In Venice, Florida, developers are planning to demolish the vacant Grove Terrace low-income housing complex this August. Later this fall, the site will become the home of a new housing development known as Venetian Walk, which will contain homes designed for senior citizens as well as other residential homes. The demolition contract was awarded this week by the Venice Housing Authority to Cubacor Inc. of Tampa. Cubacor will charge $179,000 to tear down the Grove Terrace tract.

Demolition will begin next month, starting with asbestos removal. Developers expect that over 4,000 tons of debris, some of which will contain asbestos, will be removed during the project. Asbestos, a known carcinogen, is linked to some serious medical conditions. These include the chronic respiratory disease known as asbestosis, as well as lung cancer and mesothelioma, a rare but aggressive form of cancer.

The new housing development is expected to costs millions of dollars, and where the money for this project will come from is still unclear. Part of the money has been secured, but not all of it. So far, the housing authority has obtained $492,000 to complete demolition and start construction. Some of this money comes from federal stimulus bills, some from the county, and some comes from a Gulf Coast Community Foundation grant.

Still, millions more will be needed, and it may come from federal government Housing and Urban Development funding. Work will be delayed if federal tax credits are not granted. "If we don’t get the tax credits, we’ll have to start over applying for them next year," said housing authority chairman George Barr.

Cornelius Doherty, a resident of Bristol, England, has been awarded £70,000 (about $116,000 in American currency) in compensation from his former employer after developing mesothelioma. Mr. Doherty was diagnosed with the rare cancer one year ago. Doherty is now 76 years old, and worked for over 40 years as a floor layer, during which time he was frequently exposed to asbestos. Doherty says he was not aware at the time that asbestos could pose health risks.

Doctors told Mr. Doherty that he only had 18 months to live after being diagnosed. Each day is now painful for him, and he is frequently short of breath. The day after he developed symptoms of breathlessness, he went to the hospital to be treated.

"When I went to the BRI the following day they took away three-and-a-half litres of fluid and that is when they diagnosed mesothelioma," he told reporters. "This disease has completely changed my life. It has got gradually worse and my chest has gradually tightened up. I am on stronger tablets now…My breathing has gone and now if I walk and talk, it takes it out of me. I can only walk short distances now.”

Doherty told reporters that he knew what asbestos was, but not how dangerous the toxic substance was. "Asbestos was there but we did not know the damage it could do…Some of the apprentices used to make snowballs out of it. No one knew it could harm us. We would not have done it if we had."

After a scare that rocked the Western Washington University campus on Monday, school officials have declared that the building is once again safe. The building has reopened, and work on the building has resumed. The parts of the building that were feared to contain rogue particles of asbestos have been cleaned. According to university official Gayle Shipley, director of the university’s Environmental Health & Safety department, air quality tests were also issued, and the results of those tests show that the building is now “safe for occupancy.”

The Humanities Building at WWU was evacuated due to fears that asbestos had been released during renovations on the building. Asbestos is often linked to lung cancer and mesothelioma. No injuries were reported during the incident. However, due to the long latency period of mesothelioma, it may be decades before the ill effects associated with asbestos exposure are expressed. It is not uncommon for mesothelioma to kill victims in only a matter of months after being diagnosed.

Early Monday morning, a contractor removed a piece of asbestos-laden ceiling, but failed to dispose of it in the proper manner. Rather than bagging and sealing the debris, it was simply removed from the building, sparking fears that airborne asbestos particles could have traveled throughout the building.

All classes in the building were canceled on the day of the incident. Officials stressed that the evacuation and canceling of classes were only precautionary.

Ongoing environmental problems, including the presence of deadly asbestos material, are weighing heavily on the minds of Kansas City residents. The problems that have plagued the Citadel Plaza development are raging out of control, in the opinions of many. Kansas City residents are growing increasingly fed up with city officials and the developers who plan to reinvigorate the area.

The Community Development Corp. of Kansas City was ordered to carry out an asbestos cleanup back in 2007, as part of their agreement with the state attorney general’s office. To date, this has not happened, and carcinogenic asbestos still plagues the site. Asbestos is linked to lung cancer, mesothelioma, and asbestosis.

City Manager Wayne Cauthen’s staff and City Council members are believed to be part of the problem. According to some Kansas City residents, these officials have not put enough pressure on the developers to hold up their end of the bargain. The city is currently responsible for mowing the grass and cutting weeds at the site.

This issue is made complicated by the presence of asbestos, which some fear could be churned up into the air if the grass is mowed, potentially endangering the health of neighbors and workers.

The Community Development Corp. of Kansas City contaminated the property several years ago, when they tore down over 100 homes, and buried asbestos-tainted debris at the site. But the developers argue that they cannot begin the asbestos cleanup until the city gives them $300,000. The developers are pressing the City Council to grant a $20.5 million funding package to finance the shopping center.

In Portland, Oregon, members of the community are sad to see the asbestos-laden Riverdale Grade School has been demolished. When the plan to demolish the school was announced, the community rallied to try and save the building. Ultimately, they failed, and the historic asbestos-laden school built in the 1920s is no more.

“This building is and always has been significant to everybody,” said Terry Hoagland, superintendent of the Riverdale School District. “All of us felt a tingle because we didn’t want to see it come down.”

Steve Jewell, who was the head of the Preserve Riverdale organization, now hopes that his organization can focus on remembering the school, even though it has been destroyed. “There’s nothing to save now,” he said.

Asbestos, a known carcinogen, is still present in many of our nation’s aging school buildings. Asbestos was once prized because it possesses a natural resistance to both flame and chemical damage. This made asbestos perfectly suited for use in fireproofing materials and insulation. Asbestos is now linked to mesothelioma and lung cancer.

Riverdale school officials wanted to build a new school to replace the one that was demolished. However, they are still waiting to acquire the proper permits. For the time being, the school is relocated to the former Smith Elementary School site.

The presence of asbestos was the final death knell that sealed the fate of the aging school. In the process of assessing the work that would be needed to repair and renovate the school, a large amount of asbestos was found. Workers uncovered more asbestos than was expected. “The real trigger that caused our concern was the amount of abatement,” Hoagland said.

“It would be costly to repair,” stated Hoagland.

After the widespread panic that ensued following the asbestos contamination of talc that was used in baby powder, cosmetics, and pharmaceuticals earlier this year, it is not surprising that the Korean government has announced that they will enforce a ban on asbestos in all manufactured products beginning in September. The new policy regarding asbestos is thought to have originated, in part, from the asbestos scare the country faced this past April.

Asbestos has thousands of applications, due to the natural resistance is possesses against both fire and chemical damage. Common asbestos applications include brake pads, insulation, and fireproofing. However, asbestos is very dangerous. The toxic fibers, if inhaled, can cause serious respiratory health issues. Once inhaled, asbestos fibers are permanently lodged in the body and are impossible to remove. In some cases, asbestos exposure can cause diseases like lung cancer, asbestosis, and mesothelioma. Mesothelioma, a rare form of cancer, is known to aggressively attack the body, and can sometimes kill within months of being diagnosed.

According to standards released earlier this week by the Korean Agency for Technology and Standards under the Ministry of Knowledge Economy, manufacturers not be allowed to use asbestos in any manufactured products. Of special note were items commonly used by children, such as balloons, chalk, and brake pads for bicycles. Officials are concerned that in these products, particles of asbestos could easily be rubbed loose, and then touch the skin or be inhaled. The asbestos content for other manufactured products will be restricted to less than 0.1 percent.