In Cuyahoga Falls, Ohio, preparations to demolish the State Road Shopping Center plaza are underway. Officials say that the plaza should be nothing more than a memory by this fall. Cuyahoga Falls is expected to award a nearly $2 million contract Monday to demolish the plaza. The money comes from the state of Ohio. The use of the funds was approved on June 22.

Falls Community Development Director Sue Truby said 14 companies are expected to place bids on the project. picked up bid packages for the project. ”We’ve established an aggressive timeline to meet the ultimate goal of redevelopment by 2010,” Truby said.

The asbestos abatement is scheduled to begin on August 3. Asbestos abatement is a costly but necessary measure to protect workers and nearby building occupants from inhaling the toxic substance during demolition. Asbestos can cause lung cancer and mesothelioma. Mesothelioma, a rare cancer, moves aggressively through the body. Mesothelioma can kill victims within mere months after diagnosis. There is no cure for mesothelioma cancer, although several treatment options are available. Oncologists like Dr. Stephen Yang of Johns Hopkins University continue to work on discovering a cure, with the hope that this aggressive and painful cancer can be eradicated.

Prior to asbestos abatement, utilities will need to be disconnected. Demolition is expected to begin after the asbestos abatement has been completed, ideally sometime on August 21.

The city bought the plaza last year for the princely sum of $10.2 million. The property will be developed by Cleveland’s Stark Enterprises. The new project, known as Portage Crossing, will be a retail marketplace. Developers hope that an upscale grocery store will move into the space.

The historic Mendota Mental Health Institute in Madison, Wisconsin is in need of asbestos abatement and major renovations. State officials knew the project would be a multi-million dollar investment. Initial estimates placed the cost in the neighborhood of $3.4 million, but now state contractors believe that the project could cost almost twice that amount. The most recent estimates say the renovations will cost $6.5 million.

However, the new figures estimated by the state contractors were made without talking to the future tenants or developer Gary Gorman. Gorman first arrived at the $3.4 million price tag last summer. Gorman proposed using about $3.4 million in affordable housing and historic preservation tax credits and traditional financing to renovate the former hospital.

In January of 2008, state officials approved the demolition of the building. In October of the same year, Gorman submitted his proposal. In April of this year, officials postponed the demolition to further study the issue. The independent contractors hired by the state worked through May and June to create a new proposal, ultimately offering the $6.5 million figure.

Once known as the Wisconsin Memorial Hospital, the aging building was built in 1922 and is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. The state was prepared to spend $541,000 this spring to tear down the building.

The building posed various risks. It was a fire hazard after being abandoned for 15 years, and contains toxic asbestos, known to cause lung cancer and mesothelioma in some cases. “The state hasn’t made a decision to demolish or to rebuild,” one official said Thursday. “We had our doubts (about Gorman’s proposal). This independent analysis seems to back up some of those doubts.”

Officials are critical of Gorman’s proposal, which seems to be missing some key components. For example, the new $6.5 million estimate includes a budget of $300,000 for removing asbestos. Gorman’s proposal has no cost allowance for asbestos abatement.

Mesothelioma – often referred to as asbestos cancer – is diagnosed in less than 3,000 individuals annually, and because it has no cure, is always fatal. Currently, mesothelioma treatment methods, such as chemotherapy and resectable surgery, are only temporary means of controlling the disease and associated side effects. One of the more popular chemo drugs, Alimta, is often administered to those suffering from asbestos cancer.

While doctors have made advancements in treatments and have a better understanding of asbestos disease within the last decade, oncologists like Anne Tsao MD of M.D. Anderson Cancer Center in Texas continue to research mesothelioma cancer and hope that a cure is not far off.

In Rantoul, Illinois, students won’t have to suffer when the mercury rises for much longer. By 2011, all non-air-conditioned classrooms will be fitted with cooling systems. The problem is currently so severe that students are sent home when the temperature rises, as was the case this week when students attending summer school at Broadmeadow Elementary School were sent home on Wednesday.

