Aido Richelli of Portsmouth, New Hampshire passed away at Brigham and Women’s Hospital in Boston on October 15th following a battle with mesothelioma cancer. He was 73 years old.

Mr. Richelli had worked for the Portsmouth Naval Shipyard until 1992 and had previously served with the U.S. Coast Guard. During his Coast Guard service, he sailed across the Atlantic Ocean. He also worked aboard the U.S.S. Constitution as a civilian Navy worker and was a former employee of Anheuser-Busch.

Mr. Richelli was an incredible athlete, participating in Boston Marathons and cycling with his family.

Many former shipyard workers, as well as former members of the U.S. Navy, were exposed to harmful levels of asbestos in the form of ship piping insulation. If inhaled, asbestos fibers can cling to the lining of the lungs for decades before an affected individual may begin to experience mesothelioma symptoms.

An asbestos-related lawsuit has been filed by a Texas couple naming 31 companies as the defendants, including A.O. Smith. Gerald and Gladys Beasley filed the suit in the Jefferson County District Court on October 3, 2008.

The couple claims that Gerald’s malignant mesothelioma was wrongfully caused by the companies named in the suit. Mr. Beasley was once employed at various Jefferson County-area refineries, where he was exposed to dangerous asbestos-containing materials that subsequently caused his malignant mesothelioma.

The Beasley’s have stated that they feel as though the dangers of Mr. Beasley’s exposure to the toxic asbestos fibers should have been anticipated by his employers and further claim that Mr. Beasley’s malignant mesothelioma has caused their family “a great deal of pain and suffering,” as well as great financial burden due to necessary high-cost medical care.

Park Elementary School located in Munhall, Pennsylvania has reopened after being closed since September due to the discovery of asbestos during a roofing project.
Following the discovery of asbestos-containing materials the Steel Valley School District was required to obtain a minimum of three quotes from contractors before an abatement project could begin. Following the actual acceptance of the quote the abatement took less than two weeks to be completed.
During the abatement, Park Elementary students attended nearby Barrett Elementary. Due to the large number of students many were put in temporary classrooms in the Barrett gymnasium.
Although the roofing project has been yet to be completed, officials from both the school district and the Allegheny County Health Department are saying that it is safe for the students to return to their school.

Pueblo County, Colorado District 2 Commissioner candidate Republican Debbie Rose claimed that asbestos cleanup costs for the Pueblo Cold Storage Icehouse were severely exceeding the amount the project was originally expected to cost a discussion forum on Wednesday night. According to Rose, the costs related to the project were pushing toward $7 million.

Rose is claiming that her opponent, John Cordova, as well as other commissioners, is failing to supply her with the requested documentation concerning the costs of the cleanup. She also stated that she has asked to see the bills and budget for the project repeatedly but she has yet to see them.

Cordova has stated that it is his belief that the contractor handling the cleanup of the toxic materials, including asbestos, is double-billing the county for the work.

According to County Attorney Dan Kogovsek the reason the price has skyrocketed so high is due to the fact that 3 times the amount of asbestos than was originally thought to exist on the Pueblo Cold Storage property has been discovered. The Colorado Department of Public Health is working with the county to come up with a plan as to how to deal with the asbestos problems.

A Kansas couple has filed an asbestos-related lawsuit in Madison County Circuit Court on September 26th. The complaint stems from the Robert J. Wondra’s diagnosis of mesothelioma on August 5th of this year, which the couple feels was wrongfully caused.

Robert J. Wondra and his wife Betty are naming 153 defendant corporations in the suit, claiming that they should have been aware of the dangers of working with asbestos-containing materials and should have made such information available to their employees.

Mr. Wondra was employed by Kansas Natural Gas and Pipeline from 1961 to 1963 and then with the Arthur Mulligan Power Plant from 1963 to 1994. The couple alleges that Mr. Wondra contracted the asbestos-related mesothelioma while performing duties for said companies and has as a result been deprived of pursuing a normal course of employment due to the hindrance of the disease.

Mrs. Wondra is further claiming deprivation of companionship and financial support because of her husband’s mesothelioma cancer.

The couple has filed an 11-count lawsuit in which they are seeking punitive, exemplary, compensatory, and economic damages in amounts in upwards of $500,000.

St. Louis Building developer Matthew E. Burghoff pled guilty to asbestos-related charges on October 1st in federal court. Mr. Burghoff admitted to improper removal of asbestos-containing materials at the downtown St. Louis Ford building.

The building, which falls on the list of National Historic Places, was planned to be developed into a luxury condo building. The deadline for the project was set for fall of this year, but the windows are still boarded up and work has not yet begun on the property. Lawyers for Burghoff have stated that the building has been sold.

In 2007 the St. Louis Air Pollution Control Division was notified by an anonymous tip that Burghoff was removing asbestos from the Ford property illegally. Following the tip, a state and federal investigation was launched and the property was inspected. The inspection revealed that asbestos was in fact being handled improperly, and the investigators discovered piles of asbestos materials lying throughout the building, as well as 60 bags of asbestos waste on site. The dangerous handling of the asbestos-containing materials puts those that live in the immediate area at risk of exposure to airborne asbestos fibers.

