NEW LONDON, Conn. – Tenants at the Villa Apartments in New London are facing a bleak Christmas, thanks to the discovery of high levels of asbestos in the apartment complex. Eleven families were informed the week before Christmas that they must vacate their apartments by January 7th.

The eleven families were given just three weeks to move. They were informed of the decision by city inspectors during a closed door meeting last Thursday night.

Tenant Sharon Blink said that she was shocked at getting only three weeks’ notice to find a different house of a shelter in which to live while asbestos abatement takes place.

According to city officials, the landlord was making repairs to the heating system, which had failed earlier in the month, and unwittingly removed some pipes containing asbestos. The building is now contaminated with asbestos fibers.

Because he was not actually removing the boiler, the building owner didn’t think he needed any permits to do the work. The pipes for the heating system, however, date to the 1930s, and are insulated with and contain asbestos. Said former complex manager Sandy Kurth, “I think that caused the problem.”

City inspectors say that the building needs to be vacated and should remain empty of 30 to 60 days to allow for cleaning. After that, residents are free to return if they desire. Tenants will also need to arrange for decontamination for their clothing, furniture and other personal possessions.

The Connecticut apartment building isn’t the only one to run into asbestos problems related to an old heating system this holiday season. Tenants in a Winnipeg apartment block spent a cold Christmas – and have been cold since the building’s boiler broke down two weeks ago. Tenants are using antique fireplaces and electric heaters, as well as their stoves and ovens, to heat their apartments.

The problem is that repair crews working on the boiler have had to hold off working on the repairs while asbestos is removed from the building. The repair crews hope to have the heat back up by Friday.

Many government and safety officials are concerned about this sort of incident becoming more commonplace as older boilers start to fail and need to be replaced on an emergency basis. Asbestos was commonly used for plumbing and heating pipes, insulation and many other uses in construction from the late 1800s through about 1980. Because of its high insulating properties, asbestos was most often used to insulate heating pipes, heating ducts and boilers. Plumbers and heating repair workers face a hazardous situation when dealing with older heating systems.

The two apartment buildings noted are in widely different locations, but the situation faced by the tenants and building owners is virtually the same – an older boiler that fails leading to the discovery of asbestos in the materials used to insulate the boiler or in the heating system itself. At that point, the building owner faces the problem of having to abate the asbestos before repairing the boiler, leading to evacuation for building tenants, or days without heat.

If the building owner goes ahead and does the work without contracting a licenses asbestos firm to contain the area first, the tenants could be exposed to deadly asbestos fibers which heighten the risk of their developing asbestosis, mesothelioma or other lung problems in the future.

CARY, Ill. – The discovery of asbestos has closed a bathroom in the Cary Village Hall. The bathroom remained closed last week after workers discovered asbestos in the floor tiles in the bathroom.

Last Tuesday morning, workers at the hall found asbestos in the bathroom while repairing the tiles on the bathroom floor. It was underneath the floor within resin glued to tiles. Asbestos was commonly used in many construction products, including floor mastics and resin used to glue floor tiles into place. The discovery of the asbestos containing material is no surprise to those who know old construction projects, and the possibility of asbestos in the glue probably prompted testing.

It is to the credit of the workers that they stopped their work and tested for the substance rather than continuing with the risk of exposing workers and visitors to city hall to the carcinogenic substance.

“It wasn’t even visible until they started to do the repair,” Administrator Blaine Wing said. “It’s kind of like a layered cake.”

The bathroom is in the part of the village hall where the police department is located, and the bathroom there is used primarily by police officers.

“We just took the appropriate precautions,” Wing said. “We realized with our building being so old it wasn’t as simple as gluing the tile back to the floor.”

Wing and the building maintenance staff may have been more aware and attuned to the problem of asbestos than most in their position. Five years ago, Cary hired an asbestos abatement team to remove all known asbestos from the village hall building. The team missed the asbestos in the floor tiles because it was hidden under a floor. The building is about 100 years old and was formerly a farmhouse. It’s not unusual to find asbestos in buildings of that age.

