Mesothelioma Health News

A fire that killed 18 students at the Budo Junior School in Uganda is now threatening the lives of those that survived.

According to an article in The Monitor, the school dormitory involved in the fire was thatched with asbestos sheeting. The damaged asbestos would have released airborne fibers, which could have been inhaled by students and others in the vicinity of the blaze. Concerned citizens who live near the school fear the fire may have compromised students’ future health and are demanding they be taken for laboratory tests to determine the amount of asbestos inhaled.

“It is not enough to say the children have survived the inferno today when a few years down the road they may die of secondary infections arising from the asbestos fibers they inhaled. But besides that, the school management should be held to answer why up to date they are still having asbestos roofed buildings, yet the material has been banned for years,” the article states.

“The government and the ministry of education are also liable for supervisory and administrative negligence. The ministry’s inspectorate unit should ensure that no school in the country remains roofed with asbestos sheets. It’s not just about the fire risk alone,” notes the editorial.

It won’t be known for years, however, whether the fire and the subsequent release of asbestos fibers have harmed the pupils, as it generally takes 20 to 50 years for diseases such as mesothelioma, an asbestos cancer, to develop. By that time, the cancer has reached its late stages and mesothelioma treatment offers little help.

Student leaders at Colorado State University, concerned about the amount of asbestos in campus buildings, have been rallying state legislators for more money for the college’s maintenance fund after being told that the state-run school cannot afford asbestos abatement.

An article in the Rocky Mountain Collegian, the college’s newspaper, notes that most campus buildings still contain asbestos after several partial removals since the Environmental Protection Agency-mandated elimination of new asbestos-containing construction materials in 1988.

Up to 60 percent of the ceiling tiles in Clark Hall, for example, contain asbestos, said Eric March, a health safety specialist with Environmental Health Services.

Facilities Manager Brian Chase maintains that the asbestos in its current state is a non-issue, noting that the university would remove it all if the budget allowed for it. However, the cost would be exorbitant, Chase said.

“We currently do not get enough money to maintain the buildings,” Chase said. “If there is a hazardous situation, then it becomes an immediate concern. But asbestos in its undisturbed form is not hazardous.”

Chase estimated the cost of removing asbestos from all buildings at “tens of millions of dollars.” He told the student newspaper that the school is already $150 million short on maintenance funds.

“The problem is there are other more pressing needs here on campus,” Chase said. “We have roofs that need to be fixed, mechanical and electrical problems, and classrooms that need to be upgraded. If Environmental Health Safety thought the asbestos was dangerous, we’d do something about it,” he added, noting that the school goes beyond EPA standards for asbestos maintenance.

The students, however, think abatement is essential. “…ASCSU (Associated Students of CSU) has been advocating the allocation of money so that certain things such as this can be taken care of,” said student senator Cooper Anderson. “Our position is basically that for the tuition we pay, the academic environment should be top notch in all its phases.”

Anderson and his fellow student government members, however, understand that there’s little they can do to address the situation until more funds are available.

“What we’ve learned through this whole situation is that the health risk is pretty minimal. We’re working right now on doing it incrementally,” he said. “The problem is that construction projects and transportation projects are the last things to get budgeted.”

CSU does not currently have an abatement plan or timeline in place

A boiler explosion at a maintenance building near Esker Dining Hall at the University of Wisconsin’s Whitewater campus has prompted fears about airborne asbestos.

According to an account in the student newspaper, The Royal Purple, the boiler in the campus power plant exploded shortly after noon on Wednesday, April 16. Seven people were in the building when the explosion occurred and one suffered minor injuries.

Interim Chancellor Richard Telfer said there would be no heat or hot water in campus buildings until repairs were made, but he noted that the biggest concern was exposure to asbestos.

“Esker was evacuated and will be closed until further notice,” Telfer said. “Because of the windows being blown out and the wind, asbestos can become airborne.”

College officials were advising students to keep their windows closed, not only to preserve heat but also to avoid exposure to dangerous asbestos dust, which can cause a host of pulmonary diseases, including the asbestos cancer known as mesothelioma.

Facilities Manager Greg Swanson said that medical professionals immediately examined the workers, and they will continue to receive medical check-ups in the coming days. Only one slight abrasion was reported.

Sophomore Amy Chaffe witnessed the event.

“I was looking ahead and there was this ball of fire that came out of the stack … and smoke came out of it,” she said. “Then all of the windows exploded and a guy came running out [of the southeast corner of the building] to look to see what happened.”

Damages to the building are currently being assessed by crews and engineers, Swanson said, but the first effort was to close and contain the building to lessen the release of asbestos and other toxic materials.

Late last week, the Minnesota House approved nearly $5 million for a worker’s lung health study linked to the asbestos-related disease mesothelioma. This occurred just hours after the state’s governor sent letters to legislators asking them to turn down the funding.

According to an article in the Hibbing Daily Tribune, in his letter, Republican Gov. Tim Pawlenty says that though he supports the study, “the bill in its current form will likely be vetoed.”

