MESOTHELIOMA ASBESTOS LATEST NEWS
OVER 4 MILLION POUNDS OF ASBESTOS DEBRIS REMOVED FROM OREGON SAWMILL SITE
DEC 21, 2009
The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) handled the cleanup of the former Willamette Industries sawmill in Sweet Home, Oregon. The cleanup involved the removal of over 4 million pounds of asbestos-containing debris from the 153-acre site. Demolition had begun at the sawmill in 2007, but it remained incomplete due to the large quantities of asbestos that were found. Asbestos debris has remained uncovered for the two years since then within yards of nearby homes. The cleanup came in over budget at $1.1 million, for which the EPA will seek reimbursement from the property owner Western States Land Reliance Trust.
During the month-long cleanup, about 280 air samples were taken, and only two of them came back with minor elevation of asbestos levels. Any buildings and debris that remain on the property for demolition are asbestos-free.
ASBESTOS FOUND IN MARYLAND RACETRACK
Plans to convert the Ocean Downs horse racing facility in Maryland into a slot machine parlor were put on hold after work crews discovered asbestos in the track's grandstands. The track's owner, William Rickman, Jr., sent a letter to Maryland Video Lottery Location Commission Chairman Donald Fry stating that, among other structural problems, workers found samples of asbestos in nearly every part of the old grandstands.
According to the letter, the levels of asbestos the crews found were "substantial". One major source of the asbestos appears to be several roofing panels, covered with galvanized paint, which disguised the presence of the dangerous substance. The site was constructed just after World War II, when asbestos use was widespread in the construction industry and valued for its usefulness as fireproofing and insulation material.
The demolition project on the site, which was already underway before the discovery, was stopped when inspectors found the asbestos. The contractors, the owners and government officials have yet to reach an agreement as to how to continue with the dismantling of the stands. Mr. Rickman's letter says that the architect of the proposed new facility and the structural engineer are working on a potential solution that would allow for the asbestos removal while still staying close to the original designs.
Before the asbestos discovery, Mr. Rickman's plans were to open the new slot machine parlor on Memorial Day Weekend 2010. The new facility was to offer six hundred slot machines, with plans for another two hundred within the following twelve months. Ocean Downs was one of the first five businesses to be granted slot machine licenses by the state after lawmakers approved the measure to allow for these types of games and began issuing licenses in September. While Mr. Rickman has not yet announced plans to scrap the Memorial Day opening, observers have noted that, with the extensive problems facing the project, the opening day for the area's first slots casino may be severely delayed.
In addition to the asbestos issues, the site has also encountered problems with the structural steel used to support the grandstands and how it can be incorporated into the new design. Since the steel is more than sixty years old, Mr. Rickman informed the commission, he has sent samples to be tested for structural integrity and compatibility with any new steel that crews need to weld onto the existing portions. Crews also found an abundance of lead paint in many parts of the grandstands, which pose another hazard to worker safety.
In order to comply with state and federal regulations involving both environmental safety and worker protection, asbestos abatement workers will have to carry out strict procedures when handling the asbestos, which poses a severe health hazard when its fibers become airborne, and contractors must provide protective clothing and special breathing masks to reduce the workers' risk of exposure.
Workers who inhale asbestos fibers have been known to contract pleural mesothelioma, a rare and aggressive form of cancer that attacks the fluid linings of the lungs. Patients typically exhibit symptoms years after the initial exposure period, but by that time, the disease is often too far advanced to treat adequately. A patient who receives a mesothelioma diagnosis usually lives less than eighteen months after the disease is detected.
Sources: Baltimore Sun, Maryland Coast Dispatch
FORMER 9/11 HERO CONVICTED FOR ASBESTOS FRAUD
Mark Jakubek, who worked for the New York Port Authority as a New York-New Jersey field operations manager during the 9/11 episode that saw the destruction of the World Trade Center towers in New York in 2001, was convicted Friday, Dec. 4, in federal court of racketeering charges.
Jakubek, along with co-conspirator Anthony Fontanetta, now faces a mandatory prison term ranging from one year to 25 years for his part in a plan to allow an asbestos remediation firm, Specialty Service Contracting, to overcharge or fraudulently charge for asbestos remediation work performed at the Twin Towers site. According to the Manhattan District Attorney's office, this resulted in more than $60,000 illegally taken from the cleanup fund.