Asbestos is a known carcinogen that causes lung cancer, stomach cancer, asbestosis and a rare form of cancer known as mesothelioma. Mesothelioma has no other known cause, and while it is very rare in the general population, it is more prominently diagnosed in populations that had high exposure to airborne asbestos in the workplace. Those occupations include construction and demolition workers, insulators, ship builders and pipe fitters. More recently, there have been many cases of mesothelioma attributed to what is termed “second hand exposure” to asbestos – household members of those who worked with asbestos closely, and those who were exposed to asbestos in the environment.

One of the most well-known cases of asbestos exposure is in the town of Libby, Montana, where over 1,200 people have been diagnosed with asbestos related conditions after being exposed to airborne asbestos from a mine operated by W. R. Grace and Company until 1990. Since the 1970s, juries around the country have awarded high damages to plaintiffs who contend that companies that manufactured products made with asbestos conspired to conceal the dangers of the toxic substance from their workers and from the general public.
The bathroom is scheduled to be repaired on Friday and open again shortly after.

NEW YORK – Lester Brickman’s Wall Street Journal editorial about tort reform and mass screenings is making waves across the internet. The editorial, published in the WSJ’s law pages December 26 decries the practice of mass screenings mounted by tort lawyers to discover potential plaintiffs for lawsuits against asbestos manufacturers, breast implant manufacturers and those who marketed and made dangerous diet drugs. Brickman contends that the Department of Justice turns a blind eye to the practice that, in his estimation, has given a free pass to doctors and lawyers to commit mass tort fraud exceeding $30 billion in the past fifteen years. The editorial has sparked a small maelstrom of controversy in its comments with commenters remarking on Brickman’s credentials and other points. Mr. Brickman is a professor of law at the Cardozo School of Law of Yeshiva University.

Brickman contends that an asbestosis screening of 1,000 people will turn up 500-600 possible cases of asbestosis, whereas screenings in a normal clinical setting would turn up 30-50 cases in the same number of people. The question, say others who commented on the editorial, becomes one of a “battle of experts”. The experts for the prosecution will contend that there is no way that a mass screening could turn up so many potential cases, while those for the defense would point out that all of the flagged cases were at least borderline cases of asbestosis. In the end, even Brickman concedes that such a battle would cast a shadow on diagnoses arrived at in good faith.

Brickman is an outspoken proponent of mass tort reform who has openly contended that a small handful of unscrupulous lawyers are holding the tort system hostage over manufactured diagnoses. Brickman’s editorial is just the latest salvo in a long-running debate about the legitimacy of asbestos litigation that has involved lawyers, insurance companies, regulatory commissions and even Congress.

There is no doubt that asbestos has caused immeasurable damage. It is the only known cause of mesothelioma, a rare cancer that literally suffocates its victims by thickening the single layer lining between the chest wall and the lungs until the lungs are unable to expand and take in air. Mesothelioma affects a miniscule portion of the general population – but that percentage skyrockets when only those who worked in industries where they were exposed to asbestos dust are considered. Mesothelioma has killed over 250,000 people since 2000, and it is estimated that there will be thousands more diagnoses of mesothelioma each year.

There are no easy answers to the mesothelioma lawsuit situation. There is also no doubt that those who were exposed to asbestos and never warned about its dangers deserve justice. Brickman’s editorial points out a legitimate concern – but fails to acknowledge the reverse concern – that those who were exposed to asbestos deserve free medical screenings, have a right to know if they have been damaged and to what extent and are entitled to be compensated for the injuries and damages that they have suffered.

BURLINGTON, Iowa – The discovery of asbestos in the debris following a fire is only the latest hurdle facing members of the First United Methodist Church, whose rallying cry has become, “The fire is out, but the flame still burns”.

The church burned during the early morning hours of April 29, with flames intense enough to melt the stained glass windows like cellophane, according to some eyewitnesses.

A 29 year old man has been indicted for arson in the fire. Kevin Michael Ravelin has been indicted for arson for the United Methodist fire, as well as attempted arson at the First Presbyterian Church, two counts of use of fire to commit a felony and two counts of faith-based hate crimes in the fires.

He has pleaded not guilty. His trial is scheduled to start January 22, with a pretrial conference to be held January 14.

“These senseless acts of violence and destruction towards any structure, let alone a historical house of worship, will not be tolerated,” said Mike Boxler, a spokesman for the U.S. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives in Kansas City , Mo.