The bill would appropriate the money from the worker’s compensation special fund, and “will result in an increased assessment on all employers in Minnesota,” according to Pawlenty’s letter. He suggests using the Iron Range Resources Board’s Taconite Environmental Protection Fund as a possible funding source, the article points out.

“They won’t have to raise rates on any businesses,” said Sen. Dave Tomassoni, DFL-Chisholm, who has been promoting the bill. “I don’t believe that they will.” In fact, the fund would have a surplus of $11 million in 2011 if it keeps the rate schedule, he said.

However, because the governor’s wishes for the study funding have become clear to his constituents, House Republicans attempted to pass an amendment on the bill and take the money from the taconite fund instead.

“It’s the wrong thing, absolutely the wrong thing, to use a special assessment,” said Rep. Denny McNamara, R-Hastings, who introduced the amendment. “We don’t need to raise taxes,” because there’s money in that taconite fund, he said.

“What you’re asking us to do, you’ve asked no one else in state,” argued Rep. Tom Rukavina in response to the proposed amendment. “Nobody made Austin citizens pay for flood damage or Cottage Grove citizens pay to clean up their water,” he continued. “What’s with this that the Rangers have to pay? Aren’t we part of this state?”

The Iron Range has already paid its share, Rukavina continued. The Taconite Environmental Protection fund spent $250,000 to jump-start the study earlier this year, when the governor pledged his support.

The Range shouldn’t have to pay for the whole study, Rep. Tom Anzelc, DFL-Balsam Township, pointed out, noting that mine workers hail from various regions of Minnesota, not just the Iron Range area.

A British woman who washed her husband’s asbestos covered clothes for nine months in 1962 has died of mesothelioma. Her only known link to the dangerous mineral is when her husband worked as a builder’s merchant during that time period more than 45 years ago.

According to an article in a Wiltshire (England) newspaper, Olive Brown, of Sassoon Walk, Marlborough, was diagnosed with mesothelioma - an asbestos cancer - in April last year. Her health began to deteriorate quickly and she died in September.

Her husband Eric, age 77, who is in good health, says he was exposed to asbestos insulation on a daily basis during his short stint as a construction worker. He would come home with his clothes covered in asbestos dust, he told the newspaper. Mrs. Brown would shake out his overalls and then wash them.

“I only worked for them for nine months and it cost me my wife’s life,” said Mr. Brown. “I feel awful about what my wife went through, but she put on a brave front and not once did she complain.”

“But I’m very pragmatic. It’s happened. You can’t turn the clock back, unfortunately, so what’s the point of getting angry?” he added. “You didn’t realize you were handling it. They say ignorance is bliss.”

Brown admits that he was totally unaware of the dangers of asbestos and certainly didn’t think it would affect his wife’s health decades later.

In the hardware store where he once worked, they would frequently sell asbestos products such as asbestos stove mats, Brown said. “Asbestos was a normal material and we sold all sorts of asbestos products,” he added.

Asbestos-contaminated soil, a legacy of one British town’s former railroad industry, should be reason enough not to build a new housing development there, says one British citizen who is concerned about asbestos exposure.

According to an article in the Northwest Evening Mail, officials in the town of Barrow plan to allow the building of 650 homes – dubbed Marina Village – on a plot of land that was once occupied by the town’s steam engine sheds and locomotive repair shops. Asbestos was used to lag the boilers of the locomotives maintained there for many decades.

John Horne, a Barrow citizen and railroad historian, says he fears it could be dangerous to build houses at the site without first spending vast amounts to remove asbestos material. More than 30 years ago, says Horne, the local football and rugby clubs wanted to build a combined stadium there but changed their minds after discovering the toxic mineral in the soil.

“Barrow Council at that time suggested that it was the ideal place for them,” Horne said.

“But before Barrow rugby club jumped in with both feet they had soil analysis done and in his report the soil analyst said; ‘keep off, the ground is contaminated with asbestos.’ This put a quick stop to the combined pitch.”

Mr. Horne said after the site was earmarked for a big Marina Village, he hoped someone knowledgeable about the problem would speak out about the danger, but, he says, no one has done so. He wants the asbestos fears investigated so that houses are not built on contaminated land, he told the media.

Horne says he’s spoken to local council members, who’ve denied the presence of asbestos. “[Councillor Bob Maltman] made inquiries and then said he was told there was no asbestos in there, but I am led to believe that asbestos stays in the ground for 100 years,” Horne pointed out. “I am not an expert but I don’t think you should build houses on contaminated land. I would like someone independent to look into this and assure me that it is safe to build there.”

The demolition of two garages and a rectory at a Brookline, Mass. church has continued to cause concerns with neighbors who are worried about residual asbestos dust during demolition. And now that more asbestos has been found, those who live nearby say their anxiety has increased.

According to an article in the Brookline Tab, demolition work at St. Aidan’s Church had to be halted on Wednesday when contractors found new asbestos-containing material under the roof shingles.

According to developer David Armitage, a worker found an unfamiliar substance around noon on April 9 and alerted his superiors. The material was tested and determined to contain asbestos.

