The W. R. Grace trial is well under way in Missoula, Montana. Former executives of the company are accused of knowingly mining asbestos-tainted vermiculite from Grace-owned mine and keeping that information from both the employees and residents of the town of Libby, Montana. Many of those former employees and residents have become ill due to exposure to asbestos, some in a secondhand fashion.

Asbestos exposure is known to cause a number of deadly diseases including lung cancer, mesothelioma, and asbestosis. In many cases these types of diseases are already in advanced stages of development by the time they are discovered.

Yesterday, during the second full day of testimony in the Grace trial, Judge Donald Molloy made a ruling regarding the testimony of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) official who coordinated cleanup at the Libby mine site. Molloy ordered the EPA official to refrain from discussing any scientific data during the trial.

According to Barry Robson, President of the Asbestos Diseases Foundation in Australia, the “third wave” of asbestos disease victims are just now beginning to experience symptoms of asbestosis, mesothelioma, and other asbestos-caused respiratory ailments.

“What we’re seeing now are thousands and thousands of mums and dads who didn’t know the danger of asbestos and were exposed to it when doing their home renovations,” stated Robson.

Despite a ban on asbestos products in Australia in 1984, Robson stated that an increased number of individuals are now suffering from an asbestos-caused disease as a result of exposure while completing do-it-yourself home renovations, such as removing asbestos-laden insulation or replacing asbestos floor tiles.

The latest group of Australian’s to be diagnosed with an asbestos-caused illness are known as the “third wave,” said Robson. The “first wave” of exposure occurred in the 1930s to the 1950s, when asbestos was first manufactured and countless workers inhaled asbestos. In the 1950s, the “second wave” of exposure occurred, including Bernie Banton, a former employee of James Hardie Ltd. and a victim of mesothelioma cancer who passed away in 2007 after years of campaigning for a change in asbestos-related legislation.

Robson says this “third wave” of asbestos victims will include a large number of women who were exposed in a secondhand fashion, perhaps while washing their spouse’s work clothes. In fact, the Australian Cancer Institute projects a 20% increase in mesothelioma cases in women by 2011.

The Institute recently created a support group specifically for women suffering from mesothelioma and other asbestos-caused illnesses. Carol Klinfalt, the group’s director, was diagnosed with mesothelioma in 2006 and despite being given only six months to live is still alive, thanks to what she calls an “intensive approach” to cancer treatment.

“It’s amazing the amount of asbestos there is in homes still,” Klinfalt said. “The young ones; they’re buying their first homes and it’s in the house, or the garage, or the shed.”

Klinfalt, along with Pathology Professor Douglas Henderson, says that a lack of knowledge in Australia about the danger of asbestos in older homes is a disadvantage for new homeowners.

Professor Henderson says that, as a result, Australia will see “significant numbers of mesothelioma” in the coming years.

In the United States, asbestos exposure in homes built before the 1980s continues to be an issue, especially in difficult economic times. Rather than hiring a professional to conduct home repairs, many homeowners are tackling these projects on their own, and may risk exposure to asbestos as a result.

An 80-year old UK woman has died as a result of mesothelioma cancer, according to the Swindon Advertister, a UK paper.

Evelyn Pierrepont of Bishopstone had never come into direct contact with any asbestos products while on the job. According to her family, Pierrepont’s jobs included working in a tobacco factory and assembling record players.

Her exposure to asbestos occurred as a child, when she most likely inhaled asbestos dust from her father’s work overalls.

“She told me that her dad would come in after work in his overalls,” said Pierrepont’s daughter, Christine Osman. Pierrepont’s father – Osman’s grandfather – had been a carpenter at Great Western Railway Works.

Pierrepont was diagnosed with mesothelioma in October of 2006, and lost her battle with the disease on January 3, 2007.

The coroner who conducted Pierrepont’s autopsy said that mesothelioma cancer as a result of secondhand exposure “is unusual” but “not unheard of.”

Closer to home, in the asbestos-plagued town of Libby, Montana, for example, many women have been diagnosed with asbestosis or mesothelioma as a result of secondhand exposure. A majority of these women washed work clothes belonging to their father or husband, who were employees at the now-closed W. R. Grace vermiculite mine, and subsequently inhaled asbestos fibers while handling those items.

