Mesothelioma Health News

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.

The Superintendent of Schools in the Weymouth area has submitted a letter of interest to the Massachusetts School Building Authority regarding state aid for $6 million in repairs needed at the Chapman Middle School. Part of the requested funding will be used for asbestos removal on the outside of the school building.

A private contractor was hired to test exterior paint at Chapman Middle School and subsequently discovered that the latex paint contained traces of asbestos. Following the discovery, classes were canceled and the school was closed in preparation for asbestos abatement.

Asbestos can be contained by layering latex paint over any asbestos materials, but only as a short-term solution, which officials say was done at Chapman. The paint was expected to last approximately three years.

Officials say that the work is expected to cost so much is because not only will the paint be removed, but older masonry and other exterior materials will need to be replaced as well.

Officials estimate that the repairs can be completed in two phases over the next two summers.

Texas Woman Files Asbestos Lawsuit On Behalf Of Her Deceased Husband

According to recent court documents an asbestos-related lawsuit has been filed in Galveston, Texas naming Union Carbide Corporation, along with two other companies, as responsible for death of DeVaughn Chumbley Dobbs.

The suit was filed by Bacliff, Texas resident Peggy Dobbs, the wife of the late DeVaughn Chumbley Dobbs, on October 22^nd in the Galveston County District Court and also names Foster Wheeler Corporation and Ingersoll-Rand Company as defendants.

DeVaughn Chumbley Dobbs was employed as a journeyman laborer and worked at a number of job sites in and around the state of Texas. The lawsuit states that Mrs. Dobbs claims that her late husband was exposed to the dangerous asbestos materials that ultimately led to his disease and subsequent death.

Dobbs was apparently “directed by Union Carbide in all matters related to safety and health” and that “important information concerning the dangers of working with asbestos” was withheld from him and other employees.

Mrs. Dobbs is seeking awards sufficient to compensate for her late husband’s pain and suffering.

Nearly 150 plaintiffs in a class action suit regarding civil conspiracy in relation to asbestos information are claiming that they were provided with “misleading and false information” regarding the dangers of being exposed to asbestos containing materials.

Attorneys Randy Gori and Barry Julian, who are representing the plaintiffs, filed the one-count lawsuit on October 14 against Metropolitan Life Insurance Company and John Crane. In the suit the plaintiffs are claiming that “the publication of false and misleading reports was done to maintain a favorable atmosphere for the continued sale and distribution and use of asbestos.”

According to reports, misinformation led to “unfair influence” on legislation regarding compensation for asbestos victims. The plaintiffs claim that this information led legislation to limit disability and medical claims related to asbestos exposure victims.

Historically, Doctor Anthony J. Lanza conducted an investigation into the issue of exposure, beginning in 1929, but later altered the results in 1935 in order to influence public health issues. Dr. Lanza’s investigative reports worked to discredit those of other scientists that were developing important information regarding the dangers of such exposure.

The suit filed last week will hopefully yield financial compensation for the victims of unfair asbestos information practices, many who are suffering from asbestos-related diseases such as mesothelioma cancer as a result of being exposed to this toxin while at work.

Mesothelioma victim Harvey Williams has filed a lawsuit related to asbestos in the Jefferson County District Court, claiming that his asbestos-caused mesothelioma was caused by exposure to the dangerous toxin while employed by various companies.

Williams has named 53 defendant companies in the lawsuit and is claiming that those companies conspired to withhold important information regarding the dangers of working in close proximity to asbestos materials. Williams further claims that the named companies where in fact aware of these dangers and should have foreseen the results of exposure to the toxic asbestos fibers. Williams has stated in the lawsuit that he has experienced both mental and physical pain, has incurred high medical bills related to the disease, and has lost the ability to carry out his normal course of employment.

The lawsuit further states that “Each defendant violated state and federal regulations related to asbestos exposure” and that “Defendants knowingly conspired among themselves to cause the plaintiff’s injuries, diseases, and illness by exposing him (Williams) to asbestos.” Williams is seeking an amount sufficient to cover lost wages and medical bills.

