For the past four years, Sophie Ellis has been fighting a cancer contracted from exposure to asbestos.

At the tender age of 13, Sophie was diagnosed with mesothelioma, making her the youngest person ever diagnosed with that disease in Britain. Mesothelioma is a cancer of the lining of the lung, heart or abdomen that is linked to asbestos exposure. Normally, this disease is found in middle-aged and elderly people due to the long latency period (typically, 20 to 50 years).

Doctors had a hard time diagnosing Sophie’s condition at first, because it is incredibly rare to see this disease in such a young person.

Sophie was diagnosed with pleural mesothelioma after developing pain in her side from what she thought initially was a sports injury. Tests revealed she had a tumor on the lining on her right lung. She suffered through 8 months of chemotherapy to shrink the tumor, and then surgeons opted to remove the entire lung.

She was 14 years old.

Sophie hopes to become a famous actress. She has already lived longer than the average expectancy. The majority of mesothelioma sufferers lose their battle with this disease in less than 2 years following diagnosis.

Sophie is not the only young person in Britain to be affected by this disease. Last year, 28-year-old Leigh Carlisle became the youngest recorded person to die from mesothelioma. She was diagnosed at age 26, and believed she contracted the disease by taking a shortcut to school that took her past a factory where asbestos was being cut.

Sophie is the newest voice lending her support to the Mirror’s Asbestos Timebomb campaign, which aims to raise asbestos awareness and gain support for a multi-million dollar asbestos research and treatment center.

The W.R. Grace & Co. criminal trial took an early recess on Wednesday after a flu virus spread throughout the jury. Three members of the fifteen person jury were afflicted with flu-like symptoms.

The Missoulian newspaper reported this development on it’s website. After the lunch break, U.S. District Judge Donald Molloy informed the lawyers that three of the jurors sitting in on this asbestos case had fallen ill with what appeared to be a stomach flu.

After the lunch break, the judge had the jury be seated. After speaking with them and surveying the appearance of the 15 jury members, the judge determined that they were truly ill.

One juror was heard to say, “I feel like I’m going to throw up.”

The judge decided that the best decision for everyone involved would be to adjourn for the afternoon.

The government’s next witness was scheduled to take the stand on Thursday morning, but that has been delayed.

The W. R. Grace trial is an ongoing federal criminal trial. At issue is whether the company and five of it’s top executives were aware that they were endangering the community of Libby, Montana by mining asbestos-laced ore. The trial is expected to last up to three months.

Many residents of the town of Libby are suffering from asbestos exposure. Miners of the town have developed asbestos-related diseases, including mesothelioma cancer, but other townspeople who had no direct contact with the mine have also become ill. The vermiculite from the Libby mine was used in products such as fireproofing and attic insulation.

Southwyck Mall in Toledo has existed for thirty two years, but for the last two years, the property has been left vacant. Now, it looks as though this South Toledo eyesore will finally get cleaned up.

The mall’s owners have just signed an agreement to clean up the mall, remove all asbestos, and have the building demolished.

Exposure to asbestos during demolition could result in the eventual development of asbestosis or mesothelioma in construction workers. Generally, asbestos materials are removed by a licensed asbestos abatement team before a building is demolished.

This face lift would be a boon to businesses in the area. With the mall lying vacant, there is not a lot of interest in the area, and the few remaining businesses are struggling.

Starting next week, a crew of workers will begin cleaning up at the mall. The three major corridors will have asbestos removed. It is hoped that within seven months the whole site will be cleared.

The developer hopes to be able to market the building as clean and ready for immediate use. There is even talk of the developer traveling as far away as Las Vegas to seek out a buyer for the Southwyck Mall property.

$1.5 million in federal EPA funds will be used in the asbestos remediation. The developer will pay to demolish the building. There will be $1.5 million of federal EPA money used in the remediation. The developers will pay to tear down the building.

The developer, Larry Dillin, has proposed a retail office and residential village at the current site. He is currently waiting for funding for demolition.

The City Commission of Lake Wales, Florida has postponed an asbestos removal project in order to search for a company in the area that can do the work.

Lake Wales is looking to remove asbestos from underground cement water pipes. The cement pipes are used to distribute water throughout various parts of the city.

The city’s staff recommended a proposal from Killebrew Inc. Killebrew placed a bid of $549,945 for the asbestos removal. However, the city commissioner wishes to see more bids before choosing a company.

Lake Wales Utilities Director Ray Creel said he’s not aware of any other companies within 300 miles of the city that can do the type of work needed.

If the city decides to send out for bids instead of accepting the proposal from Killebrew, Inc., there may be a three or four month delay in the removal of the water pipes. There is currently no deadline set for the removal of the pipes.

The asbestos in the pipes is not believed to pose any immediate health risks. However, the EPA has ordered the pipes to be removed as soon as possible.

Exposure to errant asbestos may lead to the eventual development of mesothelioma, a deadly form of cancer.

About half of the affected Lake Wales pipes will be removed, while the remaining pipes will have to wait until funds from next year’s budget can be accessed. City officials will target certain areas for removal first, taking into consideration all possible risk factors.

