Mesothelioma Health News

Boulder (Colo.) firefighters were confronted with walls and ceilings full of asbestos when they fought a fire at a high-rise apartment yesterday, and now residents cannot return until city officials confirm that the air is clear of asbestos dust.

According to an article in The Denver Post, Boulder firefighters responded to a call at 2:30 am Monday at a 31-story apartment complex on 22^nd Street. When they arrived, they realized the older building was probably strewn with asbestos so that took precautions and donned special gear to fight the fire, the article points out.

Sarah Huntley, a spokesperson for the city of Boulder said that while only seven units were damaged, no tenants can return to the building because asbestos may have been released into the air and spread throughout the complex. On Monday afternoon, air quality testing was performed to determine the extent of the spread of fibers.

Officials say many of the apartments were rented by University of Colorado students that had already gone home for the summer, so it was unclear as to how many individuals were displaced by the blaze.

At 1:30 p.m. Monday, firefighters wearing protective gear went inside the apartments to collect essential possessions, such as wallets, purses and medications, for displaced residents. Until air quality test results are returned, tenants probably will not be able to return to their apartments.

A Hamden, Connecticut man was recently honored by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) for his efforts to protect children from the asbestos that is sometimes found in art clay.

According to an article in The Connecticut Business News Journal, Ron Skomro, supervisor of the state Department of Public Health’s Asbestos Program, was presented with the 2008 Environmental Merit Award last month during a gala ceremony in Boston.

Skomro was integral in halting the sale of asbestos-containing art clay in the state of Connecticut. Though clay appears harmless, some clay contains talc, which is often naturally contaminated with asbestos. Talc is added to clay to lower the temperature at which the clay needs to be heated, the article explains.

“Skomro also got the Art & Creative Materials Institute to require member manufacturers to reformulate their products to remove asbestos,” the article points out. Asbestos exposure has been associated with diseases like asbestosis, pleural plaques, and mesothelioma, an aggressive asbestos-caused cancer that attacks the lining of the lungs.

City officials in Hagerstown, Maryland say the former Municipal Electric Light Plant in the town could be posing a serious health threat to anyone who trespasses on the property.

According to an article in The Herald Mail, city councilpersons have decided to build a fence around the abandoned property until they can decide how it will be razed. The fence has been prompted by the fact that the inside of the power plant is most likely filled with loose asbestos, which can cause serious pulmonary problems for anyone who is exposed to the toxic mineral. Power plants constructed before 1980 traditionally made liberal use of asbestos due to its fire- and heat-resistant properties.

City officials have said that the building has been the site of periodic break-ins and, in addition, homeless people sometimes live there amidst the rubble and asbestos dust.

Because the building probably has a lot of asbestos, Councilman Lewis Metzner said he estimated the demolition cost would reach well into the seven-figure range. It is essential to ensure that the city brokers a deal with the owners so taxpayers don’t get stuck with the bill, he said. In the meantime, he stressed, it is of the utmost importance to keep trespassers away from the asbestos-contaminated property while the city council ponders how to pay for the demolition.

Canada’s IWK Health Centre, a Nova Scotia hospital that caters to women, children, and youth in the Maritime Provinces, closed all of its pediatric operating rooms on Wednesday after asbestos was discovered in the ductwork of one of the rooms.

According to an article in The Chronicle Herald, a white substance was discovered in one of the pediatric operating suites late Tuesday morning, said Jocelyn Vine, vice president of patient care for the IWK.

“We’re doing a full assessment of the situation,” she told the media on Wednesday afternoon.

No one from the hospital was able to confirm whether or not any surgeries were being performed when the asbestos was discovered. However, the find did prompt the immediate closing of that particular operating room. Later, the remainder of the pediatric operating rooms were closed. A hospital release late Tuesday said extensive tests had found no asbestos in the air.

All emergency pediatric surgeries were performed in the women’s suite, said a hospital spokesperson. Non-emergency procedures were postponed or moved to another area health centre.

Ms. Vine said they did not know there was asbestos present in the building prior to Tuesday’s incident. The children’s portion of IWK, which was built in 1970, is currently undergoing a $48 million renovation.

“We do have the pediatric redevelopment that’s going on in that area and several other areas within the organization,” Ms. Vine said.