The church was a prominent part of the Burlington’s distinctive skyscape. It was built of Jasper granite in 1889, and represented a significant part of the history of southeastern Iowa.
The fire gutted the church, leaving only the walls and steeple standing. The congregation, in the midst of a change of leadership, struggled to deal with the situation. In September, they voted to brace the walls of the church building and preserve them for possible rebuilding. Once the walls were reinforced, city officials reopened the streets next to the building which had been closed since April for safety reasons.

The most recent discovery is that the debris inside the church is riddled with asbestos – not surprisingly, as most buildings that date their construction anytime in the last century contain the carcinogenic mineral. The discovery may help make the decision about whether to use the $8.3 million insurance settlement to rebuild or move to another location easier.

“We’re looking for direction to make something possible in an impossible situation,” Downing said. “We are in the process of seeking discernment about what God is looking for us to do.”

Asbestos must be removed by a specialty contractor because it is a hazardous air pollutant. It became widely known during the 1970s and 1980s that inhaling asbestos dust could cause several different cancers, including the rare mesothelioma, sometimes as much as 40 years after exposure. As long as the church building stood undisturbed, the asbestos used in insulation and for other purposes within the building was most likely safe. Once the asbestos containing materials were dilapidated or destroyed, however, it is possible that they would release tiny asbestos fibers into the air, where they could be inhaled or ingested and cause problems for neighbors and churchgoers in the future. Removing the asbestos may add tens of thousands of dollars to the cost of constructing a new church.

There has been no movement in the case since after a federal judge set the Jan. 22 trial in answer to defense attorney Leon Spies’ request for continuance.

NEWTON – The price tag for Newton North High School has climbed yet again. The plans for the new high school in the small Massachusetts town have made headlines all year long as the estimates for construction costs mount higher and higher. Former supporters of the project now want Mayor David Cohen to put a halt on it until he declares a price cap.

The construction of the high school was approved by voters in January. At the June groundbreaking, Cohen said, “This is a historic day. It has taken us nearly a decade to get here. This event isn’t just about today. It’s about tomorrow as well. Long after we have all departed from the scene, the new Newton North will be teaching our young men and women.”

At the time, the cost estimate for the project was $141 million.

Unfortunately, the problems for the project soon began. Not long after beginning excavation, construction crews found hazardous materials at the site for the new school. The two latest discoveries involve friable asbestos and ledge, both of which were unearthed at the site. The project was stalled and another $10 million was added to the projected costs.

One year after the voters approved the building of the new high school, estimates have risen from $141 million to $167.5 million, and city officials are reconsidering their support for the project.

“I am almost tempted to ask you to stop the project now,” said Alderman Amy Sangiolo at an aldermen meeting with members of the School Committee. “Without some sort of sense of how far we are going to go – I am sorry – it makes me very nervous about the state of the city.”

Asbestos is a serious concern for the city, and abating the problem before building can continue is a legitimate issue. Friable asbestos – asbestos that can be crumbled by hand pressure – can release tiny fibers of asbestos into the air. Once airborne, the fibers can be inhaled by people, and become lodged in the lungs, or swallowed and work their way into the abdominal linings. Once ingested or inhaled, the asbestos fibers may cause changes to the cells that eventually result in asbestosis, or a rare cancer called mesothelioma.

Mesothelioma is most common in industrial workers who were exposed to high levels of asbestos in the workplace. More and more often, however, it is being diagnosed in other groups of people who may have suffered secondary or environmental exposure. In and around Libby, Montana, for instance, over 1,200 people have been diagnosed with mesothelioma and related conditions after being exposed to high levels of asbestos fibers released into the air from an asbestos contaminated mine operated by the W.R. Grace Company.

The state is set to reimburse the City of Newton up to $46 million if substantial progress is made on the construction of the new school during 2008. The definition of “substantial progress” is not clear, however.

VENICE – The Illinois EPA will be overseeing the removal of asbestos from the former Venice School building as it is being prepared for demolition. The EPA’s Bureau of Land Chief Bill Child met with state, local and school department officials on Friday to discuss particulars of the asbestos removal with community members.

The building, which was built in 1910 and which as served as the Venice High School and as Venice Elementary has been sitting idle and becoming dilapidated for some years now. Several people have remarked on the building and the pending asbestos cleanup work posing a threat to frequent trespassers and nearby residents since the school closed.

