Asbestos is currently being removed from the Memorial Hall building in Ironton, Ohio. The Ironton City Council recently hired Solid Rock Construction in order to complete an emergency restoration job on the building costing approximately $185,000. The asbestos that is left on the buildings roof is being removed with a crane.

Asbestos was used in a number of building supplies throughout the early twentieth century before it was realized how dangerous the toxic material was. It wasn’t until the 1970’s when congress created the Occupational Safety and Health Administration that use of the dangerous substance began to become regulated by the government.

Exposure to asbestos-containing materials has been known to result in a number of asbestos-related diseases. Because of the typically long latency period of such diseases those diagnosed are often left with very few effective treatment options by the time discovery of such a disease is made. Diseases which can be caused by asbestos include lung cancer, mesothelioma, and asbestosis.

According to Mayor of Ironton Rich Blankenship the emergency project is expected to be completed by February of 2009.

A developer from St. Louis, Missouri was sentenced on Friday to spend the next two years in a federal prison. Matthew Burghoff reportedly admitted to handling asbestos improperly as well as to committing financial crimes related to his development company.

Burghoff, who is the head of Mambo Development, pleaded guilty to the charges stemming from his conduct on October 1st of this year. The charges included bank fraud and a violation of the Clean Air Act.

According to prosecutors Burghoff pocketed money that was borrowed for various projects and supplied false documents to banks on at least two separate occasions.

Trash bags filled with asbestos were purportedly found outside of the Ford building which Burghoff’s company was renovating. The law says that the removal and disposal of asbestos-containing materials is to be documented in order to ensure the safe removal of the toxic material.

Throughout the early to mid twentieth century asbestos was used in a number of building and automotive products. Its dangerous nature was not discovered until the 1970’s. It was around this time that congress created the Occupational Safety and Health Administration and use of the substance began to become regulated by the government.

Burghoff was also ordered to pay in upwards of $580,000 in fines.

Exposure to asbestos that is removed and handled improperly can result in the development of asthma, asbestosis, and mesothelioma, a fatal cancer.

Three construction workers and a sub-contractor are expecting to hear prosecutors announce charges of manslaughter against them today in a Manhattan court. The charges are related to the death of two firefighters who were killed in August of 2007 while attempting to battle a fire at a bank building in Lower Manhattan.

The Deutsche Bank building was being worked on by the individuals charged. According to reports one of the building’s sprinkler systems was dismantled and emergency exists in various parts of the building were sealed off due to asbestos removal projects being conducted in the building. The two firefighters killed while battling flames in the sealed-off sections of the building were unable to escape.

Asbestos was being removed form the building as a result of the damage the building received during the September 11th attacks in 2001.

Asbestos that is disturbed is known to pose a significant risk of developing any one of a number of asbestos related diseases such as lung cancer, mesothelioma, and asbestosis. Because these diseases typically have such a long latency period effective treatment options for those diagnosed are often very limited by the time the discovery of such a disease is made.

A report from the Center for Disease Control shows that occupational exposure to asbestos is still a problem despite efforts to limit exposure. They have stated that young trade workers are still developing diseases typically related to exposure to asbestos-containing materials.

Information from thirty-eight years of research conducted by the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health shows that premature deaths of individuals who have developed asbestos-related diseases are occurring at a considerably high rate and that the number is still growing. Premature deaths are defined as those occurring before the individual reaches the age of sixty-five.

Asbestos-related diseases include mesothelioma, asbestosis, and lung cancer. These diseases typically have a long latency period which makes finding effective treatment options very difficult in most cases. Often the diseases have reached an advanced stage by the time they are diagnosed.

The research provided by the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health identifies approximately thirteen percent of the victims of asbestosis during the thirty-eight year period as being between the ages of 25 and 64.

Research also shows that 1.3 million workers in the construction industry are exposed to dangerous asbestos-containing materials each year, most often during the renovation or demolition of a structure. An additional study based on asbestos use in 2006 shows that 2,000 tons of asbestos were used for manufacturing purposes in the United States alone.

Researchers have stated that asbestos awareness efforts should continue to grow in order limit the dangers posed by the harmful toxin.

A building located on the Central Washington University Campus in Yakima, Washington that was closed due to asbestos contamination back in the late 1990’s will soon reopen as the university’s first “green” building. Asbestos and other toxic materials have now been removed from the building.

Materials containing asbestos were commonly used throughout the early twentieth century in the construction of buildings. The dangerous nature of the substance was not realized until the 1970’s. It was around that time that the Occupational Safety and Health Administration was created by congress and the use of asbestos began to become regulated.

Exposure to disturbed asbestos-containing materials poses a significant risk of developing any one of a number of asbestos-related diseases such as asbestosis, lung cancer, and mesothelioma. Effective treatment options for such diseases are rare due to their long latency period. Many times the diseases have reached an advanced stage by the time that initial diagnosis occurs.

Much of what was used to construct the new Dean Hall is recycled materials such as wood, concrete, and metal reused from the old building.

Spokesperson for Central Washington University Bill Vertrees has stated that the new green building is expected to cut energy use by twenty percent.

According to university officials the new Dean Hall is going to house the Museum Studies, Geography, and Anthropology departments. The building is scheduled to be ready for use by the time students’ return to school in January.

During routine testing earlier this month at the ConMed building in Utica, New York asbestos was discovered in floor tiles located in the building. The testing was being conducted due to the building’s current renovation project according to a statement made on Friday by ConMed’s Chief Financial Officer Robert Shallish.

Shallish has stated that, “The area is all contained, and it’s segregated from the rest of the building.”

The building was built at a time when asbestos was widely used in building products. It wasn’t until the 1970’s that it was discovered how dangerous the toxic substance was. Following the creation of the Occupational Safety and Health Administration the use of asbestos began to be regulated by the government.

