The shipping port of Marystown, Newfoundland is home to the Marystown Shipyard Families Alliance, an organization dedicated to providing support to shipyard workers and their families. It is well known that shipyard workers face an elevated risk of coming into contact with various toxic substances, including deadly asbestos dust and fibers.

Lung cancer, asbestosis and mesothelioma are not uncommon in shipbuilders and shipyard workers who were exposed to asbestos while on the job as many as forty years before their initial diagnosis. Bernadine Bennett of the Marystown Shipyard Families Alliance hopes that this evening’s meeting will raise awareness of asbestos-related diseases, and bring together many families who are suffering and in need of support.

The informational session will be held tonight at 7 p.m., and will be followed Friday with an intake clinic. Said Bennett: “We’ve invited a lot of people outside – politicians and different advocate groups – but we really want to get to the families and to the workers to make them realize there is a reason to be concerned, and there’s a reason for some fast action on the part of the compensation board and our government.”

Mrs. Bennett organized the Marystown Shipyard Families Alliance in 2006. Mrs. Bennett formed the group after becoming frustrated with the government’s ability to protect and support shipyard workers who had been exposed to toxins like asbestos. Mrs. Bennett is convinced that asbestos exposure is to blame for the high cancer rate in shipyard employees, and that people who live near the shipyard might also be at risk for developing asbestos-related diseases.

Harvard Law School students Justin Raphael and Andrew Furlow have been given a rare opportunity to help prepare an oral argument that was presented by constitutional scholar Samuel Issacharoff to the U.S. Supreme Court. Issacharoff is a professor at New York University School of Law, and met Raphael and Furlow while working at Harvard as a visiting professor. Issacharoff asked the men to assist him in a case where he was representing the plaintiffs in a complicated asbestos case.

The case was Travelers Indemnity v. Bailey and the consolidated case Common Law Settlement Counsel v. Bailey. Both cases stem from a 1986 settlement between the bankrupt Johns-Manville Corp. and over 600,000 separate asbestos claimants. Asbestos exposure may cause lung cancer and mesothelioma. The settlement was $2.8 billion. In addition to the financial settlement, insurers were given immunity from any related claims in the future.

However, lawyers for the asbestos claimants found additional grounds to sue the insurers. Making the case even more complicated is the fact that the U.S. Court of Appeals (2nd Circuit) found that the bankruptcy court did not have the authority to grant immunity in future cases against Travelers Insurance. This caused the case to go before the Supreme Court.

Harvard Professor Elizabeth Warren represented Travelers before the Supreme Court. “The Supreme Court was called on to rule whether the bankruptcy court had overstepped its jurisdiction with respect to the company’s insurance proceeds,” she says. “I believe that when the founders included bankruptcy in the Constitution that they envisioned a bankruptcy system that is flexible and that has the kind of broad reach that was used in this case.”

The city of Nahariya, Israel, has been found to contain one of the highest concentrations of mesothelioma patients in the world. According to Israeli health official Dr. Micha Bar-Hana, 5.72 out of every 100,000 people in the district have mesothelioma.

The city of Nahariya was once the site of the only asbestos plant in Israel. The plant was closed in 1997. Heath experts believe that the number of mesothelioma patients will continue to increase, as people who worked or lived near the plant age. There is generally a latent period for mesothelioma, and it is not uncommon for victims to develop initial symptoms of mesothelioma until decades after the initial exposure to asbestos. In fact, one Israeli doctor went on the record, sharing a story about one 93-year old mesothelioma patient he was treating that had been exposed to asbestos when he was in his twenties.

The highest rate of mesothelioma reported in this study occurs in and around Genoa, Italy, where just about 6 out of every 100,000 people are afflicted with the disease. Between 1990 and 2008 there were a total of 606 cases of mesothelioma in Israel.

According to health experts the number of new mesothelioma cases has increased in recent years. Most of the patients are men who were exposed to asbestos while on the job. But health officials want people to know that mesothelioma can also manifest in people who never worked with asbestos.

According to Dr. Avi Weiner, family members of asbestos workers are also at risk. “We had two cases of wives who became ill because their husband’s clothes carried asbestos particles,” he said. The number of women who were exposed to asbestos in a secondhand manner in the United States has increased within the last decade, and a number of women – especially in the asbestos-riddled town of Libby, Montana – have died due to mesothelioma cancer in the last few years.

The Environmental Protection Agency has declared a public health emergency in and around Libby, Montana. The announcement was made on Wednesday. Libby is the site of a former mining operation run by W. R. Grace & Co. Grace ran the mine for decades, and extracted asbestos-laced vermiculite that it used to create various products. The asbestos has since contaminated the surrounding area, leaving hundreds dead and many more ill from asbestos-related disease.