The cleanup project will remove an environmental threat from the community and lift property values in the community. The demolition is expected to be complete in January 2008. It will pave the way for the land to be used in other ways that are beneficial to the community.

The old bricks and much of the debris created by the demolition will be reused as fill material after the asbestos is removed. Officials estimate that some 80 percent of the remaining brick and building material will be recyclable once the asbestos has been removed.
 
The Illinois Environmental Protection agency found asbestos in much of the building material during a July 2007 survey of the property. Among the contaminated materials were caulk, plaster, ceiling and floor tiles. Because the building was so dilapidated, the EPA concluded it was “highly likely” that asbestos fibers were being released into the air and surrounding environment, and coming into contact with nearby residents and trespassers on the school site.

Exposure to asbestos is a serious health hazard that has been shown to greatly increase the risk of developing mesothelioma and a number of other cancers and other conditions. Because of this risk, the Illinois EPA is removing the asbestos as it is safe to remove. All asbestos containing material will be taken to a landfill with the equipment and specific permits that allow for asbestos disposal. The contaminated materials will be buried and immediately covered with six inches of compacted soil to encapsulate any asbestos dust.

The Venice School building is not the first time that the school department and the EPA have dealt with the asbestos abatement issue. Since December 2005, they have completed the asbestos abatement and demolition of five abandoned schools all over the state. The decontaminated sites have been recreated as recreational parks with playground equipment, pavilions and baseball diamonds. The focus of the Illinois EPA is on deteriorating schools owned by either a municipality or a school district. The Venice Community School is owned by Venice Community School District No. 3.

Asbestos is a hazardous material classified under the EPA as an air pollution hazard because the airborne fibers have been shown to cause mesothelioma and other cancers and lung diseases. While asbestos used in building materials is considered safe as long as the fibers are contained in some way, demolition of buildings that were built with asbestos containing materials can release high levels of asbestos into the air, resulting in a dangerous situation for anyone nearby. A dangerous situation can also arise if the materials that contain asbestos are damaged or dilapidated. Federal law currently requires that all asbestos be removed from buildings by licensed contractors before demolition.

DULUTH, Minn – On Friday, a federal judge upheld Minnesota state pollution regulations that were challenged in court by Northshore Mining Co. as being unfair. U.S. District Court Judge Paul Magnuson ruled that Northshore doesn’t have the standing to challenge an injunction dating from 1975, and for that reason, he had no jurisdiction to undo the ruling.

Northshore’s action stems from a controversial 1975 court injunction that established an unusual standard for asbestos limits in the air surrounding the company’s Silver Bay taconite processing facility. The ruling was part of a decision in the Reserve Mining case in which a federal judge ruled that the number of taconite fibers in the air around the Silver Bay company must be equivalent to or less than those in the air around St. Paul.

The unusual ruling arose from the lack of knowledge about the health effects of the fibers that were found in high concentration in and around the plant. The ruling judge stated that as there were no scientifically valid guidelines as to safe levels of taconite or asbestos fibers in the air, it was necessary to make a judgment call, and his judgment call was to choose a city with reasonably healthy air standards as a standard. Thus, he chose St. Paul as a city with acceptable air quality standards and ruled that Reserve Mining Co. must operate in such a way that the number of fibers in the air around Silver Bay was comparable to or below those in and around St. Paul.

Many health experts and others are concerned that those fibers in the air may have as hazardous an effect on human health as do asbestos fibers. Northeastern Minnesota, the Iron Range, where the mining company is located, has a far higher than expected rate of mesothelioma in comparison with the rest of the country.

The case and the announcement of the verdict come at a particularly sensitive time for the mining industry and the state. The State of Minnesota Department of Health has recently released a report that was compiled to help illuminate the heightened rates of mesothelioma among miners in the Iron Range. Among the theories suggested for that anomaly is one that suggests that taconite dust may be as hazardous as asbestos dust and may also cause mesothelioma. Others suggest that some of the mines in the Iron Range may be contaminated with asbestos.

