The Kansas Department of Health and Environment (KDHE) is reminding residents whose homes and other property were destroyed by storms that they should be extremely careful in handling debris because it may contain asbestos.

According to a story on WIBW-TV, KDHE has also reminded homeowners that asbestos removal and disposal should be done by a licensed contractor. However, homeowners that elect to do it themselves should remember to wear a respirator, gloves, coverall, and other protective clothing to avoid being covered with asbestos dust. They should also shower after debris removal and dispose of clothes that are covered with fibers. KDHE also issued a reminder that “damaged structures that were built before 1980 should be dampened with water under low pressure before removal, to minimize dust and fibers.”

The following items may contain asbestos:

• Ceiling and floor tiles
• Textured ceilings
• Roofing materials, including shingles and roofing felt
• Siding
• Vermiculite attic insulation
• Pipe wrapping materials
• Acoustical panels
• Asbestos-cement materials, such as pipes, millboard and corrugated sheet items

The story also reminds locals that any asbestos-containing debris can only be disposed of at particular landfills licensed to accept toxic waste. KDHE can provide direction about disposal and many agency officials continue to be on the scene at locations where the storms hit hardest.

The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency have announced that they will commence a 5-year, $8 million study aimed at understanding the effects of exposure to lower levels of asbestos in Libby, Montana, the town ravaged by the W.R. Grace vermiculite mine that was contaminated with the toxic mineral.

According to an Associated Press article, the study “will focus on determining whether exposure to lower levels of Libby asbestos is associated with increased risk of lung disease, cancer, chronic illnesses, autoimmune diseases or other health problems.”

The article notes that the initiative will be funded by both the EPA and the Department of Health and Human Services Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry. “It will include a series of projects and studies, including one that will compare film and digital chest x-rays to determine which is best for assessing the condition of lungs,” said a spokesperson for the EPA.

Libby has greatly suffered the effects of asbestos and experts call the situation there the “worst case of industrial poisoning” in the United States. Already, more than 200 individuals have died of mesothelioma or other asbestos-related diseases and hundreds more have been sickened by exposure to the toxic mineral. Some worked at Grace’s vermiculite mine. Others were merely community members.

A new task force formed in the Pittsburgh, Pa. area is going after environmental polluters, including those who practice improper asbestos abatement.

According to an article in the Pittsburgh Post Gazette, federal, state and local law enforcement and regulatory agencies have come together to form a task force that will combat violations of various environmental laws in the western Pennsylvania area.

“The Western Pennsylvania Environmental Enforcement Task Force will be committed to ensuring area businesses and individuals comply with laws regarding air and water,” U.S. Attorney Mary Beth Buchanan said as she announced the formation of the unit, just a day after individuals around the country celebrated Earth Day with a renewed commitment to take care of the environment and live a more “green” lifestyle.

Specifically, Buchanan said, the task force will go after those who release pollutants into the region’s navigable waterways, offenders who release pollutants into the air, and those who practice unlawful asbestos abatement procedures. She hopes the group’s focused plan will produce “more efficient and effective investigations and prosecutions.”

The 15-member task force includes members from the federal Environmental Protection Agency and the FBI, the Pennsylvania Department of Labor and the state police, the Allegheny County Health Department and the Pittsburgh Public Safety Department.

Students at the Eisenhower High School in Yakima, Wash. have learned to live with the fact that their school contains asbestos and they need to be careful not to disturb it.

A Yakima Herald-Republic article reports that some kids might not know what the dangerous mineral is called or why it should be avoided, but they know certain things are off limits so as to avoid exposure to the toxic material. For example, in the gym, students aren’t allowed to throw balls toward the ceiling; if the ball hits the ceiling it could cause asbestos fibers to meander through air.

Dwight Eisenhower High School, also affectionately known as “Ike”, was built in 1956 when asbestos use was at its peak. According to Jim Wright, the assistant principal and student services director at the school, the ceilings contain asbestos as does the adhesive used to glue down the floor tiles. Some of the pipe lining is also insulated with asbestos.

Over the years, some of the asbestos materials have aged and become friable. Some of the hazardous material has been abated and replaced with other safer materials. Other asbestos remains but is carefully watched by school maintenance staff.