Due to the long latency period associated with asbestos-related diseases (as many as twenty to fifty years) it is often very difficult for individuals who were indirectly exposed to asbestos to pinpoint when and where their exposure occurred.

In the UK, the rates of asbestos cancer – in certain areas – are far higher than here in the United States. In 2006, UK asbestos guidelines were revamped, and the “Control of Asbestos Regulations” was drafted.

The asbestos abatement project and demolition being conducted at City Hall in Columbus, Colorado is nearing completion. The project began on February 2nd and the City Council will be ready to make a decision regarding the company that will perform the actual renovations on the courthouse on February 26th.

Asbestos-containing materials are present in many older buildings, as the harmful substance was used in a number of products – including attic insulation and floor and ceiling tiles – throughout the early and mid-twentieth century. The dangerous nature of asbestos was not realized until later in the century. During the 1970’s congress formed the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) and the government began to regulate the use of asbestos.

Exposure to the dangerous substance may lead to the development of a number of diseases which include asbestosis, mesothelioma, and lung cancer. In many cases it could take up to fifty years for such a disease to be diagnosed.

The original estimate of the total cost for the Columbus City Hall project was $1 million. The city of Columbus is hopeful that the costs may be decreased.

A company located in Jamestown, New York has recently been charged for a number of violations regarding asbestos-containing materials. Blackstone Business Enterprise Inc. faces up to $273,000 in fines.

According to the United States Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA), Blackstone’s violations include failure to provide the company’s temporary workers with the proper protective equipment in order to limit the risk of asbestos exposure, not providing workers with the proper training to abate asbestos, and failing to monitor the air for asbestos levels. The violations all stem from the removal of asbestos from steam pipes insulated with the dangerous substance.

Asbestos exposure is known to result in a number of diseases that are often fatal due to the fact that such diseases tend to have such a long latency period. Such diseases include but are not limited to lung cancer, mesothelioma, and asbestosis. In many cases it takes such a disease anywhere from twenty to fifty years before being discovered. For this reason an asbestos-caused disease will most likely already be in advanced stages of development by the time it is diagnosed.

The steel and sheet metal fabricating company was charged with a total of 18 violations and has 15 business days to respond to the Occupational Safety and Health Administration. The company can comply and pay the fines, request a conference with the director of the OSHA, or contest the violations in court.

Bids are being taken from Sioux City, Iowa officials to have the asbestos removed from a condemned television station. The building that formerly housed KD Station dates back to 1917 when asbestos was used in a number of building materials. It wasn’t until much later that the government realized the dangers of being exposed to asbestos-containing materials and use of the substance began to become regulated.

Asbestos exposure is now known to lead to the development of a number of deadly diseases which include lung cancer, asbestosis, and mesothelioma. Because of the long latency period that such diseases typically have finding effective treatment options for those individuals diagnosed is a very difficult, and in many cases impossible, task. Often by the time such a disease is discovered it is already in advanced stages of development.

The city has appropriated approximately five to six million dollars for the project and is hoping to begin demolition of the aged building by the end of 2009. The project is estimated to be complete by June of 2010.

According to Sioux City Manager Paul Eckert the city has had a considerably successful response regarding the city’s request for bids on the project. Approximately one hundred individual companies have expressed an interest in the project. With so much competition Eckert feels that the cost of the project will be significantly driven down.

On January 30th, Winona, Minnesota commissioners voted unanimously to provide funds for the asbestos removal and demolition of two buildings located in the city’s downtown district. The project is expected to cost approximately $298,323. The two buildings cited for the project include the Charter Communications building and the Chrysler Winona building.

Many older buildings were constructed with materials containing asbestos due to the fact that use of the dangerous substance was not regulated until congress formed the Occupational Safety and Health Administration in the 1970’s. Today those that work around asbestos are required to wear the proper protective gear to limit health risks.