The Twin Towers event was the largest asbestos-hazard site in the history of the U.S., affecting 16,000 first responders and 2,700 residents of the area, some of whom have since died from the asbestos-laden toxic dust. This far outweighs the 2,600 residents of Libby, Montana, who have been sickened by the asbestos contamination of the former W.R. Grace mine.
In fact, the final legacy of 9/11 will not be apparent for decades, as asbestos-induced mesotheliomas lie dormant in the lungs of these first responders and residents, slowly invading vital tissue and organs until the tumors are so extensive and widespread that no amount of surgery, radiation and chemotherapy can remove them or prevent them from recurring.
Many of those affected are hoping that passage of the James Zagroda 9/11 Health and Compensation Act (named after the first responder who ultimately died from 9/11 exposure) will extend medical care funds until 2031, the likely date at which mesothelioma and asbestos illnesses from 9/11 will peak.
This is the first trial from the five-year-old indictment, which saw ten other individuals pleading guilty. The impetus behind the investigation and subsequent indictments came from the office of Manhattan District Attorney Robert Morgenthau, whose team - prior to 9/11 - had been looking into corruption in the asbestos removal industry and came up with a windfall in the form of organized crime families (like the Gambinos) and corrupt subcontractors who turned the 9/11 tragedy into a feeding frenzy, fighting for their share of the $21.4 billion pie offered by the federal government toward cleanup.
According to one source, at least $63.2 million of the $458 million made available by the Federal Emergency Management Agency, or FEMA, found its way to companies with mob ties.
The larceny was made possible only because the need to get the site cleaned up forced New York City to suspend its usual competitive bidding process, through the Department of Design & Construction.
Jakubek, who earned his heroes stripes by rescuing people from an elevator in one of the buildings during the 9/1l attack, remains free on bond while lawyers for the two (Jakubek and Fontanetta) plan arguments disputing the convictions.
Jakubek, who pleaded guilty in the 2003 federal bribery case by admitting he had taken about $20,000 in bribes to speed contractor payments, was fired during the investigation, while Fontanetta was merely suspended without pay. Both will return to court on Jan. 20, but no sentencing date has been established.
The 2003 indictment also charged Antonio Bueti, Arthur Mallett, Carlos Oseguera, Comprehensive Environmental of New York, Inc., Edward Looney, Gerald T.Campbell, Sr., Independent Monitoring and Analysis, Inc., James E. "Jeb" Brethauer, John Skinner, Joseph DePietto, Joseph Varsalona, Michael Adams, Michael McMahon, Peter Ellams, Robert Leary, Robert Phillips, Rocco Mongelli, and Specialty Service Contracting, Inc. Some have already pleaded guilty, some have been exonerated, and some await charges under what New York calls "enterprise corruption", which is their label for racketeering.
Sources: New York Daily News, CBS News, Winston-Salem Journal
What is Mesothelioma, Causes, Symptoms and Lawsuits
Mesothelioma is a form of cancer that is almost always caused by previous exposure to asbestos. In this disease, malignant cells develop in the mesothelium, a protective lining that covers most of the body's internal organs. Its most common site is the pleura (outer lining of the lungs and chest cavity), but it may also occur in the peritoneum (the lining of the abdominal cavity) or the pericardium (a sac that surrounds the heart).
Most people who develop mesothelioma have worked on jobs where they inhaled asbestos particles, or have been exposed to asbestos dust and fibre in other ways, such as by washing the clothes of a family member who worked with asbestos, or by home renovation using asbestos cement products. Unlike lung cancer, there is no association between mesothelioma and smoking.
Signs and symptoms
Symptoms of mesothelioma may not appear until 20 to 50 years after exposure to asbestos. Shortness of breath, cough, and pain in the chest due to an accumulation of fluid in the pleural space are often symptoms of pleural mesothelioma.
Symptoms of peritoneal mesothelioma include weight loss and cachexia, abdominal swelling and pain due to ascites (a buildup of fluid in the abdominal cavity). Other symptoms of peritoneal mesothelioma may include bowel obstruction, blood clotting abnormalities, anemia, and fever. If the cancer has spread beyond the mesothelium to other parts of the body, symptoms may include pain, trouble swallowing, or swelling of the neck or face.
