Mesothelioma Health News

Dangerous tremolite asbestos has been found at three different locations throughout Tokyo, including a private nursery school, leading officials to believe that there may have been widespread use of this type of asbestos in years past.

According to an article in the Yomiuri Shimbun, tremolite is one of three highly carcinogenic forms of asbestos that were thought to have been absent from Japan, but the recent discovery raises the possibility that tremolite was used in Japan as a building material, even though officials have maintained that it was not.

Earlier this month, it was learned that surveys by municipal governments had found all three types of dangerous asbestos at eight public facilities in Tokyo, Chiba and Niigata.

“When repairing or demolishing a building, it is a legal requirement to check whether the building contains asbestos. However, many inspection companies have excluded tremolite from the checks, believing that there was no need to look for it,” the article points out.

“It is likely that the existence of tremolite has thus been missed in many inspections, with such buildings continuing in use or being demolished without necessary safety precautions being taken–a likelihood that demonstrates the necessity of upgrading inspections,” the article adds.

The tremolite was found on the ceiling of a boiler room at a private nursery school in December 2006, the ceiling of a pump room at a condominium in May 2007, and in the wall and beams of an office building in August 2007. All of the material was of the spray-on variety, which was used as a fire retardant and to strengthen the walls and/or ceilings.

Officials believe that the tremolite was found in these instances because the inspection companies were using the U.S. code of standards for asbestos inspection, which includes identifying all six types of asbestos.

Tremolite is believed to be the most carcinogenic of all asbestos types. Renovations to or demolition of a building containing tremolite asbestos could cause serious health hazards for those exposed to its dust.

Late last week, a federal judge said he’s sticking to his original ruling ordering a new criminal trial for San Diego Gas and Electric (SDG&E) and two of its employees. The utility company faces charges of violating asbestos safety standards.

According to an article in the San Diego Union-Tribune, prosecutors had asked U.S. District Judge Dana Sabraw to reconsider his ruling last month ordering a new trial for the utility and David Williamson, an SDG&E environmental specialist, and Kyle Rheubottom, a contractor who worked for the company on a project to remove asbestos from a Lemon Grove site more than seven years ago. Sabraw refused.

“The Court is persuaded a serious miscarriage of justice occurred,” U.S. District Judge Dana Sabraw wrote in his ruling last December, which served to overturn the original convictions.

The judge criticized the evidence federal prosecutors had presented to the jury, saying that tests on the pipes had been conducted under “methods of debatable validity.” The way the evidence was presented to the jury “caused unfair prejudice and confusion of issues,” the judge wrote.

Last July, the utility company was convicted on three counts of improper asbestos removal and one count of making false statements. The two workers were convicted of one count of improper disposal of asbestos-containing materials.

While prosecutors aren’t very happy about the judge’s decision, attorneys for SDG&E couldn’t be more delighted. Christy Heiser, an SDG&E spokeswoman, said this afternoon the company is “thrilled” about the new trial and noted that the company still believes that the case is without merit.

In the meantime, citizens in the Lemon Grove neighborhood, who say they were exposed to asbestos due to SDG&E’s actions, are attempting to bond together to create a class action civil suit of their own. One of those individuals, John Gonzalez, wasn’t happy about the new trial, which could essentially let SDG&E off the hook.

“I’m really pretty numb about it right now, I don’t really have a reaction,” he said. “We’re still looking at suing. To us, it’s pretty plain.”

About 200 Japanese construction workers and their families, all of whom live and work in the Tokyo area, have announced plans to sue the central government, claiming that it failed to take the proper precautions to protect them from developing asbestos-related illnesses.

According to an article in the Asahi Shimbun, “the prospective plaintiffs are workers living in Tokyo, Chiba, Saitama and Kanagawa prefectures, and bereaved families of workers who have already died. The workers toiled on sites in the Tokyo metropolitan area that used asbestos regularly, particularly during and after the 1960s.

The lawsuit, set to be filed in early March, will demand a total of 7 billion yen from the central government, about 35 million yen in compensation for each worker involved in the suit. The group hopes to entice other affected construction workers to join the suit as well.

