A building on Reade Street between Church and Broadway streets collapsed this morning, ripping almost clear apart from the building next door. The collapse apparently shook surrounding buildings, and tremors could be felt by neighbors.

Following the collapse, the street and sidewalks, as well as all vehicles parked nearby, were covered in dust, which may contain asbestos fibers.

Older buildings – those built before the 1980s – likely contain potentially harmful levels of asbestos within attic insulation and floor or ceiling tiles. These asbestos materials are not dangerous unless they are disturbed or damaged from a collapse such as the event in Tribeca this morning.

There is no word as to whether or not this particular building contained asbestos. Exposure to asbestos can lead to the eventual development of mesothelioma cancer or other asbestos-related diseases, many of which are fatal.

The dust that covered the street and cars following the building’s collapse is reminiscent of the scene at Ground Zero after the World Trade Center buildings fell. Hundreds of New Yorker’s have reported asbestos-related illnesses since 2001.

For a video of the collapse aftermath, visit http://www.ireport.com/docs/DOC-252252.

At the VA hospital in Murfreesboro, TN, hospital officials are dealing with fallout over unsanitary equipment that was used to perform thousands of colonoscopies.

And now, another shocking issue has come to the attention of public. VA hospital employees claim the hospital knowingly endangered their health by leaving asbestos pipe insulation in place throughout the basement of the hospital.

Dwight Statum has been employed at the VA for 30 years as a mechanic working on air conditioners. Now, Statum claims he has pictures of what he calls the VA’s dirty secret. The pictures show white asbestos covering pipes in the VA basement.

Statum is concerned that he and other VA employees will now develop a deadly, asbestos-related disease such as pleural mesothelioma.

“There’s a good possibility that I will suffer some long term effects from being exposed to asbestos,” Statum said.

Statum says when he had to repair a pipe covered with asbestos, the VA did not give him proper protective equipment or safety instructions.

“They knew full well what they were doing, but they didn’t care. It was just go ahead and get the job done. We’ll deal with the repercussions later,” Statum said.

Statum submitted pictures of the asbestos problem to the federal Occupational Safety and Health Administration. OSHA investigators cited the VA hospital for six asbestos violations.

OSHA says the VA failed to “determine employee exposure to asbestos” and “failed to notify employees of the location and quantity of asbestos.”

The VA is currently conducting air quality tests. Hospital officials have stated that so far, all air tests have been negative for asbestos.

Asbestos exposure has long been a cause of concern for veterans, specifically those who served on Navy ships during World War II. Countless vets have developed an asbestos-related illness later in their lives, and many have left their families with exorbitant debt following their death. Veteran asbestos exposure continues to be a problem, as men and women currently serving in Iraq face the risk of exposure.

Federal prosecutors have dropped their case against one executive charged in the federal environmental trial against W. R. Grace.

The prosecution has stated that they do not have enough evidence to prove guilt beyond a reasonable doubt.

Robert C. Walsh, a former senior vice president for the company, had been charged with conspiracy and defrauding the federal government. Walsh also served as head of the company’s construction products division and also head of Specialty Chemicals.

The prosecution believed Walsh knew details of the health hazards posed by the mining efforts in Libby, as well as at a Grace processing plant located in Ohio.

However, yesterday prosecutors admitted they didn’t have enough evidence against Walsh, and asked the Judge to drop the charges against Walsh.

Judge Donald Molloy accepted the request.

This development comes hot on the heels of arguments by defense attorneys to throw the case out of court and dismiss charges against the company and the remaining five defendants.

at the end of a pivotal day in the Grace trial with defense attorneys pressing Molloy to dismiss the charges against the company and remaining defendants.

Judge Molloy berated the prosecution on Monday for presenting what he termed a “discombobulated” case.

W.R. Grace operated a vermiculite mine in Libby, Montana. Vermiculite mined in Libby was found to be tainted with deadly asbestos. Many residents of Libby are now suffering from asbestos-related diseases. Asbestos is linked to asbestosis, lung cancer, and pleural mesothelioma.

A second location that housed a now-closed W. R. Grace facility in Hamilton Township, New Jersey has also experienced significant asbestos contamination. The site was declared an official “Brownfield” site by the Environmental Protection Agency.

In the last five years, Philadelphia schools have reported six accidental releases of deadly asbestos. At least six asbestos release accidents have occurred in local schools in the last five years.

Materials containing asbestos such as floor and ceiling tiles can release tiny asbestos particles or a fine asbestos-laced dust into the air if disturbed. That dust can be deadly when inhaled, and can lead to mesothelioma, a rare but aggressive and always fatal cancer.

“The bottom line is anytime you’re dealing with asbestos materials, where you are going to be disturbing them, you definitely have to work with a certified asbestos contractor,” said Donna Heron, a Philly-regional EPA spokeswoman.