Asbestos removal projects must be conducted by licensed and trained contractors in order to prevent exposure to asbestos fibers that are known to lead to the development of a number of often fatal diseases. Such diseases include asbestosis, mesothelioma, and lung cancer. Because diseases caused by exposure to asbestos fibers typically have such a long latency period finding effective treatment options for those diagnosed is very rare.

Those pieces of the Chrysler building that can be salvaged will be held in preservation at the Winona County Historical Society.

There is no word yet as to when the asbestos removal and demolition project will begin or when it is estimated to be complete.

Residents of Stratford, Connecticut have been collecting signatures for a petition aimed at urging Environmental Protection Agency officials to completely remove asbestos contaminated soil from city limits. Asbestos, which may cause mesothelioma cancer, is a known carcinogen. The soil is located at twenty-four separate locations and the original proposal from the Environmental Protection Agency seeks to deposit the soil from all the areas to one specific area in Stratford.

Although the soil would be covered in order to prevent exposure to dangerous asbestos fibers residents are still concerned that the safety of those residents living near the site and those passing through may jeopardized.

Exposure to asbestos fibers is highly likely to result in the development of any one of a number of asbestos-related diseases which include lung cancer, asbestosis, and mesothelioma. All such diseases tend to have a significantly long latency period that many times leaves the diagnosed with very few effective treatment options. In most cases such a disease will already be in advanced stages by the time it’s discovered.

The petition being signed by many residents and has already received more than four-thousand signatures. The petition proposes moving all of the contaminated soil to a decontamination site located in Buffalo, New York. There are approximately five-thousand truckloads of the asbestos-contaminated soil to be dealt with. The cost to relocate the material in town would be approximately $21 million while the cost to move the material to Buffalo would total nearly $60 million.

The soil comes from the brake and clutch manufacturing firms Raybestos-Manhattan Inc. and Raymark Industries which shut-down in 1989.

Residents of Eldorado Hills, California are opposing a proposal for a tract of housing to be built in an area that is close to land contaminated with a highly toxic form of asbestos. The proposal is for a total of 135 houses to be built along Oak Ridge which is where the asbestos is located beneath the soil.

The main concern for residents is that dangerous asbestos fibers will be released into the air when workers begin to dig land for roads and buildings.

When asbestos fibers are released into the air they may be inhaled by individuals in close proximity. When such fibers are inhaled they may cause the development of any one of a number of asbestos-related diseases such as mesothelioma, lung cancer, and asbestosis. Because these types of diseases tend to have such a long latency period it is very difficult to treat them. Often by the time such a disease is diagnosed it is already in advanced sates of development.

According to residents the site proposed for the new houses is located in close proximity to the area’s Oak Ridge High School, which means that students would be in danger as well.

Approximately 70 residents in the area have come forward and say they plan to oppose the proposal. The greatest fear of those in opposition is the eventual development of mesothelioma cancer as a result of asbestos exposure.

A former Minnesota legislator has died due to asbestos-related causes. Dennis Newinski battled with malignant mesothelioma for the last two years before dying at the age of 64.

Mesothelioma is a disease that is conclusively caused by exposure to asbestos-containing materials. Such exposure is also known to cause lung cancer and asbestosis. Because such diseases typically have such a long latency period it may be very difficult to find effective treatment options by the time diagnosis occurs. In many cases, mesothelioma and other asbestos-caused illnesses will reach advanced stages of development before a patient is even diagnosed. Mesothelioma has no known cure and the majority of sufferers lose their battle with this aggressive form of cancer in less than two years following diagnosis.

Before entering politics, Mr. Newinski worked as a machinist for more than thirty years, during which he was most likely exposed to asbestos that would later lead to his development of a related disease.
Asbestos was commonly used in the automotive, manufacturing, and buildings industries during the early to mid-twentieth century. The dangerous nature of the substance was not discovered until the 1970’s, at which time congress formed the Occupational Safety and Health Administration and use of asbestos began to become regulated by the government.

Today, those individuals who come in contact with asbestos are urged to follow specific safety procedures in order to reduce the risk of exposure. For those who may have been exposed, far more mesothelioma information is available today than before the institution of usage regulations, and although there is no cure, oncologists have made great strides related to effective mesothelioma cancer treatment.