A maintenance worker was exposed to asbestos back in May while tearing up tile floor located in a dormitory at Florida Tech and the incident has now resulted in a lawsuit. Since June Occupational Safety and Health Administration investigators have been looking into the alleged exposure and the reports of their findings are due in December.

According to the maintenance worker, Robert Malfara, he and another worker were not provided with respirators meant to limit the risk of exposure while chipping asbestos-containing floor tiles. Furthermore, Malfara has stated that he and the other worker were not directed to block off the room in which they were conducting the work either which could have led to the exposure of students occupying the area.

Exposure to asbestos-containing materials can lead to a range of health problems with lasting effects. Diseases caused by the dangerous material include mesothelioma, lung cancer, and asbestosis. Often the presence of such diseases is not apparent until many years following initial exposure.

Asbestos was used in a number of building supplies throughout the early to mid 1900’s before the harmful effects of exposure to the substance were discovered.

Malfara claims that after reporting the asbestos exposure incident to his supervisors he was given a written reprimand. Due to the university’s handling of the situation the Occupational Safety and Health Administration immediately took action.

It is reported that the university is now fully complying with the investigation.

David Nicholls, who co-starred with Russell Crowe in the film “Gladiator” has died of mesothelioma. He was 58 years old.

Nicholls was diagnosed with the asbestos-caused cancer in 2007, and an autopsy revealed that asbestos inhalation was the cause of his disease.

Asbestos exposure most likely occurred when Nicholls was a teenager and worked at a factory in Tipton, West Midlands. Nicholls reportedly prepared a personal statement related to his asbestos exposure and subsequent cancer diagnosis prior to his death.

Nicholls leaves behind his partner and his three sons.

A man living in Australia that was diagnosed with mesothelioma may have been cured through a recently discovered breakthrough treatment. Stephen Bolon has purportedly been battling the disease for the last two years.

Many individuals diagnosed with such a disease have few treatment options due to the long latency period of the disease. Often the disease is at it’s advanced stages at the time of initial diagnosis.

Due to the early detection of Bolon’s mesothelioma through breakthrough treatment though he may be the first to overcome the often fatal disease.

Allegedly the treatment involves the use of a soluble mesothelin-related peptide that can measure raised levels of cancer in the body. Initially it was determined through a biopsy that Bolon’s lungs were absent of the presence of cancer but this breakthrough treatment proved otherwise and Bolon was able to begin treatment in earlier stages of the cancer.

Immediately following the discovery of the cancer Bolon was admitted into a hospital in order to receive surgery to remove his right lung, part of his pericardium, part of his diaphragm, and his pleura. Subsequently Bolon underwent radiotherapy and two years later is still cancer-free and healthy.

According to recent news a company in St. Louis, Missouri has filed for bankruptcy due to a mounting number of asbestos-related lawsuits that have been filed against the company. Christy Refractories Co. LLC filed the chapter 11 in a St. Louis bankruptcy court sometime last week.

The company has stated that they hope to find a better way to manage the liabilities it has regarding the lawsuits filed against them. The lawsuits have to do with not recent products that the company has made but heat-resistant products that the company produced over ten years ago.

The manager of Christy Refractories, Frank O’ Brien, has reported that the company is settling cases at an average of approximately $1 Million a month and those numbers are expected to increase significantly. O’Brien is estimating that there are at least a thousand more cases pending.

Involved in the lawsuits are individuals who allegedly worked with the company’s products in steel mills, or other industrial or commercial sites as well as those that may have been exposed to the asbestos containing materials at schools.

According to the company’s manager one result of the bankruptcy filing will be a trust fund set up for the alleged victims of exposure of an amount to be decided by the bankruptcy court. The trust fund, though, will contain at the very least $18 Million as reported by O’Brien. Reorganization of Christy Refractories is expected to take at least one year.

According to recent reports, the town of Orono, Maine will be asking the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to help them pay for the removal of asbestos and other toxins contaminating the town’s abandoned Webster Mill. The mill is said to contain a significant amount of asbestos-containing materials that were used for building back when the mill was constructed.