“It’s kind of weird to think that asbestos is at Ike,” says 15-year-old Anne Smart, Ike’s sophomore class president. But, “Other than not hitting the balls toward the ceiling, it doesn’t really worry me.”
Smart says she feels safe, and that if asbestos at Ike was truly a big problem “we wouldn’t be allowed to come to school.”

In the meantime, certified inspectors come in every 2 years for a thorough review of the areas where asbestos is present. They look for upturned or torn tiles and damaged pipe or furnace insulation.
The school nurse is also on the lookout for any students that may exhibit respiratory problems associated with asbestos inhalation. So far, says nurse Marjorie Miles, she hasn’t spotted any major health concerns.

The Lower Manhattan Development Corporation has designated $37.5 million dollars for the deconstruction of the former Deutsche Bank tower, which is situated south of the former World Trade Center towers.

The former Deutsche Bank building has been deemed unsafe after several contaminants, including asbestos, were found within the structure. Construction work on the building was stopped during the summer of 2007 after two firefighters were killed at the site.

Funding for the demolition will come from Federal funds that have been set aside for the repair of various structures in and around the WTC site. Due to the heavy contamination of the Deutsche Bank tower, Mike Murphy, spokesman for the Lower Manhattan Development Corp., says that the demolition must begin immediately.

Exposure to asbestos has been conclusively connected to the eventual onset of mesothelioma, a deadly lung cancer that has a survival rate of less than 1% and no known cure.

Administrators from Pittsburgh Public Schools warned the school board at a meeting this week that asbestos-ridden Schenley High School should not remain open.

According to an article in the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review, city schools Superintendent Mark Roosevelt has recommended closing the Oakland school “because of the $76.2 million estimate for upgrading mechanical systems and removing asbestos and the subsequent danger of exposing students to the risk of falling plaster laden with asbestos.”

Board members asked if Schenley would be unsafe if it were opened in September. Administrators didn’t mince words.

“That could very well be yes,” answered Paul Gill, the district’s chief operations officer. “I think it’s a dangerous situation. Our experts think it’s a dangerous situation.”

Superintendent Mark Roosevelt told the board that it should not be waiting until a school is unsafe to close it. “That would be utterly irresponsible,” he said. “You close a school when you are warned to.”

District officials reported that they did not find any unsafe air quality readings inside the building but would prefer to abide by the reports of consultants from four firms, all of whom believe Schenley High School should be closed immediately.

Students attending summer school at Collins Elementary in Collins, Georgia – near Savannah – may be risking their health, says a story aired by WTOC Savannah. That’s because school officials recently reported that asbestos was uncovered during renovation work to the ceiling.

“I worry about his health every day,” said Amanda Reese, whose son is attending summer classes at Collins. “But to worry about his health at school with an asbestos problem, that’s just overwhelming.”

Reese and others said they were unhappy about the explanation they received from the school in regards to the asbestos situation.

“The principal said, ‘oh yeah it’s there but we have a special contractor to work around it,’ but I don’t think that helps,” said Tracey Hines, another parent.

Principals for both the elementary and middle school said that renovations were in a building not used for summer school. However, they noted, they requested an air quality test from the Statesboro office of the Regional Education Service Agency (RESA) anyway.

“Which we are doing this week and hope to have the results back next week,” stated elementary principal Dr. Jeanie Burkhalter. “But no students have been in the construction area when the work was going on.”

Burkhalter says each room has its own air conditioning system, but parents feared that their kids walking through the lobby and other parts of the building might be enough to result in the inhalation of dangerous fibers.

A spokesperson for the Georgia Environmental Protection Division said he could not say without investigation whether or not students would have been exposed from such limited access.

In order to comply with Washington State Department of Labor & Industry regulations, the University of Washington has begun to offer online asbestos awareness training to its employees, which will help them avoid asbestos or recognize it when it is found.

According to an article in the university’s newspaper, The Daily, more than 2,000 employees have already completed the course during the last two months.