Superintendent Bill Trankina is looking forward to the day when early dismissals due to heat will be a distant memory. According to Trankina, between 150 and 160 students are taking part in summer school classes through the July 4 weekend at Broadmeadow Elementary School. None of the elementary schools in the city of Rantoul have air conditioning, and only a few classrooms at J.W. Eater Junior High School have air conditioning.

“When the weather turned really hot, we felt it would be prudent to dismiss the students at 12:30 p.m. (Wednesday),” Trankina said. “Not only was the temperature high, but the heat index was also high.” Summer classes generally run until 2 pm, but Trankina and other school officials decide each day whether it will be too hot for students to attend school.

With the recent approval of a Champaign County sales tax for local schools, funding is now being raised to purchase and install air conditioners. The school district plans to spend $12.5 million to $13.5 million on the building improvement project, which will cover the four elementary schools and the junior high school. In addition to the air conditioners, new windows will be installed, and thermal asbestos will be removed from the walls. Asbestos is a carcinogen that may cause lung cancer or mesothelioma cancer.

The problem of asbestos materials in aging US school buildings is nothing new – but due to the generally high cost of asbestos abatement and the replacement of asbestos materials, like floor or ceiling tiles or insulation, school districts often delay asbestos removal for as long as possible due to budget constraints.

When people think of Silicon Valley, computers and technology companies spring to mind. But just outside of Silicon Valley, there is a beautiful piece of public land that is ideally suited for hiking, picnics, nature enthusiasts, and dirt bike riders. This parcel of land, known as the Clear Creek management area, contains asbestos, a material linked to various cancers such as mesothelioma.

The dirt bike trails have been closed, and the public has been warned to stay away from the area. Asbestos is a naturally occurring mineral, with deposits all over the United States. Clear Creek is home to one the largest asbestos mineral deposits in America. In May of 2008, the Bureau of Land Management shut down the site after a study by the EPA found dangerously high levels of a particular type of chrysotile asbestos in the air. According the EPA study, hiking the area once a year could increase the risk of developing an asbestos-related illness, with the odds being about one in a million. The EPA calls that level of risk acceptable. However, with activities that kick up more debris into the air such as dirt biking or riding an ATV, the risk jumped to 1 in 100, assuming the riders visited the area 12 times a year in a 30 year period.

Local bikers argue that the study exaggerated the risks, and want to return to the trails. In an attempt to discredit the EPA study, a coalition of bikers got together and hired Ed Ilgren, a pathologist from Pennsylvania, to testify that the chrysotile at Clear Creek is nontoxic. Ilgren argues that chrysotile is short-fibered, unlike amphibole asbestos, which is the form of asbestos that has sickened residents of the town of Libby, Montana.

EPA Region 9 toxicologist Arnold Den of San Francisco argues that Ilgren is wrong, stating that all kinds of asbestos can be dangerous. The EPA only tested for fibers longer than five microns at Clear Creek, and it is known that fibers of that length can cause asbestos-related diseases.

Even though summer vacation has begun, the schools in Nevada’s Washoe County School District are bustling with activity. This is because 50 schools in the district are undergoing various upgrades, including the removal of toxic asbestos, roof repairs, and other updates. Five of the oldest schools in the district are getting an “extreme makeover”.

“When the board sat down with our buildings people, they decided to put their greatest efforts into the oldest schools, but also those where student achievement needed a boost,” said district spokesman Steve Mulvenon. One such school is Alice Maxwell Elementary in Sparks, Nevada. The school qualified on both counts. The aging school is 51 years old, and has started showing it. Construction workers at the school have begun to remove old carpets, gutting parts of the building, and removing deadly asbestos debris.

Asbestos was once commonly used as insulation and fireproofing, and can cause lung cancer and mesothelioma. Mesothelioma is a rare cancer that manifests initially in the lungs, heart, and/or abdomen.

School officials believe that making these renovations will protect the health of their students. In addition, studies have shown that improvements such as updating the heating, air conditioning and lighting in a school can have a positive impact on student test scores.