Vine said she could no comment on how the hospital would deal with the asbestos until all assessments were complete. She also didn’t know how long the operating rooms would be closed or whether the discovery of asbestos will affect the redevelopment plans.

Asked if the families of children who have been operated on in the space have any reason to worry, she said, “Not at this point.”

Exposure to airborne asbestos is known to cause a host of pulmonary problems, including asbestosis and mesothelioma, a serious asbestos cancer.

Abatement professionals cleared asbestos from Newton (Mass.) Fire Station No. 2 in Auburndale over the weekend, just a month after the hazardous material caused a ruckus at Newton’s Station No. 3 in Newton Centre.

According to an article in the Newton TAB, both trucks and firefighters on shift during the cleanup, which occurred last Saturday and Sunday, were removed from the station and sent to different parts of the district to stand by in case of an emergency. 

Jeremy Solomon, a spokesman for the mayor’s office, claims that the asbestos found in the heating pipe elbows and certain tiles was not friable but was removed anyway as a precaution.

“We’ve never had a positive airborne sample taken,” Solomon said. “The asbestos never posed a safety hazard to the occupants.”

However, samples taken about a month ago showed that though asbestos was not airborne, four instances of friable asbestos were indeed discovered. According to the article, the report noted that damaged pipe fitting containing asbestos was found in the “boiler room, tire-check room, first-floor bath, hall at the first-floor bath, closet at the first-floor bath, apparatus floor at the new valves and random areas” as well as four other areas through the station.

Of the material inspected in the boiler room, 35 percent was chrysotile asbestos and according to the report, the material was “damaged” and “friable.” Of the material found insulating pipelines, 10 percent was found to be chrysotile, and the material was also damaged and friable.

Fire Union President Tom Lopez says he knew about the damaged asbestos. “I don’t know how they categorize it as friable or non-friable, it’s asbestos and it becomes airborne when people physically damage it,” Lopez said. “To me, it becomes airborne when they break the elbows apart.”

 “I’m glad that the city took steps to remedy the problem,” Lopez said. “It’s unfortunate that we had to close the station for eight to 10 hours to do this, but it’s definitely necessary.” Now, how are we going to deal with the rest of the stations?”

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Region 3 (Philadelphia area) has asked EPA headquarters for an additional $4 million to clean up the BoRit site in Ambler, Pa., a suburb of Philadelphia.

According to an article in the Ambler Gazette, the request came in the form of an action memo prepared by the Eastern branch’s on-scene coordinator, Eduardo Rovira. “The signing of the action memo authorizes the region’s removal program to get started on the design plan, detailing the actual work to be done to address exposed areas, site security access and stream bank stabilization.,” notes the article.

The BoRit asbestos site exists as a result of waste disposal operations by the former Keasby and Mattison Company, Certainteed Corporation, and Nicolet Industries, all companies that once produced asbestos-containing products such as paper, insulation, brake linings, piping, roofing shingles and more. According to a historical account of the area, asbestos operations occurred at the site from 1897 until the 1980s.

The regional EPA claims they can cover about $4 million in clean up expenses, which will total about $8 million dollar, thus the request for additional funds. According to the memo, asbestos has been found “in the air, soil, surface water and in sediment samples [at the site] throughout the years.”

The creek is routinely fished by local residents, the memo notes, and studies have shown asbestos has a negative effect on fish, even increased mortality in some species. Another section of the memo outlines the human consequences of the contaminated site, including the development of asbestos-related cancers and other non-cancer diseases linked to the inhalation of asbestos fibers.

Officials for the city of Sausalito (Calif.) shut down a construction project yesterday after residents complained about weekend dust and potential asbestos exposure. 

According to an article in the Marin Independent, work was being done by the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs on a $7 million renovation at the old South Pacific Division Laboratory at 25 Liberty Ship Way, making way for a new research center.

“As part of the work, contractors dressed in hazardous materials suits Sunday began removing asbestos siding from the 37,500-square-foot, two-story yellow building,” the article notes. “As the work progressed, wind blew dust from the site into nearby neighborhoods and on boats, prompting concern among residents. Police and firefighters were called to the scene and ordered the work stopped.”

“There was a layer of dust on the boats nearby and there was dust in the air,” said Police Chief Scott Paulin. “The dust even coated the arriving police cars.”