As a result of the investigations, it was also determined that Burghoff used the funds borrowed for the project for his own personal use. He faces up to two and a half years in prison for both the improper removal of asbestos and Clean Air Act violations, as well as for the fraud charges.

As the result of a vote on October 1, 2008, the Gemini Junior High School in East Maine will be completely rid of asbestos in approximately four weeks. Officials from the 63rd East Maine School District voted for the complete abatement of the harmful substance located under carpet on the first floor of the school.

Following flooding that occurred due to heavy storms in the area last month the school had to be closed on September 17th and remained closed after cleanup crews discovered asbestos within adhesive.

The 775 students who attend Gemini have been sent to other area schools where many have been grouped together in the school gymnasiums.

The 63rd East Main School District is hoping that Monday the asbestos abatement will begin as soon as possible but issues regarding how to pay for the project must be handled first. The abatement process is expected to cost $259,000.

The district is hoping for the federal government to step in and declare the school a disaster area, in which case the federal government would contribute up to 75% of the cost of the project.

If the federal government cannot provide funding, the school does have other payment options money, including dipping into the district contingency fund, but the district is still keeping their fingers crossed that much-needed government aid will come through.

The school district hopes to have the students back in their own school by November 10th. Parents remain concerned that their children may have been exposed to airborne asbestos at some point, which has been linked to the eventual onset of mesothelioma cancer.

Former University of Puget Sound baseball coach, Bob Stewart, died of mesothelioma cancer on September 25th. Mr. Stewart was 68 years old.

In addition to coaching at the University of Puget Sound in Tacoma, Washington, Mr. Stewart also coached baseball at Federal Way High School in the 1970s. He was named Washington State Coach of the Year in 1972 and led the high school team to five league victories. Mr. Stewart began coaching at the Puget Sound in 1984, but eventually returned to coach at the high school throughout the late 1980s and 1990s. He coached there for a total of 35 years.

The Federal Way Mirror first reported Mr. Stewart’s death on October 1st. According to the article, Mr. Stewart passed away at a local hospital, covered in his coveted blue and white Federal Way Eagle blanket, which was a gift from the school’s debate team.

Mr. Stewart’s daughter, Teresa Hauser, said that “Federal Way High School was his life.” Friend Eric Fiedler said that Stewart was “an Eagle, through and through.”

Born in 1940, Mr. Stewart was once a great baseball player himself, and played in high school and during college at Yakima College and Central Washington University. He also played one season of minor-league baseball for the Cincinnati Reds organization.

Mr. Stewart battled mesothelioma cancer for eight months and is survived by his wife of almost 50 years, his two grown children and three granddaughters. Donations can be made in his honor to the Mesothelioma Applied Research Foundation (MARF).

Workers at a Freemont, California manufacturing plant may have been exposed to asbestos while employed at the plant.

Allegedly, those workers that were employed with the Flintkote Company between the years 1967 to 1979 may have been exposed to small amounts of asbestos while. During that time the company manufactured fire-resistant wall boards, which contained high levels of asbestos. Exposure to asbestos is connected to the eventual onset of mesothelioma cancer.

The information is based on a report done by the Federal Agency for Toxic Substance and Disease Registry. The report also states that those individuals who may have lived with someone who worked at the company during those years may also be at risk for asbestos cancer due to the fact that those employees may have carried home asbestos fibers on their clothes.

Additionally, the agency states that those who lived near the manufacturing company should also be aware that they may be at risk of one day developing an asbestos-related ailment.

The Federal Agency for Toxic Substance and Disease Registry has asked Flintkote to provide information concerning asbestos to both its former and current employees, and local health officials are advising any individuals with connections to the company be checked regularly by a physician.

Two Rhode Island companies have recently been fined by the Environmental Protection Agency for violations of the Clean Air Act. The combined amount of the fines total about $630,000.

According to EPA both David Santanelli, who is the co-owner of Bilray Demolition Company located in Johnston, Rhode Island, and the owner of Southeastern New England Shipbuilding Corp., located in North Kingstown are guilty of violating various federal and state Clean Air Act regulations.

Santanelli’s violations involved improper removal of asbestos-containing materials during demolition at what the former Seaboard Foundry in Johnston, Rhode Island. The demolition was necessary due to fire at the site back in 2004. Fines imposed on the demolition company totaled $256,320. Southeastern New England was fined a total of $378,700.

EPA is further claiming that Bilray neglected to sufficiently inspect for asbestos materials on the property before beginning the demolition work, and that the company failed to notify the proper EPA officials of their intent to demolish. Such rigid regulations are necessary, as exposure to asbestos in any amount is connected to the development of asbestos cancer, also known as mesothelioma.

Santanelli claims that the removal of asbestos was not his responsibility, and is intending to challenge the accusations made against him in court.