It has been found that exposure to the dangerous material may result in the development of a number of asbestos-related diseases. These diseases include mesothelioma, lung cancer, and asbestosis. Because such diseases typically do not show up in tests for approximately fifty years treatment options are often very limited by the time diagnosis occurs. In many cases individuals only live for twelve to eighteen months following the discovery of an asbestos-related disease.

According to officials the ConMed sight has not yet been visited by the labor department despite the calls they have received from a New Hartford environmental firm hired by ConMed stating that asbestos abatement needs to take place.

Until recently, the uses for mistletoe were limited to livening up a holiday party. However, a new study conducted at the University of Canberra in Australia has found a potential new use for the plant, and cancer researchers claim that the parasitic mistletoe plant may be useful in treating certain types of cancer.

Dr. Ljubov Simson of the University of Canberra’s Cancer Immunotherapy Group stated that mistletoe is already used to treat cancer in Germany, and has been conducting laboratory testing that has “confirmed” the plant’s ability to “stimulate the body’s immune system” to kill cancerous cells.

In fact, says Dr. Simson, mistletoe kills cancerous cells without damaging healthy surrounding cells.

“We’re finding that it is killing the tumor cells but we’re actually not getting any killing in terms of the healthy cells,” Dr. Simson stated.

How does mistletoe know to only target harmful cancer cells? “We really don’t have an answer for that at this stage,” said Dr. Simson.

According to their tests, mistletoe killed off approximately 80 percent of a cancerous tumor. Mistletoe apparently triggers coagulation, or formation of blood clots, and in addition, it also “breaks apart” cancer cells and activates the eosinophil, or sub-class of healthy white blood cells. The eosinophil activation, according to Dr. Simson, is what makes this plant a potentially effective type of cancer treatment.

It is important to note, however, that mistletoe is considered to be a parasitic plant, which means that it contains toxins. Because of this, the dosage of mistletoe that would be safe for cancer patients to receive will have to be studied further.

Dr. Simson and her team are hopeful that mistletoe will be approved for cancer treatment by the Theraputic Goods Administration, the Australian version of our Food and Drug Administration (FDA).

In addition, researchers hope that this may be a potential new treatment for patients suffering from mesothelioma cancer, a particularly aggressive form of cancer that affects thousands both in Australia and in the U.S.

On Tuesday the superintendent for the Soldiers Home located in Holyoke, Massachusetts was indicted for charges related to improper removal of asbestos-containing materials. Paul A. Morin who is a resident of Chicopee, Massachusetts was charged with directing and overseeing a project in which asbestos was removed illegally at a state hospice facility.

Morin was indicted by a grand jury in Hampden for a single count of violating the Clean Air Act by allowing asbestos to be removed in an improper manner.

Asbestos-containing materials must be removed by licensed contractors in order to limit the risk of exposure to the dangerous substance. Such exposure may result in the development of one of a number of asbestos-related diseases. Diseases caused by the dangerous toxin include asbestosis, mesothelioma, and lung cancer. Because such diseases typically have such a long latency period treatment for individuals diagnosed is often very limited.

According to officials Morin was charged following an investigation conducted at the site by the Environmental Crime Strike Force. Morin was allegedly warned of the dangers of asbestos fibers being released into the air upon the demolition of a wall in the building with sledgehammers. Morin purportedly proceeded with the demolition despite such warnings and because of that put a number of his employee’s health at risk.

Paul A. Morin is scheduled to be arraigned on December 30th. He is 56 years old and has been the superintendent of the home for approximately ten years.

Recently during a renovation project at the Abilene Public Library located in Abilene, Kansas the question of the presence of asbestos was raised and now city commissioners are having the building assessed by a Manhattan consulting group. HWS will be putting together a report for the commission in the near future. The firm is said to be approved for this type of work by the Kansas Department of Health and Environment.

City manager Allen Dinkel has stated that after hearing from the sub-contractor that asbestos may be present in the building he expressed his own concerns to Hans Fischer who is the architect working on the project but was told that it was not Hans Fischer’s responsibility to look into such matters.

Asbestos was used in a variety of building materials during the early twentieth century. It wasn’t until the 1970’s that the dangerousness of the substance was realized. Upon the creation of the Occupational Safety and Health Administration asbestos began to become regulated in order to ensure safe practices when dealing with the toxic substance.

Exposure to asbestos has been known to result in the development of a number of fatal diseases including mesothelioma, asbestosis, and lung cancer.

Dinkel has stated that the renovation project has not yet been interfered with but that the project does have a limited amount of funds because asbestos was not an issue when the job was bid on. The original bid for the renovation was $1.74 million.

According to Dinkel, though, there is a contingency fund that was set up for situations such as this. The commission will know more upon receiving the report.

A fire broke out at the U.S. State Department building located at 2200 C Street NW at approximately 4:30 Thursday morning, leaving the office temporarily closed. The building was in the process of asbestos abatement work.

Although undisturbed asbestos poses limited risk for exposure when the material is disturbed it poses significant risk. Exposure to disturbed asbestos-containing materials may result in the development of any one of a number of asbestos-related diseases such as asbestosis, lung cancer, and mesothelioma. Because such diseases typically have such a long latency period treatment options for the diagnosed are often very limited.

Asbestos was used in a wide variety of building and automotive products throughout the early twentieth century. In the 1970’s upon the creation of the Occupational Health and Safety Administration the dangerous substance began to become more regulated in order to limit instances of exposure.

When asbestos is present during the outbreak of a fire the materials may spread which is why it is important for firefighters and investigators to be cautious.

Spokesman for the Washington, D.C. fire department has stated that there have been no reported injuries.

The fire is now being investigated and the office will continue to stay closed until that investigation is complete.