For school districts nationwide, the problems surrounding asbestos in school buildings is not new. Millions of structures, including again schools, that were built before the 1980s contain asbestos products like ceiling tiles, floor tiles, and insulation. Due to the high cost of asbestos abatement, coupled with the cost for permits, labor, and replacement of asbestos materials with safer alternatives, school districts often delay abatement for as long as possible because there is not enough funding within their budget.

If school-aged children are exposed to asbestos, they may not exhibit any symptoms of asbestos disease until they are well until adulthood. However, in recent years, some individuals as young as 13 have been diagnosed with pleural mesothelioma, and a woman aged 28 recently passed away in the UK due to complications stemming from asbestos cancer.

Generally, people who are diagnosed with this disease are in their sixties or seventies.

At Annie’s Old World Pizza in Geneva, Ohio, demolition crews have completed asbestos removal, and have begun the process of tearing down the building. According to City Manager Jim Pearson, “Demolition is moving along…Everything is going well. The first building was down on Monday and (the crew) is starting on the second building (Tuesday).” The building, located at 51 and 53 Main Street, is being torn down to make way for additional parking, making the northeast area of downtown Geneva more easily accessible.

The red brick building was purchased by the city for $38,000. Pearson revealed that the price the city paid for the building was reduced after asbestos was found to be present in the building’s drywall during a pre-purchase inspection of the property. Pearson said the asbestos abatement and demolition cost $22,000. “Some Community Development Block Grant money was used for the demolition,” he said.

Asbestos removal is a crucial step prior to demolition. Demolition could easily disturb the asbestos particles, shooting them into the air and creating a public health risk. Airborne asbestos particles can be inhaled, causing serious health problems for workers, building occupants, and neighbors. Asbestos exposure may cause lung cancer, mesothelioma, and other medical conditions.

The new empty lot where Annie’s once stood will help solve the city’s lack of downtown parking. “Our parking on Main Street has been a problem for 20 years since we went to three lanes on Main Street,” Pearson said. “That expansion to three lanes eliminated parallel parking and forced the city to look into the creation of off-street parking.”

Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease, or COPD, is a condition that thousands of people in the UK, and many more all around the world, must cope with every day. COPD is a blanket term that covers a range of conditions, such as emphysema and chronic bronchitis. Symptoms include shortness of breath, persistent coughing, and restricted ability to perform simple tasks. Now, a UK organization called Breathe Easy is hoping to make the lives of people who suffer from COPD a lot more bearable.

“At the start of the program, I believed I shouldn’t walk more than 50 yards at a time. By the end of the course, I had the confidence to walk a quarter of a mile around the field behind my house,” says Breathe Easy group chairman Barry Chawner, who is also a COPD sufferer.

Chawner describes COPD as a burden, saying “It’s difficult as you can’t necessarily do the things you used to do and if you can do them, they take a lot longer. It is restrictive. A lot of people suffer from anxiety as a result – that feeling of being breathless and not being able to catch your breath can be scary. It’s frightening when you can’t breathe, but my way of coping is not to accept it is frightening, but is simply your brain telling you need to breathe.”

Thousands of UK citizens live with the disease, but some estimates believe that thousands more are living with undiagnosed cases of COPD. The Breathe Easy campaign has local chapters throughout the UK. As part of the British Lung Foundation’s Breathe Easy Week, medical professionals are urging people to consider the health of their lungs. COPD can be caused by smoking, exposure to industrial environments, carbon, and asbestos. Asbestos is also linked to lung cancer and mesothelioma, a fatal cancer that is also a very serious health concern in the UK.

The profile of a typical COPD patient does not necessarily mimic that of a mesothelioma cancer sufferer. Mesothelioma is most commonly diagnosed when an individual is well into their sixties or seventies, and few women develop the disease, although the rate of mesothelioma in women has increased in recent years.

The historic Northern Hotel in Billings, Montana is under new ownership. New owners Mike and Chris Nelson, a team of brothers, are hoping to win back former customers and restore the aging hotel’s former prestige. The brothers are planning a multi-million dollar renovation project that will update the Northern into a three-star hotel and restaurant that will be in direct competition with the nearby Crowne Plaza Hotel.