“They’re currently evaluating where it’s located and how to proceed with the abatement,” he said.

Armitage said demolition could still begin as early as tomorrow, depending on how much abatement is required.

In the meantime, local residents like Susan Feinstein are frustrated. On Monday, she moved her family out of their home and into a hotel until demolition was complete. Now the Feinstein family will have to extend their hotel stay. Feinstein said she was concerned that if her family remained in the area, they would be subject to inhaling dangerous asbestos dust and other toxic substances.

Town and development officials have said that all asbestos-tainted materials will be removed before demolition, and that none of the work poses a threat to neighbors. The contractors have used two air monitors that would detect asbestos and lead particles in the air, the article points out.

The owner of a Craig, Colorado furniture company whose business is located across the street from a burned-out mall didn’t think the fire would affect his business until someone hung “Danger Asbestos” signs on the charred remains of the stores.

“…they walk around in their space suits in there,” Steve Bell, owner of The Furniture Gallery of Craig, told the Craig Daily Press. “I wonder if people look at that and worry if it’s dangerous to come around here.”

“There’s a lot of comments from people coming into the store, asking when that eyesore is going to go away,” said Bell, wondering just how much his store is being affected by the “danger” signs and the space-suit clad workers.

Although the Craig Police Department has not had any need of the Country Mall site since December, Chief Walt Vanatta said city officials cannot process a demolition permit until the asbestos is cleaned up.

“There’s no point in condemning a building if it can’t be torn down,” said Dave Costa, Craig community development director.

One company, King¬ston Environmental Services, has thus far submitted a bid to the Country Mall’s owners for hazardous material cleanup. Other than asbestos, no other materials need to be removed, said Roy White, Kingston western regional manager.

But the owners say they’re waiting for insurance money before they clean up the asbestos, a hazardous material that has been proven to cause asbestosis and malignant mesothelioma, an asbestos cancer that causes debilitating systems and usually kills its victims within a year of diagnosis.

“By law, the Country Mall site needs hazardous material cleanup,” said White. “Some areas of flooring had a 25 percent asbestos contamination,” he noted, and there were several other contamination findings as well.

He added that it is possible for wind to blow asbestos from one area to another, validating Bell’s concern about his business across the street.

Mesa, Arizona’s East Valley Men’s Center/Margie’s Place had to close this week when asbestos fell from a rain-damaged roof. Residents were relocated to a makeshift residence in a tent erected on the property.

For the men who have lived under freeways or spent time in jail, the move to the tent didn’t seem all that bad, noted an article printed in the Arizona Republic. While the men are living in the tent - probably for about two weeks - the asbestos-ridden roof will be replaced, air conditioning will be installed for the first time, and a hodge-podge electrical system will be overhauled sometime during the next two months.

“I figure living in a tent for a little bit is great because we’re getting a new roof,” said Randy Brown, 22, a cook at a fast-food restaurant. “During the night, it’s going to be cool.”

Officials don’t believe the men were harmed by the falling asbestos chunks and the subsequent airborne asbestos dust, thanks to the haste in moving them to an alternate location. In addition, the men did not seem concerned about the asbestos mishap, even though the hazardous substance is known to cause asbestos cancer and other pulmonary problems.

Instead, the homeless men turned the move into something of a community project, pitching in to carry out beds and other belongings from the shelter to the tent.

“It’s good teamwork,” said 57-year-old resident L.D. Stokes, formerly of Chicago. “We all need each other anyway.”

A county administration building in Portage, Wisconsin was closed last week when a test for asbestos dust came back positive.

According to an article in the Portage Daily Register, the Columbia County District Attorney’s office in the Carl Frederick Administration Building closed last week after inhabitants of the office found a chunk of asbestos insulation that had probably fallen from the ceiling.

According to county Building and Grounds Department Director Cory Wiegel, someone from the office conducted the air quality test, which subsequently resulted in the closure. This Wednesday, a private company will do a survey of the entire 46-year-old courthouse to assess whether or not there is a need for more in-depth asbestos inspection, and if so, how much such an inspection might cost, the article notes.

Wiegel said the initial air sample showed traces of some kind of contamination, but the contamination was below the acceptable levels set by the federal Occupational Safety and Health Administration and the Asbestos Hazard Emergency Response Act. AHERA’s standards, usually applied to public buildings, are more stringent that OSHA’s, Wiegel said.

However, Wiegel noted that courthouse workers and civilians conducting business inside the building shouldn’t be concerned about asbestos exposure.

“You’re more likely to get hit by a car than get (asbestos-related diseases),” he said.

Nevertheless, as a safety precaution, asbestos-containing building materials are routinely removed whenever any part of the courthouse undergoes remodeling.

The inspection Wednesday, which will be conducted by Environmental Management Consulting Inc. of Lake Mills, is intended to determine how much, if any, asbestos should be removed immediately. Asbestos is known to cause a host of pulmonary problems, including an asbestos cancer known as mesothelioma.