But accidental releases can happen, and when they do, asbestos experts may not be on hand to help mitigate the dangers of the deadly substance.

In February, a contractor doing wiring work in Morrisville Middle-Senior High School drilled into a wall containing asbestos. The school was then forced to evacuate the students, and conduct environmental and air quality testing.

Thankfully, in all of the recent incidents, all tests for asbestos were negative.

Some critics find it troubling that schools are not required to notify the EPA when asbestos is released, despite the fact that the EPA is responsible for overseeing asbestos management.

Federal law requires air-quality testing following an asbestos repair or removal activity.

Most Philly public schools built before 1980 contain asbestos in building materials such as pipe insulation and floor or ceiling tiles.

Even a single asbestos release can prove deadly, as asbestos that becomes lodged in the lungs is impossible to remove. Repeated exposure to asbestos can cause scarring and inflammation, known as asbestosis.

Since 1986, U.S. schools have been required under the Asbestos Hazard Emergency Response Act to regularly monitor and inspect asbestos-containing materials and prepare management plans to prevent or reduce safety hazards.

Just outside the nation’s capital, a new national memorial is being dedicated to honor the 5,000+ workers who lose their lives on the job each year.

The National Workers Memorial will be located on the campus of the National Labor College, just outside Washington, D.C., in Silver Spring, Maryland.

Labor Secretary Hilda Solis will join union leaders on Tuesday to break ground on the memorial, which will be completed this September.

William Scheuerman, president of the college, hopes the memorial will raise awareness for the thousands of Americans who die on the job each year.

“We have monuments to everything else, what about the ordinary person, the person who is not a hero, goes to work one day and just doesn’t come home anymore?” Scheuerman said.

The memorial will take the form of a circular brick plaza surrounded by granite benches and brick pavers engraved with the names of fallen workers.

For $125, anyone can purchase a brick for the memorial, which will be engraved with the name and occupation of a worker who died on the job or from work-related injuries.

Design and construction of the memorial will cost about $450,000. Most of the money has come from union donations. One large donation came from Baltimore Orioles owner Peter Angelos, a lawyer who has represented workers injured by exposure to asbestos.

The memorial will “remind us of the work that still remains to be done to make America’s workplaces as safe and healthy as possible,” said Cecil Robert, president of the United Mine Workers.

This new memorial will hopefully raise awareness about common workplace dangers, including mesothelioma related to asbestos exposure on the job. People in many different occupations from teachers to mechanics to miners run the risk of work-related asbestos exposure.

Information has been released regarding the results of asbestos testing conducted at the Ash Grove Cement Company in Montana.

After a month of testing, the results of the testing are finally being made public.

Tremolite asbestos was discovered in the Ash Grove Cement Company’s quarry on March 16th, and the company took immediate action to shut down the plant. Workers were sent home, and were paid in full for a short period of time. Workers were not permitted to return to work until asbestos testing had been completed.

Some forms of tremolite are harmless; other forms can cause damage to the lungs when inhaled.

Asbestos inhalation is linked to asbestosis and pleural mesothelioma.

Over 280 samples were taken from the plant for examination, and the results were announced Wednesday night at a public meeting conducted by the Department of Public Health and Human Services and the Department of Environmental Quality.

The tests reveal that asbestos is present, although the amount of asbestos present is so low that the risk has been reported to be “negligible”.

Dr. Steven Helgerson, State Medical Officer, explained, “Of the many tests that were done and many sample results available, they were all at low or no detectable levels for asbestos, and the levels that were determined are all way below any known health risk.”

Some workers have returned to their jobs, but the company plans to continue testing for asbestos at the plant samples to ensure continued employee safety.

In Elmira, New York, the city manager is in hot water after authorizing the demolition of the Ritz Carriage House, which was known to contain deadly asbestos.

John Burin argued that demolition of the house posed no health risk, as the asbestos was “non-friable”, meaning it cannot be broken down into small pieces under pressure.

In many cases, authorities find it is safer to conduct asbestos removal prior to a demolition in order to ensure public safety. If asbestos breaks into smaller pieces during demolition, tiny fibers can become lodged in the lungs of workers and neighbors. These tiny asbestos fibers pose a big threat: inhaling them can lead to the rare, aggressive cancer mesothelioma. Pleural mesothelioma can develop decades after the initial exposure to asbestos.

The asbestos in the Ritz Carriage House was located in the roof shingles. In addition to shingles, asbestos may also be found in common building materials including floor and ceiling tiles, pipe and boiler insulation, and some paints.

Burin stated that he did not think the debris was harmful, and stated that the city followed procedure by watering the building down while demolishing it.