The 10-story hotel is 70 years old, and needs a great deal of work. One of the first problems the Nelsons will need to tackle is the asbestos problem. Asbestos, a toxic substance known to cause lung cancer and mesothelioma, is lurking within the hulking structure. Mesothelioma is a rare form of cancer that attacks the lungs, heart, or abdomen before invading the rest of the body. Mesothelioma is incredibly aggressive, and can kill within months of being diagnosed. There is no known cure, but a number of oncologists, including Dr. Anne Tsao, continue to work towards a cure.

Last week, 2 foot wide plastic tubes were found throughout the lobby. The purpose of the tubes was to promote proper air flow into the sealed off areas where asbestos removal was taking place. Once the asbestos has been removed from the building the real work can begin. Workers hope to start transforming the hotel into a sleek, simple, Bauhaus-style hotel. The Nelson brothers hope to open the hotel by 2011.

Millions of buildings nationwide are laden with asbestos in the form of attic insulation, floor or ceiling tiles, roofing tiles, and other products. Before federal regulations were instituted, manufactured products could contain limitless asbestos, but regulations now demand that products contain no more than 1% asbestos, or the product is considered illegal to use.

The Huffington Post’s Sandy Tolan recently opened American eyes to the harsh realities of the shipbreaking industry. Shipbreaking is a practice of recycling and cannibalizing aging ships for new uses. Shipbreaking is prevalent in developing nations, predominantly in Asia. Shipbreaking has made international headlines due to a recent accord signed by 64 nations, which will require companies engaged in shipbreaking to inventory toxins like lead, PCBs, or asbestos.

Tolan traveled to Bangladesh to interview shipbreakers. One worker, Babu, was barely a teenager. Tolan asked the boy, “Did anybody ever tell you [that] you’re only 13, you shouldn’t have to work like this’?” The boy paused, and then responded, “There was another foreign guy who came here years ago. He also said this. But nobody else ever told me this before, except the foreign guy.”

Children are a common sight among the workers in the shipbreaking industry. In Bangladesh alone, there are nearly 5 million laborers under the age of 15. Young children operate blowtorches while fearing for their lives as hunks of steel fall all around them. The proper safety precautions are rarely observed. According to Babu, “[The bosses] usually don’t provide us with protective equipment, but when any law enforcement agency comes into the yard to check, they immediately provide all this stuff for half an hour or so. Then they take it back when the inspectors leave. My question is ‘Why?’ Why do they only provide this stuff when the law enforcement people come? Why don’t they give it to us all day, every day, so we can protect ourselves?”

Decommissioned ships that are set to be broken down often contain asbestos, which causes mesothelioma and lung cancer. Ships also contain contaminants like arsenic, oil, and other poisons. While deaths from on the job accidents are fairly well documented, it is unknown how many people die each year in the shipbreaking industry from diseases like mesothelioma or lung cancer.

A St. Louis apartment building is undergoing intensive renovations. Work on the Ford Apartment building project stopped six months ago, but now the building is filled with teams of workers. The building is owned by Blue Shutters Development, which is run by Peter D. George. Blue Shutters took control of the building last year after the previous owner of the structure, Matthew Burghoff, was sent to federal prison for violating the Clean Air Act.

In December, Mr. Burghoff was sentenced to two years in federal prison after being found guilty of bank fraud and improperly handling asbestos in the Ford Building. Improper asbestos handling can place many lives in danger, as asbestos products can break down, forcing asbestos dust and fibers into the air. If inhaled, asbestos may cause lung cancer and mesothelioma.

While Burghoff was under investigation, the Ford building lay dormant. Burghoff’s plan to turn the building into luxury condos was abandoned when he was sent to prison. Blue Shutters took over the building, and Peter D. George hopes that tenants could begin moving into the building by the end of this year. Blue Shutters Development is putting 36 two-bedroom apartments in the Ford building. Offices and retail space will also be available in the new, asbestos-free structure.