The city commission voted unanimously to approve the motion for city staffers to seek out local contractors to bid on this project.

A former chemist for W.R. Grace has testified that he conducted a 1976 study that tested the effects of asbestos-laced vermiculite on hamsters. The hamsters developed mesothelioma and eventually developed pleural thickening of the lungs, which suffocated them and caused their deaths.

Heyman C. Duecker worked as a chemist for W. R. Grace & Co. for more than twenty years. Mr. Duecker testified on Tuesday that this testing was mandated by a corporate directive. The corporation ordered the study to better understand the health risks the asbestos-laced vermiculite might pose to their miners in Libby.

The testing was part of a corporate directive to study the hazards of asbestos in order to better understand its potential health risks to miners in Libby. Results were tabulated every six months, and the chemist was instructed to keep the results private.

The results were to be made available at six-month intervals and were to be kept private, Duecker said.

The animals were exposed to Libby vermiculite, which is different from other kinds of asbestos in that it contains a dangerous strain of asbestos called tremolite.

The hamster study conducted by Duecker also compared the effects of common asbestos to the effects of Libby asbestos. “The study would provide us with the relative carcinogenicity of Libby asbestos as compared with commercial asbestos,” Duecker said.

Attorney Kevin Cassidy, a lawyer for the prosecution, argued that this study was proof that top officials for W.R. Grace were aware that there was a difference between Libby’s asbestos and other common forms of asbestos.

The W.R. Grace trial is expected to last three months.

Countless Libby residents – well over 1,000, according to a doctor that testified at the trial about two weeks ago – have been diagnosed with asbestos diseases, including asbestosis and mesothelioma cancer.

Kelvin Parker died in November 2008 from mesothelioma, mere months after being diagnosed with the condition. Kelvin, a father of three, was preparing a lawsuit against his former employer, TIS Modular Structures, before his untimely death.

The rest of the Parker family has decided to carry on his memory by continuing to fight with TIS Modular Structures for compensation. The Parker family hopes that Kelvin’s former co-workers will aid them.

Kelvin’s daughter, Natalie, was heartbroken when her father told her that he had contracted his asbestos-related cancer. Said Natalie: “None of us had ever heard of this illness before and it was a terrible shock to discover that it was caused by being exposed to asbestos dust and there is no known cure.”

Mesothelioma is a form of cancer that is almost always caused by previous exposure to asbestos. Sufferers of this disease have symptoms such as shortness of breath (due to fluid in the body trapped between the lungs and the chest wall), chest pain, and severe weight loss. Mesothelioma occurs when cancer cells begin to grow in the mesothelium, a protective lining that covers most of the body’s internal organs. Its most common site is the pleura (outer lining of the lungs and internal chest wall), but it may also occur in the peritoneum (the lining of the abdominal cavity) and the heart.

Mr. Parker inhaled asbestos during the 1970′s and 1980′s while working for TIS fitting suspended ceilings. Mr. Parker claimed that his employers “did not provide him or his workmates with masks, ventilation equipment or any warning regarding the dangers of asbestos when he worked for TIS.”

The family is encouraging anyone who was employed by TIS to receive screening from a physician for respiratory disease.

Steve McQueen, the actor best known for his appearances in movies such as Bullitt, Papillon, and The Great Escape, died 28 years ago from mesothelioma cancer.

At the time, his illness was reported in the press as lung cancer, and many assumed that the cancer was due to smoking.

However, his widow Barbara recently spoke with UK publication The Mirror about Steve’s death, in response to the Mirror’s current campaign for asbestos awareness.

Barbara had said little in the press regarding her husband’s death prior to this interview.

Mrs. McQueen told The Mirror:

“I commend the Mirror for its watchdog efforts in leading the charge regarding asbestos exposure. My husband’s death was a long and painful ordeal, and I can readily identify with those who have been exposed to asbestos as well as their loved ones….The Mirror’s five demands are not only sensible but would right a wrong that should have been rectified decades ago.”

Barbara recounted Steve’s last months in her interview. Steve began to feel sick while shooting a Western film. He was often tired and short of breath, and later began having night sweats.

Tumors were found in his right lung, and he was diagnosed with mesothelioma. He was told he only had a few months to live.

Steve McQueen could never pinpoint his cancer to one culprit. He had been surrounded with asbestos his whole life. When he was in the Marine Corps., he would be punished by being forced to clean asbestos-lined pipes. Later in life, he wore asbestos-lined racing suits on his motorcycle.

The dangers of asbestos were not recognized until the late seventies and early eighties, and very few nations have placed a ban on the substance. In the UK, for example, countless individuals are diagnosed with asbestos-related illnesses each year, and recently, published reports claim that a “new wave” of asbestos victims will surface in the near future and that rates of asbestos disease will rise.

Steve McQueen’s death was painful and lingering. The cancer spread throughout his body, and by the time he was operated on, he was very weak. On November 7, 1980, a day after surgery to remove some of the cancer, he died of a heart attack.