The report will be helpful to a major research study that is being planned by the University of Minnesota. Researchers from UM are asking the state legislature for up to $5.5 million in funding to complete a study that they say will take about three years to complete. They hope that the results of the study will pinpoint the reasons for the high rates of mesothelioma and other asbestos related illnesses in the Iron Range.

In the current atmosphere, the appeal from Northshore was flying in the face of public sentiment. Many charged that the mining company wanted the injunction lifted so that they would not be held to any restrictions in the amount of fibers their processing plant released into the air. Magnuson’s ruling states, in effect, that the federal injunction is moot, but that ruling has no effect on the permit under which the company operates. In order to change that, Northshore will have to appeal to the state regulation and court system in order to get rid of the so-called “city comparison standard”. The Minnesota Pollution Control Agency denied the company’s request, and an appeal is pending with the Minnesota Court of Appeals.

KANSAS CITY – The Occupational Safety and Health administration has found that Research Medical Center in Kansas City willfully and seriously violated regulations about the safe handling of asbestos containing materials over the past two years. The medical center faces $84,000 in federal fines for allowing employees to be exposed to potential asbestos contamination during an expansion project.

The hospital has 15 days in which to either agree to the fine, dispute the findings or try to negotiate a lower penalty.

Since receiving the report, the hospital has notified about 85 hospital employees that they may have been exposed to asbestos. A hospital vice president stated that none of the employees had received medical examinations to detect if exposure had taken place.

In an email to a local paper, the vice president said that the hospital does have a plan to address asbestos abatement in the areas that OSHA identified. She was not certain yet whether there were other outstanding issues to address.

OSHA reported that the asbestos was found in a vinyl wall covering with felt background. The material crumbles easily, shedding asbestos fibers in the air. Asbestos was found in numerous places, including a boiler room, hallways and an X-ray control room.

Asbestos, a widely used building material through the 1970s, is safe when it is bound, covered or encapsulated. When it is broken or exposed however, and asbestos fibers can be shed into the air, it becomes a potentially deadly health hazard. Inhaled asbestos fibers lodge in the lungs, where they can cause scarring, fibrosis, cancer and a rare form of cancer of the chest wall lining, mesothelioma. It is often ten to forty years before someone who has been exposed to asbestos shows any symptoms.

For that reason, hospitals, schools and other public buildings are required to have and maintain an asbestos management plan that note the location and quality of any asbestos that is in the building. The plan, among other things, ensures that workers and others are not exposed to airborne asbestos during repairs and renovations.

OSHA states that the hospital knew of the presence, location and quantity of asbestos going back to at least 2006, when the hospital reported that wall coverings were on the third, fourth and fifth floors.

OSHA examined those floors and found that there was indeed asbestos in the wall coverings. Workers who may have been exposed include:

- Engineers who worked in the boiler room, where OSHA claims that the hospital failed to post warning signs of nearby asbestos.
- Two employees who cleaned patient care areas, including a radiation control room
- Two maintenance engineers, one who installed an electrical outlet in the radiation control room and one who worked on the fourth floor west wing

There is an ongoing investigation by OSHA to decide whether construction workers who were renovating the fourth floor wing have also been exposed, and the hospital has already settled a case by the Kansas City Health Department by paying $4,000 in fines.

December 13, 2007

I am writing in the midst of this holiday shopping season with grave concerns about potential asbestos contamination in a children’s toy: Planet Toys’ CSI: Crime Scene Investigation Fingerprint Examination Kit. 

Scientists using state of the art techniques at three different labs have presented evidence to me of the most deadly form of asbestos, tremolite, in six out of eight powders tested. Tremolite was found at percentages as high as 7.2 percent in 1 of the 5 powders contained in the kit, and in 6 out of 8 samples tested. 

I am aware that follow-up tests by manufacturers and retailers have failed to confirm these results, but to date the industry has not released their test results making it impossible to evaluate the sensitivity of these tests and the reliability of their findings.

I am writing to ask that you put the health of children first and immediately remove from sale all Planet Toys’ CSI: Crime Scene Investigationä Fingerprint Examination Kits until independent third party testing using the most sensitive methods available can confirm or rebut the finding of significant and potentially deadly concentrations of tremolite in this product. 

I fully recognize that retailers are not responsible for contamination in products like this.  But at the same time, retailers are uniquely positioned to take quick, proactive steps to protect the public from hazardous consumer products. In the face of strong evidence of contamination in at least a portion of this product, I urge you to act to protect children while further testing is conducted. 