A Colorado school located in Boulder has recently been closed due to the discovery of airborne asbestos the building. Tests were conducted at Boulder’s Mesa Elementary School on Monday after finding a damp tile that had fallen down from the school’s ceiling. Wet weather throughout the weekend is thought to be the cause of the fallen tile, which led district officials to request air quality monitoring in the school.

Environmental experts did in fact confirm the presence of the toxin in the air, and although they only reported “trace levels,” the school was subsequently shut down in order to clean and repair the schools ceiling and roof.

Mesa Elementary was built in the 1970’s during a time when the dangers of asbestos were just beginning to be discovered. According to environmental officials, the asbestos-containing tiles became dangerous as a result of wet weather in the area, but that students were not previously in danger of inhaling errant asbestos. An email was sent out to parents of Mesa Elementary students on Monday evening informing them of the discovery and letting them know that school would temporarily be shut down for safety reasons. Air quality monitoring will continue within the building, according to school officials.

A Baltimore County construction site has been shut down as a result of asbestos materials located on the site. The construction site, located in Catonsville, Maryland, may be situated above dangerous amounts of naturally occurring asbestos in the ground and soil.

According to reports, during the earlier stages of construction, asbestos dust was released into the air, possibly exposing those that lived and worked in close proximity to the Catonsville construction site to dangerous asbestos fibers. Work at the site has since been halted until officials and contractors can determine the extent of the exposure, as well as how to prevent further exposure from occurring.

The company that owns the construction site employed a geotechnical engineer to verify the existence of asbestos on the property, although regulations regarding naturally occurring asbestos have yet to be put in place. The owner of the site has committed to regularly monitoring the site while conducting the construction work as well as to testing homes in the nearby area for asbestos contamination.

An asbestos lawsuit has been filed by former electrician Bruno Dobler, naming 13 individual corporations. Dobler alleges that his recently diagnosed mesothelioma was wrongfully caused by those corporations, which he worked for between 1959 and 2000.

Mr. Dobler once owned and managed an electric motor repair business. Due to the nature of his employment, Dobler worked at a number of locations at which he claims he was exposed to toxic asbestos-containing materials that he inhaled and/or ingested.

In the suit Dolber claims that the effects of working with such materials should have been foreseeable by the defendant corporations named in the lawsuit. Due to the debilitating disease Dobler feels has been deprived of large sums of money that he would have otherwise earned from employment and has also lost money due to expensive medical costs related to the disease.

According to recent reports, both the city of Winslow and former city manager John Roche has been fined for violations of rules set forth by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). The alleged violations committed included illegal asbestos removal, illegal disposal of asbestos, and failure to notify proper officials of the existence of asbestos.

Roche and the city allegedly demolished four separate apartment buildings without having the buildings inspected for the presence of asbestos.

Following a tip called in to the state authorities notifying them that the buildings were currently in the process of being torn down, officials ordered that the demolition be halted. Subsequent to the halting of the project the buildings were tested for asbestos at which time it was discovered that the buildings did in fact contain asbestos containing materials.

John Roche allegedly proceeded to order the demolition of an additional five buildings even after the results of the building tests confirmed the presence of asbestos.

The lawsuit was filed by the Environmental Protection Agency and named the city of Winslow, John Roche, and the building owner as the violators. The city of Winslow was fined a total of $240,000 as punishment for the violations.

The Environmental Protection Agency has recently fined six different Phoenix area schools due to their violations of asbestos rules put into place by the EPA to protect individuals from diseases that may be caused by exposure to asbestos containing materials. These rules were specifically designed to prevent children from coming in contact with the dangerous substance due to its toxic nature.

According to the reports, five of the six schools failed to perform required inspections of the schools before they opened for business in the fall. It is also reported that all six of the schools involved neglected developing and enacting asbestos management plans required by the Environmental Protection Agency.

The schools sited in the reports are Paradise Education Center in Paradise Valley, Happy Valley School in Peoria, Edu-Prize Charter School in Gilbert, Challenge School in Glendale, and both Valley Academy, and Horizon Community Learning Center in Phoenix.

Each of the six schools fined are now in compliance with the Environmental Protection Agency standards and have been retested for asbestos, in which case none was found in any of the six schools.

The schools were fined amounts between $800 and $2400.