These symptoms may be caused by mesothelioma or by other, less serious conditions.
Mesothelioma that affects the pleura can cause these signs and symptoms:
| Chest wall pain
Pleural effusion, or fluid surrounding the lung
Shortness of breath
Fatigue or anemia
Wheezing, hoarseness, or cough
Blood in the sputum (fluid) coughed up
In severe cases, the person may have many tumor masses. The individual may develop a pneumothorax, or collapse of the lung. The disease may metastasize, or spread, to other parts of the body.
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Tumors that affect the abdominal cavity often do not cause symptoms until they are at a late stage. Symptoms include:
- Abdominal pain
- Ascites, or an abnormal buildup of fluid in the abdomen
- A mass in the abdomen
- Problems with bowel function
- Weight loss
In severe cases of the disease, the following signs and symptoms may be present:
- Blood clots in the veins, which may cause thrombophlebitis
- Disseminated intravascular coagulation, a disorder causing severe bleeding in many body organs
- Jaundice, or yellowing of the eyes and skin
- Low blood sugar level
- Pleural effusion
- Pulmonary emboli, or blood clots in the arteries of the lungs
- Severe ascites
A mesothelioma does not usually spread to the bone, brain, or adrenal glands. Pleural tumors are usually found only on one side of the lungs.
Mesothelioma Lawyers & Your Legal Rights
Each year, thousands of people pass away or become ill due to the negligence of asbestos manufacturers and the development of asbestos-related disease. If you or a loved one has been diagnosed with an illness related to asbestos such as mesothelioma, you may have legal options for compensation. In recent years, mesothelioma litigation has helped thousands receive financial assistance to cover medical expenses and lost income.
Mesothelioma, which is almost exclusively caused by asbestos exposure, and other asbestos-related illnesses are attributed to negligence because companies that manufactured asbestos-containing products knew about the health risks of asbestos exposure, but decided not to tell employees or leak this information to the general public. It is believed that companies which manufactured asbestos-containing materials knew about these hazards as early as the 1920s.
By the 1930s and '40s, medical evidence had clearly linked asbestos exposure to lung disease and deadly asbestos cancers. Although asbestos companies were warned of these dangers, many chose not to use alternative substances in order to keep their profits high. Mesothelioma litigation exists because of these unethical actions and asbestos manufacturers are held liable for the undue suffering of those coping with asbestos-related disease. To read more about this corporate scandal, please see The Asbestos Cover-Up.
Those diagnosed with mesothelioma have legal options and may seek compensation through mesothelioma litigation. Filing a claim against the entity responsible for your asbestos exposure may result in compensation for the costs, as well as pain and suffering, associated with asbestos-induced illnesses. The following include some of the expenses for which compensation may be pursued:
* Lost wages
* Medical bills
* Group support for you and your loved ones
* Funeral expenses
* Travel expenses relating to medical treatments
* Other expenses not covered by health insurance
A mesothelioma lawyer can review additional expenses that could be covered under each claim, as each case varies. It is important to save all medical and financial records relating to asbestos-induced illness for this purpose. Aside from providing these types of documents and answering questions about how you may have been exposed to asbestos, you will not have to be involved with other stages of the case. Mesothelioma lawyers understand their clients may be too tired to deal with the details of filing a lawsuit or attending trial. For this reason, mesothelioma lawyers handle every aspect of the case.
Mesothelioma Litigation - Types of Lawsuits
There are two types of lawsuits that can be filed in asbestos injury cases. If a family member has passed away from an asbestos-related disease, a wrongful death suit can be filed. In a personal injury claim, the individual suffering with an asbestos-related illness must be the one to file suit. Specific rights in these lawsuits depend on the county and state where the case is filed.
Employees of companies that used asbestos are not the only individuals who have rights against asbestos manufacturers. Although the vast majority of mesothelioma litigation cases are between primary asbestos exposure victims and the manufacturers of asbestos containing products, other groups have rights as well. For example, if you experienced secondary exposure and have developed an asbestos-related disease because a spouse or family member worked with asbestos, you may also have a claim.
Additional Resources
Resources available at LawMesothelioma.Info can only offer basic assistance in understanding the generalities of the mesothelioma litigation process. If you seek legal information, it is always a good idea to speak with a qualified lawyer of your choosing to ensure that you get accurate information regarding any potential claim that you might have.
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