Here in the United States, approximately 3,000 Americans are diagnosed with mesothelioma annually.

A group of journalism and law students from the University of Montana have been given access to the W. R. Grace & Co. trial being held at the U.S. District Court in Missoula, Montana.

A law student is paired with a journalism student, and each pair works a two-hour shift to offer online coverage of the trial via their blog at http://blog.umt.edu/gracecase.

Several communities in Montana were exposed to asbestos that W.R. Grace mined and processed in Libby, Montana. Lawyers for Libby residents contend the pollution has killed some 225 people and sickened about 2,000 in Libby.

W.R. Grace officials are now facing criminal charges. It is alleged that they knowingly endangered the lives of Libby, Montana residents by obscuring the dangers of asbestos.

Exposure to asbestos is the conclusive cause of asbestosis and mesothelioma cancer, and in Libby, over a thousand residents have been diagnosed with an asbestos-caused illness. Mesothelioma is considered to be one of the rarest forms of cancer and has no known cure. Many locals did not receive any type of mesothelioma information until after being diagnosed with this aggressive disease, which has a latency period of as many as fifty years.

The trial commenced on February 23rd, 2009, and is expected to last for at least three months.

The trial judge, U.S. District Judge Donald W. Molloy, “has been very amenable to this project,” according to project coordinator Nadia White. The judge has ensured that there are always two seats reserved for the student bloggers in the media section of the courtroom.

34 students (17 each from the journalism and law schools) are involved in the trial coverage.

Carly Flandro, a Journalism major, works a shift at the courthouse once or twice a week. “When I’m in court, I’m supposed to send a tweet (a brief online message) every 10 minutes…I usually write one or two blog posts after my shift, which lasts two hours. We can do so from the court, where we sit in the media section equipped with computers and notebooks.”

All students are receiving academic credit for their participation.

ASTM International has announced the dates of their next asbestos conference. The 2010 Michael E. Beard Asbestos Conference will focus on laboratory issues and will be held January 28th and 29th, 2010, at the Grand Hyatt in San Antonio, Texas.

Next year’s conference will be sponsored by ASTM International Committee D22 on Air Quality, a group that was formed in 1951 to handle standards and guidelines related to air quality monitoring and testing methods and research.

ASTM has previously held asbestos conferences, beginning in 1986. Discussions at the conferences have lead to advancements in asbestos laws and air quality testing methods. Typically, the conferences have been held during the summer months, but the ASTM chose a January date in an effort to accommodate the schedules of asbestos professionals, who are often unable to attend a summer conference.

The two-day gathering in San Antonio will bring together those who work in the area of laboratory testing and will be divided into four different sessions: Analysis of Soil and Other Media, Quality Assurance, Training, and Interlaboratory Studies, Definitions of Asbestos, Cleavage Fragments and NOA Considerations, and Issues of Interaction among Laboratories and the National Voluntary Laboratory Accreditation Program (NVLAP), Auditors, and Government Agencies.

ASTM is currently seeking presenters to speak at each session, and encourage those interested to submit a title and abstract by Friday, March 27th. Each presentation will be approximately 20 minutes in length.

Online registration for the 2010 conference will open in November, and will close on January 20, 2010. To register, please visit http://www.astm.org/MEETINGS/COMMIT/d22symp0110.htm.

The conference is named for Michael E. Beard, a longtime member of D22, who passed away in 2008.

Ongoing study of asbestos and the constant updating of related legislation is crucial, as asbestos exposure remains a very serious health concern. Exposure to asbestos, even in small amounts, may lead to the development of a number of often fatal diseases, including pleural mesothelioma cancer.

A defense attorney in the W.R. Grace & Co. trial brought forward evidence on Thursday that indicated that top government officials were aware of the dangers inherent in asbestos-tainted vermiculite decades ago.

The Missoulian newspaper reported the court proceedings on its Web site Thursday evening.

Defense attorney Thomas Frongillo cross-examined Dr. Aubrey Miller, who went to Libby in 1999 as part of the EPA’s emergency response team. On Tuesday, Miller testified about the serious health risks posed by the asbestos contamination, which he stated presented an “imminent” danger to the community.

On Thursday, Attorney Frongillo cited EPA reports showing that the government was investigating asbestos-laced vermiculite as early as 1980. The feds understood the risks the substance could pose to human health. Other studies were also commissioned in 1982, 1985, and 1991.

W. R. Grace and Company has been involved in a number of controversial incidents over the years. They have been involved in both alleged crimes and proven cases. Among these are the current W.R. Grace trial regarding the contamination of asbestos in the towns of Libby and Troy, Montana. Additionally, W.R. Grace was also implicated in an instance of water contamination in Woburn, Massachusetts. The incident in Woburn was so famous it became the basis for the book A Civil Action, as well as a John Travolta film of the same name.

W. R. Grace & Co. ran the vermiculite mining operation in Libby that allegedly contaminated the entire town. A large percentage of Libby residents now suffer from asbestos diseases, including pleural mesothelioma cancer.