“Our goal is to have all employees take the course,” said Roy Smith, an asbestos compliance analyst at UW Environmental Health & Safety. “What we’re trying to promote is to report damage of buildings and ensure better maintenance.”

Smith, who believes the convenience of taking the course online attracts employees to sign up for it, says that a large number of the university’s buildings contain asbestos, particularly those that were built prior to 1980. In most cases, he notes, it is found in flooring, ceilings, and pipe insulation.

“We’re trying to get people to have a mindset to assume everything has asbestos,” said Stuart Cordts, a heath and safety supervisor at the UW. He said the course will help management avoid confusion about what products contain asbestos and will assist everyone in taking precautionary measures should they encounter the dangerous mineral.

Smith reminds everyone, however, that most asbestos-containing materials do not pose a health hazard unless they are damaged or “friable”, which means they can release toxic airborne fibers.

“With effective management in place, asbestos is not a health hazard,” Smith said. “It’s not a high risk to anybody as long as they are generally aware … [and it] doesn’t warrant panic.”

In the online training course, employees are advised to report damaged asbestos to supervisors in order to prompt quick repair. They are also advised of simple steps they can take to avoid exposure, such as placing mats under chairs that may be scraping asbestos-containing floor tiles.

The young granddaughter of a Pennsylvania mesothelioma victim has been invited to be the keynote speaker at the gala dinner for the International Symposium on Malignant Mesothelioma, which will be held tonight in Washington, D.C.

According to an article in the Allentown Morning Call, twelve-year-old Lexi Miletto was just 9 years old when she wrote letters to a number of medical foundations, congressmen, and celebrities, telling them about her Grandpa Joe, with whom she was particularly close. Joe died of mesothelioma three years ago.

Her letters have not yet prompted a response from Oprah Winfrey or President Bush, but they did attract the attention of June Breit of the Mesothelioma Applied Research Foundation in Santa Barbara, Calif. That’s why Breit invited Lexi to speak to a ballroom full of doctors, researchers, and advocates involved in the fight to ban asbestos and offer more and better treatments for victims of asbestos-related diseases such as the one that killed Lexi’s Grandpa Joe.

”We wanted to show the full spectrum of the disease’s effect on families,” said Chris Hahn, the foundation’s executive director. ”How inspiring it is that this young gal going into eighth grade has this concern for a much bigger national problem.”

Though Lexi was shocked by the offer, it didn’t take her long to decide to give the speech. “I was very excited about it,” she said. ”It means a lot to me because I want to raise awareness for others so they won’t have to suffer like my grandfather did.”

Joe Miletto worked at a number of hard-labor jobs that may have exposed him to asbestos, including demolition. His widow believes he may have also encountered the toxic mineral during his stint in the U.S. Navy.

Lexi hopes to become a doctor and join in the fight against mesothelioma. ”We are the future generation,” she said, quoting her speech. ”We’re going to have to take up the task of finding a cure.”

An Arizona resident has filed an asbestos suit in Madison County, Illinois against 59 defendants alleging their negligence led to his disease, the asbestos-caused cancer mesothelioma.

Jesus Manriquez claims that he was exposed to asbestos both during employment and while performing home and auto repairs. He also alleges that he was exposed to the toxic mineral dust that his grandfather would bring home on his clothes while employed as a laborer at Kennecott Copper from 1930 to 1947.

“Dust created by working with and around asbestos and asbestos-containing products would permeate the person and clothing of the plaintiff and plaintiff’s grandfather,” the complaint states. “This dust contained asbestos fiber.”

The suit says that Manriquez’s grandfather would then bring the dust home on his clothes where it would once again become airborne.

Personally, Manriquez was employed was from 1959 through 1993 as a laborer and heavy equipment operator at various locations throughout both Arizona and Illinois. His suit alleges that “the defendants knew or should have known that the asbestos fibers contained in their products had a toxic, poisonous and highly deleterious effect upon the health of people” and that “the defendants included asbestos in their products even when adequate substitutes were available and failed to provide any or adequate instructions concerning the safe methods of working with and around asbestos.”

In addition, the complaint states that employees were never instructed on proper hygiene practices designed to reduce or prevent carrying asbestos fibers home.