Using water is a common way to ensure asbestos fibers do not become airborne. Known as the “wet method,” it involves the saturation of asbestos-containing materials, such as floor tiles, to avoid dust during removal. Despite the effectiveness of the wet method, it is imperative that those conducting the removal still wear a mask that covers the nose and throat and disposes of clothing worn during the process to avoid transferring asbestos fibers from the jobsite to secondary locations.

The city of Elmira has also hired a licensed hauler to remove the debris in the next week or so. Debris will have to be disposed of in a designated landfill to avoid further exposure to asbestos fibers.

According to United States federal health officials at the Centers for Disease Control (CDC), deaths from malignant mesothelioma, a cancer primarily associated with asbestos exposure, have increased in the US.

The CDC analyzed death records for the United States, and found that 18,068 deaths resulted from malignant mesothelioma between 1999 and 2005. The analysis showed that during that period, the annual death toll from mesothelioma rose.

According the CDC, the majority of mesothelioma deaths were among Caucasian men. The state of Maine had the highest number of deaths.

Although a number of regulatory actions have been implemented to reduce the use of asbestos exposure, asbestos-related deaths keep occurring. This is due to a “latent period”, where the asbestos lies dormant in the body for decades. The time between initial exposure to asbestos and the onset of asbestos-related disease can be as long as 40 years.

The CDC expects the number of mesothelioma deaths to peak by the year 2010.

“Although asbestos has been eliminated in the manufacture of many products, it is still being imported and used in the US in various construction and transportation products,” the report notes. “Ensuring a future decrease in mesothelioma mortality requires meticulous control of exposures to asbestos and other materials that might cause mesothelioma.”

Although mesothelioma is typically associated with men who have worked in certain occupations, such as mining and construction, the number of women developing the disease has increased in recent years. In the UK, for example, a number of middle-aged women who washed asbestos-covered work clothes belonging to their father or other family member are now dying from mesothelioma as a result of their secondhand exposure. The problem of secondhand asbestos exposure in the United States is equally as serious, as more women – including females in their late twenties and thirties – are suffering from related diseases.

In Hutchinson, Kansas, schoolchildren and teachers will be forced to start their summer vacation early. Deadly asbestos is present in the school, and the school district wants to get a head start on asbestos removal this summer prior to some major renovations.

The school district says it is “gearing up for unprecedented building construction” this summer. The first step of that project will be asbestos abatement.

Asbestos abatement is required prior to renovations. The deadly substance can break down and become airborne, traveling through a building through the air vents. Once inhaled, asbestos fibers lodge in the lungs. Later in life, this exposure to asbestos can prove deadly. Asbestos is linked to diseases such as asbestosis and pleural mesothelioma.

As a result of the abatement, students will be dismissed for the summer on May 20, and the school district plans to turn several buildings over to contractors on May 26th for asbestos abatement and remodeling work.

While many individuals tend to think that asbestos issues are a thing of the past, this is not the case, as well over 30 million residences, office buildings, hospitals and schools contain asbestos materials.

Asbestos contamination in schools is particularly worrisome for two reasons. Not only is there the threat of exposure to staff and students, but the issue of cost as well. Asbestos removal is often very expensive, and many school districts do not have the money in their budget to cover these expenses. For this reason, abatement is often delayed by school districts until funding can be secured.

The issue of asbestos in schools is not only a problem in Kansas. Dozens of school districts in Ohio, Pennsylvania and Connecticut, for example, will be conducting costly abatement while students and staff are enjoying vacation this summer.

In West Palm Beach, FL, authorities have accused demolition workers of violation federal and city laws by beginning work on an asbestos-laden building without proper permits.

The building in question is the so-called 1515 Tower Condo Building, which was damaged by a hurricane and scheduled to be demolished after the asbestos present in both the interior and exterior has been properly dealt with.

Now authorities say workers began to tear into the building without the proper environmental or construction approvals.

By law, workers are required to follow certain protocol in an effort to minimize exposure to asbestos, which may cause a number of potentially fatal diseases, including mesothelioma cancer and asbestosis.

City and health department officials are scheduled to meet with Trinity Development Group representatives to discuss the alleged violations and how to proceed with the project, which is located at 1515 S. Flagler Drive.

The tower was known to have various asbestos-related issues, and has been vacant since 2004.

Trinity Development Group will have to remove the asbestos-tainted stucco exterior of the 30-story tower before being allowed to demolish the building.

City Construction Services Department inspectors halted work on the site after neighbors in a nearby condo alerted the authorities that workers had removed a two-story section of the building.

Workers had authorization to remove interior asbestos from tiles and ceilings, but it appears that they started days early, and were not authorized to remove the exterior section.

“By removing asbestos-containing material from the building, we believe they violated federal rules,” says Alex Ortega, the health department’s asbestos program coordinator.

“This abatement has to be conducted under wet conditions,” he added. “They have to have water. We don’t even know if that building has water available at this point, or, with the building being closed for so many years, what are the safety conditions.”