On Monday, the Bay Area Air Quality Management District was called in to review the worksite and determine the presence of any dangers. They concluded that everything was being done properly and that no asbestos was being cut, broken open or crushed, which could lead to the release of fibers. However, there was no way for the agency to tell what had been released on Sunday.

“We are following all the proper procedures,” said Judi Cheary, a Veterans Affairs spokeswoman. “We are ready to start the work back up.”

Sausalito Planning Director Jeremy Graves said that “even if the material blown around was nothing more than dust and dirt,” the city would have appreciated a warning from the Department of Veterans Affairs.

“We knew nothing of it,” he said.

The article also notes that the soil and groundwater at the site of the new research center has been previously tested and came up positive for asbestos, arsenic and polychlorinated biphenyls, or PCBs. Since that time, the site has been cleaned.

A British study to be released in Melbourne, Australia this week proclaims that one-in-10 Australian carpenters born before 1950 will die of mesothelioma, and that they will make up a significant portion of the approximately 30,000 Australians who will succumb to the disease between 2000 and 2050.

The study was conducted by cancer research specialist Professor Julian Peto who made the findings during research into the lifetime occupations of 600 mesothelioma patients and an analysis of international trends in mesothelioma mortality, notes an article in The Age.

Peto also pointed out that the development of meso was not limited to exposure to dangerous blue (crocidolite) asbestos but also brown (amosite) asbestos, which was used extensively in building products in Australia and Britain until approximately 1980, including in cement sheeting and roofing.

“I think that is one of the things that has largely been missed in much of the discussion on mesothelioma,” Professor Peto said. “The use of these products was completely uncontrolled. Carpenters would chop it up with power saws without much concern at all. And this was after we became aware of the dangers of blue asbestos.”

The research also determined that Australia and the United Kingdom have the highest rates of mesothelioma in the world. Approximately 600 cases per year are diagnosed in Australia and almost 2,000 annually in Britain.

The rate for Australia and the UK is more than five times that of the United States, mainly because of different construction methods, Professor Peto said.

The Chicago office of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has issued a formal consultation letter to the main office of the EPA that validates the technical approaches used in a study to assess potential exposures to low levels of asbestos found at Chicago’s Oak Street Beach, reports a press release by the agency.

“ATSDR’s (Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry) review of the data collected by the Chicago Park District in 2005 provides an extra level of assurance that the Oak Street Beach testing was appropriate and sufficient to reach a public health conclusion,” said Regional Superfund Director Richard Karl. “Going forward, EPA and its federal partners will continue to be available to the park district for consultation as requested.”

The 2005 study evaluated whether beach-goers could be exposed to asbestos during typical beach activities, such as building sandcastles or playing frisbee. Conclusions drawn from the study noted that the asbestos did not cause a public hazard.

The EPA validated those findings last week, noting that:

• The air samples collected contained asbestos concentrations consistent with levels that would be expected in urban areas and that recreational activity at Oak Street Beach does not pose a public health hazard.
• The sampling methods and analytical protocols used in the study were consistent with methods recommended by both EPA and ATSDR for assessing asbestos exposure.
• Based on the data collected in 2005, ATSDR did not recommend additional sampling at Oak Street Beach. However, if additional sampling efforts are conducted, ATSDR is willing to review sampling protocols and results.

In a country where asbestos is still mined and then exported to Third World countries, labor unions are beginning to recognize the hazards of the mineral and are increasingly calling for total bans on the toxic mineral.

According to an article in the Daily Commercial News, the most recent outcry has come from the building trades unions in the western Canadian province of British Columbia, where union members have banded together to urge members of parliament from the federal Conservative, Liberal and Bloc Quebecois parties to support a New Democratic Party call for a total ban on the use or export of deadly asbestos mined in Canada, specifically in Quebec province, where the mineral has been mined for more than a century.

The article points out that mesothelioma, an aggressive asbestos cancer, and other asbestos-related diseases are expected to kill more than 1,500 British Columbia workers over the next five years, according to medical experts in the field of industrial diseases.

The overwhelming majority of the deaths will come from the construction industry, says Wayne Peppard, executive director of the BC and Yukon Territory Building and Construction Trades Council. Historically, the construction industry has been the biggest user of asbestos-containing materials. The mineral is found in myriad building products, such as insulation, roofing, floor and ceiling tiles, and more.