Asbestos fibers that become airborne pose a considerable threat to those in close proximity as asbestos exposure can lead to a range of health problems. Included in that list of health problems are asbestosis, lung cancer and pleural mesothelioma. Often those diagnosed with pleural mesothelioma live for a very short time following diagnosis.

As the Orono Town Council has pointed out, the removal of asbestos can cost a significant amount of money. For this reason the town has decided to apply for a Brownfields grant from the Environmental Protection Agency. These grants are designated specifically for sites that are contaminated and monetary incentives are given to companies willing to redevelop such sites.

The town of Orono has conducted a study in order to determine the cost of the asbestos cleanup and has estimated that the cost will be approximately $20,000, not including the cleanup of the other toxins that are present at the site.

There is no word yet as to when EPA will make a decision regarding the former Webster Mill site.

A Wisconsin man has filed an asbestos-related lawsuit in the Madison County Circuit Court claiming that his development of mesothelioma was wrongfully caused by 39 defendant corporations. The suit was filed on October 30^th and names, among others, Sprinkmann Sons Corporation of Illinois, and Young Insulation Group of St. Louis.

In the suit Donald A. Doberstein states that he was diagnosed with mesothelioma in July of this year. Mr. Doberstein feels that the consequences of working with or around asbestos should have been foreseen by the corporations named in the suit and that he should have been warned of the dangers.

Doberstein was employed as a laborer at American Can Plant in 1952, as a machine operator at Cutler Hammer Plant in 1953, and as a machine operator at Allen Bradley Plant from the years 1954 to 1974.

It was during this time and while working for these companies that Mr. Doberstein alleges he was exposed to dangerous airborne asbestos fibers which led to his development of mesothelioma.

The suit states that Donald A. Doberstein has had to deal with disablement and disfigurement due to his asbestos-related disease. Furthermore, the suit claims that because of his disease Doberstein has been denied the pursuit of his normal course of employment.

In the suit Doberstein is seeking damages of in upwards of $350,000 which include punitive and exemplary damages of $100,000, economic damages of $150,000, and compensatory damages of $100,000.

An apartment complex in La Marque, Texas discovered to asbestos-containing materials was demolished by its owner on Monday. The apartment complex was in the midst of demolition when the project was stopped due to the discovery of asbestos by the contactor hired to do the work. The contractor allegedly failed to perform the proper asbestos survey before beginning the demolition.

The work was halted in early August, at which point the contractor was threatened with a $10,000 per-day fine. The owner of the complex, GC Wealth Investment Group, was notified by city officials who conducted an inspection of the property on August 16, 2008. At that time, asbestos was discovered in seven of the thirteen buildings existing on the complex.

The debris outside of the buildings was tested by the Texas Department of State Health Services for asbestos, and not all areas contained the toxin. Todd Wingler of the Texas Department of State Health Services stated that he was “unsure” as to whether or not GC Wealth Investment Group would be fined for the improper removal that occurred prior to the survey, and that the department would most likely require a few months to investigate further before a decision will be made regarding fines.

According to recent reports a vermiculite processing plant in Brutus, New York which is just outside of Weedsport has fallen on the list of processing plants that have previously received ore from Libby, Montana. The plant falls on the list with 27 others that have processed the asbestos at their plants as well.

The former Zonolite Company operated from 1963 to 1989 and processed exfoliated vermiculite ore that came from the Libby mine. Officials are saying now that asbestos fibers were released into the air during the exfoliation process which could mean that some of the dangerous airborne asbestos fibers could have been inhaled by workers and residents living near the plant.

Following the closing of the plant it was reported that W.R. Grace took precautions to prevent exposure by cleaning both the inside and outside of the exfoliation building as well as conducting air quality testing to ensure that asbestos fibers were not released into the air.

Data supplied by the Environmental Protection Agency in 2001, though, shows that the soil around the area did in fact contain some traces of asbestos.

The site is now fenced off and poses little if any threat to residents living in the area presently but former residents of Brutus and nearby Weedsport as well as former employees of the Zonolite Company are being urged to seek medical advice regarding possible exposure to asbestos.