“The lawsuit will also demand the government improve measures to prevent workers from coming in contact with asbestos when buildings are demolished, as well as train doctors to specialize in asbestos-related diseases,” the article notes.

Though warnings about the dangers of asbestos were issued worldwide in the 1970s, Japan did not ban the manufacture and use of major asbestos-containing products until 2006. The plaintiffs also claim that construction workers were neither required nor encouraged to wear masks while on the job.

“The government is responsible because it should have taken sufficient countermeasures at an earlier stage,” a representative of the prospective plaintiffs said.

The article explained that many of the construction workers are self-employed and are not eligible for coverage under the government-operated employee accident compensation insurance system.

The issue of widespread health concerns in Japan due to asbestos exposure came to light after Japanese machinery maker Kubota Corp. in June 2005 reported illnesses among former workers at its plant in Amagasaki, Hyogo Prefecture, and residents near the factory.

Hundreds of mesothelioma sufferers across Great Britain heaved a sigh of relief yesterday when the country’s National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence (NICE) issued “guidance” for the cancer drug Alimta, currently the only FDA-approved drug designed specifically for the treatment of malignant pleural mesothelioma where surgery is not indicated.

“Following a two-and-a-half year approval process, which included two appeals, the guidance means that primary care trusts (PCTs) will be able and obliged to fund pemetrexed [Alimta] for all NHS patients with mesothelioma for whom the treatment is suitable,” notes an article in Medical News Today and several British publications.

The medical community had hoped that the drug would be widely available last year, but due to a series of appeals against the NICE recommendation (largely due to cost) the approval was delayed for several months. For mesothelioma patients, a delay of a month or two can cost them their lives.

Dr Gary Middleton, a Consultant Medical Oncologist at Royal Surrey County Hospital applauded the long-awaited decision. “Patients suffering with this disease have always deserved a decision based on need and not cost and NICE have now granted that. However, the time taken to arrive at this decision has added more mental and physical pain for many and for some it has simply come too late. To place treatment choices at the mercy of a ponderously slow system geared towards cost will inevitably mean that outcomes for cancer patients in the UK will lag behind those in the rest of the developed world.”

“The Government must now ensure a level playing field of access to Alimta across the UK for workers suffering from mesothelioma,” said Mick Clapham MP, chair of the All-Party Parliamentary Group on Occupational Safety and Health, noting that the drug has been in use in Scotland for more than two years, having been accepted for use by the Scottish Medicines Consortium in July 2005.

“At last this means an end to the postcode lottery which has meant that some patients have received the treatment while those in neighboring PCT areas have not. We urge PCTs to address the needs of mesothelioma patients who have waited so long for this decision and to allow funding straight away and not to wait until the three-month implementation period is over before they allow access to this treatment,” added Tony Whitston, Chair of The Asbestos Support Groups’ Forum.

Hundreds of employees who are laboring on a barge off Australia’s Pilbara Coast,  including many immigrant workers from the Philippines, have been removed from the vessel after tests confirmed the presence of blue asbestos on board.

According to a story reported by the Australian Broadcasting Company, 350 people were evacuated yesterday from the barge, which is owned by McDermott Industries. The head of the Australian Manufacturing Workers Union (AMWU), Steve McCartney, reports that the evacuation was prompted after tests showed traces of blue asbestos in the elevators on the barge. “Blue” or crocidolite asbestos is the most dangerous form of the toxic mineral.

Mr. McCartney stated that two thirds of the workers evacuated were AMWU members and the union wants the company to pay for medical tests for those individuals.

“I’ve talked to some of the workers on board,” he said. “As you would imagine those workers on board are very concerned, because when we’re talking about blue asbestos; we know the dangers that lurk behind blue asbestos.”

McDermott Industries is already under investigation by the Australian Workplace Ombudsman in regards to alleged exploitation of foreign workers. It is likely that this latest incidence will add to the concerns about the company, which has come under fire for paying unfair wages to Filipino workers.

A spokesman for McDermott refused to comment at this time.