Mesothelioma Health News

When a 157-foot-wide section of a water distribution structure fell from one of the huge cooling towers at Pennsylvania Power and Light’s (PPL) Montour Power Plant earlier this week, it immediately put workers and area residents at risk for asbestos exposure.

Much of the material in cooling towers contains asbestos, notes an article in the Sunbury Daily Item, and though there has been no evidence of asbestos found at this point, PPL will continue to monitor the air around the accident area, says spokesperson Teri MacBride.

“PPL is deciding how to approach the structure in a safe fashion and will not send employees or contractors into the area until we have a plan. They are still preparing that plan,” said MacBride.

“The first thing they are doing is assessing a safety approach and figuring a scope of work for repairs,” she said, noting that they were unsure as to why the structure fell. Terrorism has not been considered, she added.

“The plant [which burns bituminous coal] just went through another rigorous certification through OSHA and was recognized with the Voluntary Protection Program Star as a top industrial safety site,” she said.

In the meantime, the water spilled from pipes broken in the collapse has been contained in a detention basin and is being held there until it is tested for asbestos as well as chlorine and various metals. If it is clean, it will be released into the nearby Susquehanna River, MacBride said.

No one was injured in the accident as most of the employees at the power plant do not work in the area where the collapse occurred.

A judge said yesterday that he wanted to see “significant progress” within three weeks concerning the cleanup of asbestos at five buildings at Indianapolis’ Timber Ridge Apartments. The order came after officials from the Marion County Health Department identified asbestos contamination in numerous buildings at the complex, which is well-known for its health violations.

Though asbestos was identified in nine buildings, prompted dozens of health code violations, five have been targeted for cleanup because of the occupancy in those particular buildings, says a story aired on News 6 Indianapolis.

“The end game is that within three weeks that these five buildings that have been identified to have asbestos in them also have occupants living in these buildings will be cleaned up and that’s why it’s critical this be done,” said health department spokesman John Althardt.

Timber Ridge has had more than 70 violations filed against it in environmental court including another problem with asbestos in 2007. At that time, the owners paid a private company to rid the apartments of the hazardous mineral.

When health officials got their first look inside vacant apartments two weeks ago, they were shocked at what they found. In addition to exposed asbestos, inspectors also found human waste, trash, broken windows, and evidence of criminal activity, the story points out.

While officials, parents, and students at a Vermont middle school are waiting to find out whether asbestos clean up can be done in time for school to open at the end of August, it has been revealed that the company responsible for the release of asbestos fibers at that school may have allowed asbestos to be released at other Vermont schools as well.

A story aired on WCAX-TV quoted health department officials as saying that South Barre-based Morrison-Clark failed to follow protocol for removing asbestos tiles at the Main Street Middle School in Montpelier. In addition, the company may have done the same at the elementary and middle schools in nearby Barre Town and an elementary school in Williamstown.

Chris Crothers of the Crothers Environmental Group says that Morrison-Clark isn’t the only construction company that’s not obeying asbestos laws by improperly moving the toxic material. “It happens more than most people know,” he stressed, and many of these incidents go completely unnoticed, he added.

Lisa Lamoreaux, whose son goes to Williamstown Elementary, is quite concerned about the situation, especially since that school did not close after the asbestos removal as did the school in Montpelier.

“Your child’s health is a priority and why aren’t our children any more important than Montpelier or Barre? It just doesn’t make any sense,” said Lamoreaux.

Morrison-Clark has refused to comment on the incident. In the meantime, Montpelier School District officials say 30 people were inside the middle school when the toxic tiles were being removed, including 10 students.

“The risk is minimal because the amount of exposure is minimal. One-time exposure will likely not create any problems for people who encountered it, but there’s not way to know for certain,” said Chris Crothers.

A do-it-yourselfer in England who has been renovating his flat for more than two years saw the whole project ruined when he released dangerous asbestos fibers into the air, destroying new furniture and much of his hard work.

An article in the newspaper Metro cites the story of Wayne Langley, a do-it-yourself enthusiast, who was nearing completion of his renovation when he shaved a few centimeters off a door that contained asbestos. A friend noticed the toxic mineral and the men notified the local council, who ordered Langley to vacate his flat immediately.

“It has taken me two-and-a-half years to do my flat up and buy new furniture and now it all has to be destroyed,” said Mr. Langley, who left his Corby, Northamptonshire home on Thursday. “I laid the new floor and cut the door and a friend noticed asbestos.”

Langley has no idea when he can return home, though he may be responsible for repairs on his council-owned home because he did not file the proper paperwork before making renovations inside the flat.

A Corby Council spokesman said the council was arranging for the property to be deep cleaned by a professional company.

“Asbestos which is in good condition and is not damaged or disturbed is not a health hazard,” he said. “The expansion of Corby coincided with a major period of asbestos use and so it is present in the town. This is one of the reasons why tenants who want to make improvements to their property must contact the council first. Otherwise they are in breach of their tenancy conditions.”

Officials with the federal Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) arrived in Vermont yesterday to assess a situation involving asbestos exposure at the Main Street Middle School. According to an article in the Times Argus, school officials met with representatives of the EPA and the Vermont Department of Health outside the school Wednesday. The Occupational Health and Safety Administration (OSHA) was also notified of the problem.

“We are taking this investigation seriously and we do not know the extent of the contamination at this time,” said Austin Sumner, environmental and occupational epidemiologist for the Department of Health. “Health risks in this case are most serious for the workers. They are working with this every day.”

“Vermont protocol for removing asbestos tiles requires the work area be wet down to reduce airborne particles, machinery not be used for removal, and that contaminated material be removed in the largest possible pieces,” the article notes. These guidelines were not being followed, officials note, and contracted employees from the Morrison-Clark company were not even wearing protective masks.

Chris Crothers, of Crothers Environment Group, has been working with the district for 15 years and is dismayed by this chain of events, he says. “My whole intent is people going back into this building,” explained Crothers, who is concerned about having the space ready for the start of school. “I’m here to protect the kids.”

Crothers said several school employees were in the building while the tiles were being removed. Some decided on their own to visit a doctor. The district advised all others to do the same though evidence of asbestos diseases, such as mesothelioma, usually takes more than 20 years to surface.

School is scheduled to begin on August 28 though Crothers says he is not sure whether or not that will happen. Much will depend on future air quality testing and the EPA’s assessment of the problem, he explains.