An EPA spokesperson informed members of the press that the Lincoln County Health Clinic would be receiving $6 million from the Department of Health and Human Services. The money will be used to provide health care to Libby residents. Libby residents have succumbed to various asbestos-related incidents over the years, including lung cancer and mesothelioma. In addition, EPA agents will remove vermiculite from local buildings, where the substance is used as insulation. According to the EPA spokesperson, it is not known how many homes across America contain asbestos-contaminated vermiculite, but estimates place that number in the tens of millions.

The vermiculite mine in Libby was originally operated by the Zonolite Company. The mine was so vast that at one time in US history; it was the source of 80 percent of all vermiculite insulation in America. W. R. Grace later purchased the mine in 1963, and closed it down in 1990.

Grace recently faced intense scrutiny during a nationally publicized trial, where the company faced charges of knowingly endangering the lives of Libby residents, conspiracy, and violations of the federal Clean Air Act. Grace and all former executives charged in the case were acquitted. In 2008, Grace agreed to pay the federal government $250 million for cleanup efforts in Libby.

The final defendant in the W. R. Grace asbestos crimes case has been acquitted. This week, federal prosecutors dismissed the charges against the only remaining defendant in the criminal case against Grace. Last month, Grace and three of the company’s former executives were acquitted of all charges relating to a criminal conspiracy to hide the fact that asbestos-laced vermiculite mined by Grace was slowly killing residents of the town of Libby, Montana.

The last remaining defendant was the company’s legal counsel, O. Mario Favorito, who was severed due to a “conflict of interest.”

Favorito was scheduled to go to trial in September. Now, however, the charges against him have been dismissed. According to a government document pertinent to the dismissal, the charges against Favorito were dismissed on May 8th.

The Grace trial lasted 35 days, and the residents of Libby were shocked when all defendants were acquitted. Approximately 227 members of the Libby community have died from asbestos-related disease, and nearly two thousand more have been made ill by asbestos.

A study conducted by the Center for Asbestos Related Disease in Libby found that since 1998, an astonishing 77 individuals in the community developed an asbestos illness due to secondhand exposure. None of these 77 individuals worked for W. R. Grace.

Asbestos causes lung cancer, mesothelioma, and asbestosis. Although various treatment options are available, mesothelioma has no cure, and progresses through the body very rapidly. Most sufferers perish within two years of their initial diagnosis.

In Newport News, Virginia, the family of a retired Navy sailor has reason to rejoice. Gerald Gray’s family has just won $1.2 million after raising a lawsuit against a manufacturer of parts for ships. Gerald Gray passed away in April after a prolonged battle with mesothelioma, a rare but aggressive form of cancer. Mesothelioma is triggered by exposure to asbestos fibers. Asbestos was often used in the shipping industry as an insulating material or as fireproofing. Mesothelioma spreads so quickly that many patients succumb to the disease within months after being diagnosed.

Asbestos was also commonly used in automotive brake pads, as well as thousands of other applications. Now that the health risks associated with asbestos exposure are well-known, asbestos is no longer acceptable for use in new construction. However, many aging buildings across America still contain the deadly substance. Asbestos was once a common component of building materials ranging from insulation to concrete to drywall joint compound.

Gerald Gray died at the age of 75, only five weeks before the trial was set to begin against John Crane Inc. Crane, based in Illinois, manufactures gaskets and other ship parts that Gray used routinely to repair damaged ships. The Newport News Circuit Court jury ruled yesterday against five manufacturers for a total of $4 million, with each company being assigned a percentage of the blame.

John Crane was blamed for 30 percent of Gray’s suffering, and was therefore ordered to pay damages in the amount of $1.2 million.

The death of a 62 year old man in the Cotswold region of England has prompted an inquiry into the circumstances surrounding his passing. Brian Ratcliff worked during the late 1960s and early 1970s as a fitter of TV antennas. His career brought him into contact with deadly asbestos, as he often had to drill into loft spaces or roofs in order to install the antennas. The county coroner ruled that Ratcliff’s death from malignant mesothelioma was attributable to his work-related asbestos exposure.

Ratcliff’s death was quite sudden. After having initial symptoms around Easter of 2008, he was diagnosed with mesothelioma in May of the same year. Despite various treatments, Ratcliff’s condition rapidly deteriorated. On June 13th, 2008, he canceled a treatment session, and passed away that same day. The coroner’s postmortem report indicated that Mr. Ratcliff’s cause of death was bronchopneumonia due to malignant mesothelioma. During the coroner’s inquest into Mr. Ratcliff’s death, it was determined that the county coroner was satisfied with the evidence that showed Ratcliff’s mesothelioma was attributable to his work environment. The county coroner then officially recorded Mr. Ratcliff’s cause of death as industrial disease.

