestos.

Amanda’s father, Doug Satterfield, a former Alcoa employee, reportedly transported asbestos dust from his workplace to his home on his clothing, where Amanda was subsequently exposed second-hand.

Tennessee Supreme Court stated that Alcoa has a “duty” to those who may come into contact with asbestos-laden clothing, including family members of Alcoa employees. The Satterfield’s lawyer, Greg Coleman, said that he is confident that he will be able to prove the nexus between Amanda’s second-hand exposure to asbestos dust and her death from mesothelioma.

“We’ll be able to prove that connection,” Coleman stated.

If the Satterfield family wins in court, they will receive $20 million dollars in compensation from Alcoa. Amanda Satterfield would have just turned 29.

The Canadian federal government is still trying to block a decision that would add chrysotile asbestos, which is mined in Quebec, to the United Nation’s list of the world’s most hazardous substances. The effort is backed by a large group of political activists who are trying to promote the distribution of chrysotile.

Despite strong evidence that exposure to asbestos causes asbestosis and mesothelioma cancer, the group still released several letters signed by prominent Canadian officials and health experts in an effort to promote asbestos mining in Quebec.

Canada is not the only country who demand that asbestos be exempt from the UN list – Iran, Zimbabwe and Kyrgyzstan are also against the addition.

If chrysotile is added to the UN’s list, Canada would have to disclose the toxicity of chrysotile and receive consent prior to shipping the hazardous material.

The final decision will be made at the Rotterdam Convention, which will be held in Rome, Italy in October. The convention was implemented in an effort to prevent the dumping of hazardous materials and to set guidelines related to the export and usage of toxins.

A proposed court order in Canada would leave homeowners whose residences were contaminated with asbestos dust from the W.R. Grace-run mines in Montana with “virtually nothing.”

For those looking to file a claim against W.R. Grace, the deadline for doing so is October 31, 2008. A U.S. federal bankruptcy court decided on the deadline and anyone interested in filing after this date will be unable to do so. W.R. Grace filed for bankruptcy in 2001.

The Ontario, Canada Companies’ Creditors Arrangement Act (CCAA) is asking that W.R. Grace pay $6.5 million Canadian dollars, which will be put into a “trust” for current and future asbestos-related claims filed by Canadian homeowners.

W.R. Grace maintains their innocence and will not admit accountability for any asbestos-related diseases, namely pleural mesothelioma, among any Montana or Canadian residents. They cannot be sued again in the U.S. for any reason.

If the CCAA does receive the $6.5 million dollars, over half will go directly to the lawyers representing Canadian homeowners. If all of the 400,000 homeowners that are living in contaminated homes were to seek compensation, they would receive approximately $8.13 each. If only a small number of homeowners applied for restitution, their settlement could be as much as $300.

Raven Thundersky, a Canadian resident living in an asbestos-contaminated home, expressed outrage at the potential settlement. Thundersky’s parents and three sisters died of asbestos-related cancer after being exposed in their home.

“The lawyers are making a fortune,” stated Thundersky. “Those with a real need to remove this poison from their homes get nothing.”