The type of asbestos detected in these kits, tremolite, is one of the most lethal forms, and is the same deadly asbestos fiber contained in products made from ore mined at the notorious W.R. Grace mine in Libby, Montana. Tremolite asbestos, like that detected in the CSI: Crime Scene Investigationä Fingerprint Examination Kits, has killed scores of people in Libby, many who never worked in the mine itself. 

What is particularly troubling about this toy is that children are directed to blow the asbestos contaminated powder after dusting for fingerprints, which would make it much more likely that children playing with this toy would actually inhale potentially lethal asbestos fibers.

Any amount of this fiber in a children’s toy, particularly in a powder that is certain to be inhaled, is completely unacceptable.  A single exposure to tremolite is sufficient to cause fatal mesothelioma or lung cancer later in life.

The dangers of asbestos exposure are something I take very seriously. In fact, I authored legislation that passed the Senate unanimously earlier this year that prohibits the importation, manufacture, processing and distribution of products containing asbestos. And, under my bill this toy would not be allowed inside the United States or on a single store shelve.

While debate over exposures to some chemicals and toxics may still be ongoing, there is none when it comes to asbestos. Over 40 countries around the world have already banned asbestos.
There is a national epidemic of asbestos related diseases that claims the lives of ten thousand Americans each year, many of whom were unwittingly exposed early in life.

The possibility of exposing a single child to this deadly chemical should motivate your company to take action.

I look forward to your timely response.

Sincerely,

Patty Murray
United States Senator  

WASHINGTON D.C. – Senator Patty Murray (D-WA) praised a number of nationally known toy retailers on Friday for making the decision to stop selling a popular toy that has tested positive for asbestos. CSI: Crime Scene Investigation Fingerprint Examination Kit, made by Planet Toys, was tested by three independent asbestos testing labs as part of an 18 month investigation by the Asbestos Disease Awareness Organization. The testing showed that the white “fingerprint dust” included with the kits had high levels of tremolite asbestos in it. Tremolite asbestos is generally regarded by experts as the most deadly form of asbestos. Some experts suggest that even a single exposure to tremolite asbestos is enough to greatly increase the risk of developing mesothelioma and other lung diseases and cancers associated with asbestos.

Senator Murray is the author of the Ban Asbestos in America Act of 2007, a bill that calls for the total ban on the manufacture, processing and distribution of products containing asbestos in the United States. The bill also appropriates $50 million to the National Institute for Health for study and treatment of asbestos related diseases like mesothelioma, and the publicizing of the hazards associated with asbestos. That bill passed the U.S. Senate Committee on Environment and Public Works unanimously in August and moved on to the Senate floor. The U.S. Senate passed the bill on October 4, 2007. It is currently waiting for debate and voting in the House of Representatives. Those have not yet been scheduled.

Senator Murray was especially troubled about the fact that the instructions with the toy encourage children to blow on the contaminated dust, increasing the chances that asbestos fibers might be inhaled.

Murray became aware of the asbestos content in the toy after the ADAO and the Environmental Working Group presented her with a report from a study commissioned by ADAO in late November. After confirming that solid scientific evidence existed to show that the CSI toy contained asbestos, Senator Murray called on Planet Toys to stop sale and issue a recall of the toy, and on major toy retailers to remove the fingerprint kit from their shelves.

“Any amount of this fiber in a children’s toy, particularly in a powder that is certain to be inhaled, is completely unacceptable,” Senator Murray wrote in her letter. “A single exposure to tremolite is sufficient to cause fatal mesothelioma or lung cancer later in life.”

In the wake of her letter, sent on December 13, retailers including Toys R Us, KayBee Toys, Target and WalMart, removed the toy from their shelves. Planet Toys issued a “stop sale” order, but declined to issue a recall. The toy company has since ordered its own tests of the toy which were conducted by an independent asbestos testing lab in upstate New York. According to the company, those tests showed “NO asbestos” in any of the kits tested.

Despite the company’s assurances that the toy is safe, the State of Connecticut ordered that all retailers remove the toy from their shelves. Senator Murray advises any parents who purchased the toy to return it to the original place of purchase.