Asbestos can cause a wide range of health issues. Once commonly used in thousands of everyday items, asbestos is now known to be a carcinogen. Airborne asbestos fibers, if inhaled, can become permanently embedded in the human body. Inhaled asbestos can lead to the development of diseases such as asbestosis, lung cancer, and pleural mesothelioma.

A group of Welsh workers who were exposed to asbestos on the job are at the center of an ongoing asbestos trial that is making headlines across the United Kingdom. The workers were exposed to asbestos while performing routine maintenance work on a furnace. The furnace, located at the Inco Company work site in Clydach, contained deadly asbestos. As the men worked to strip away corroded metal and brickwork from the furnace, they were exposed to thermal insulating material that contained toxic asbestos.

Asbestos, a naturally occurring substance, was once commonly used around the globe. Due to a natural resistance to heat and chemical damage, the material was ideally suited for applications in insulation, fireproofing, tiles, cements, textured paints, and automotive brake pads. Asbestos is now known to cause lung cancer and mesothelioma.

Mesothelioma, a rare form of cancer, can kill victims within months of being diagnosed. Mesothelioma cancer is attributed almost exclusively to being exposed to asbestos dust or fibers. Asbestos still lurks in older buildings in the US and the UK, as it is considered safe as long as it is not exposed to the open air and is not disturbed. Asbestos is generally very expensive to remove.

The Inco incident occurred two years ago, but is just now going to court. The incident caused charges to be brought forth against Vale Inco Europe. The company is being charged with four offenses under the Control of Asbestos Regulations 2006. The company has pleaded guilty to all four counts. However, lawyers in the case have argued that the company worked rapidly to prevent the spread of toxic asbestos materials after the incident. The hearing is expected to resume in Cardiff, Wales on August 6th of this year.

Now that asbestos abatement is complete, school officials in Lansing, Michigan are anxious to begin demolition of the former Pattengill School. The old Pattengill school demolition project is set to begin on Friday, June 12th. The Pattengill School adjoins Eastern High School. The school district has relocated the administrative and staff offices of Eastern High School to the site of the new Pattengill Middle School until the end of August.

The old Pattengill School was built in 1921, and was shut down three years ago after the new Pattengill Middle School was completed. The old school was originally slated for demolition in 2007. However, asbestos was found in the school, which delayed the demolition. Asbestos, once commonly used in schools across the country in materials like floor tiles and insulation, is now known to be a toxic substance. It was used in construction because the substance has a natural resistance to flame and chemical damage.

Asbestos causes lung cancer, mesothelioma, and other medical conditions. Mesothelioma, a rare cancer, is incredibly aggressive. Most patients who are diagnosed with the disease are told that they only have months to live.

Asbestos abatement took place at the school during 2008. All told, the total cost of asbestos abatement, demolition, and restoration is just over $2 million. Demolition is slated to begin at 7:30 a.m. Friday. The school should be completely demolished by the middle of July. The section of Eastern High School that adjoins the demolished building will be restored before school starts up.

A dangerous fire rapidly engulfed an older Vancouver, Canada home late last week, which contained asbestos that may have become airborne.

According to the fire inspector at the scene, “The fire started and developed very, very quickly, faster than anybody could have thought…People were lucky to get out. They were in another part of the house at the time and only through luck were they alerted to the fire in the other half of the house. That points to the need for installing and maintaining smoke alarms.”

Luckily, no one was present in the house during the fire. It is believed that part of the reason the fire engulfed the home so quickly was because all the doors and window were open, giving the fire a steady stream of oxygen fuel. The fire is believed to have started in the garage before spreading to the house. The heat produced by the blaze kept firefighters from entering the home until crews could begin to dampen the flames. “With our protective clothing and breathing apparatus, and the exertion of fighting the fire, pulse rates and hydration are a big concern,” said one fireman who responded to the scene.

In addition, the asbestos in the building was also incredibly dangerous. “Part of the old structure contained vermiculite which has asbestos, so we had to worry about contamination of ourselves and equipment when fighting the fire,” said the fireman.

Airborne asbestos particles can cause the development of lung cancer or mesothelioma. Firefighters are considered to be at an increased risk of developing an asbestos-disease, along with veterans (specifically Navy vets who were likely exposed on asbestos-laden ships) and construction workers.