Archive for June, 2008

Clay County school leaders have decided to take an important step in protecting the health of students, by having asbestos removed from Keystone Elementary School.

Ross Tholand, of Clay County Schools said, “We’re removing some transite-paneled walls and replacing those with concrete-block walls and new doors.” Transite is a type of paneled wall product which contains asbestos.

Due to the health risks involved in asbestos exposure, work with or around the substance is tightly regulated and there are several laws and requirements that control how asbestos-containing materials and buildings must be handled. These requirements tend to significantly increase the costs of any renovation or demolition involving asbestos. In the case of the Keystone Elementary School and other buildings which contain asbestos materials, two factors can significantly increase the costs.

The first is that the asbestos must be treated with extreme caution, and special procedures must be used when handling or removing the substance. This requires licensed professionals who are trained to handle asbestos, and often means tight school budgets are stretched even further by the need to hire licensed asbestos contractors.

The second factor is that disposal of asbestos-containing construction waste is up to three times more expensive than disposal of non-hazardous waste, due to the necessity of disposing of the material at a landfill that is equipped to handle hazardous materials. If asbestos waste must be removed, its disposal pushes up the costs of renovations hugely.

The issue of asbestos in schools is likely to become an increasingly widespread problem. Asbestos was used in a variety of building materials between the 1940s and 1980s, due to the substance’s excellence as a fire-retardant, insulator, and acoustic barrier. As asbestos-containing materials age, repairs and renovations may cause disturbance to asbestos materials. These types of disturbances can potentially present a health hazard if proper procedures are not followed to limit exposure.

To deal with asbestos in schools, the EPA requires that all schools that contain asbestos maintain a management plan that details the location of asbestos, its condition, and the measures taken to prevent exposure. In schools where asbestos is present, parents and school employees can request to see a copy of the asbestos management plan at any time.

All friable asbestos has already been removed from Keystone Elementary School, according to Ross Tholand, and the non-friable asbestos which remains is inspected annually. “These [non-friable asbestos materials] are perfectly harmless as long as you don’t take a sand belt and sander to them or drill into them and create a dust. If you create a dust, then you have a friable product, and that’s a little different,” said Tholand.

Parents are pleased that the work is being done during the summer vacation, and that the asbestos is being removed before it becomes a problem, rather than in the future.

Clay County school leaders have decided to take an important step in protecting the health of students, by having asbestos removed from Keystone Elementary School.

Ross Tholand, of Clay County Schools said, “We’re removing some transite-paneled walls and replacing those with concrete-block walls and new doors.” Transite is a type of paneled wall product which contains asbestos.

Due to the health risks involved in asbestos exposure, work with or around the substance is tightly regulated and there are several laws and requirements that control how asbestos-containing materials and buildings must be handled. These requirements tend to significantly increase the costs of any renovation or demolition involving asbestos. In the case of the Keystone Elementary School and other buildings which contain asbestos materials, two factors can significantly increase the costs.

The first is that the asbestos must be treated with extreme caution, and special procedures must be used when handling or removing the substance. This requires licensed professionals who are trained to handle asbestos, and often means tight school budgets are stretched even further by the need to hire licensed asbestos contractors.

The second factor is that disposal of asbestos-containing construction waste is up to three times more expensive than disposal of non-hazardous waste, due to the necessity of disposing of the material at a landfill that is equipped to handle hazardous materials. If asbestos waste must be removed, its disposal pushes up the costs of renovations hugely.

The issue of asbestos in schools is likely to become an increasingly widespread problem. Asbestos was used in a variety of building materials between the 1940s and 1980s, due to the substance’s excellence as a fire-retardant, insulator, and acoustic barrier. As asbestos-containing materials age, repairs and renovations may cause disturbance to asbestos materials. These types of disturbances can potentially present a health hazard if proper procedures are not followed to limit exposure.

To deal with asbestos in schools, the EPA requires that all schools that contain asbestos maintain a management plan that details the location of asbestos, its condition, and the measures taken to prevent exposure. In schools where asbestos is present, parents and school employees can request to see a copy of the asbestos management plan at any time.

All friable asbestos has already been removed from Keystone Elementary School, according to Ross Tholand, and the non-friable asbestos which remains is inspected annually. “These [non-friable asbestos materials] are perfectly harmless as long as you don’t take a sand belt and sander to them or drill into them and create a dust. If you create a dust, then you have a friable product, and that’s a little different,” said Tholand.

Parents are pleased that the work is being done during the summer vacation, and that the asbestos is being removed before it becomes a problem, rather than in the future.

The ASARCO trial is almost over, and an enormous number of environmental and asbestos-related lawsuit claims could depend on its outcome.

Closing arguments will be given on Thursday June 12, for the case in which Arizona-based mining company ASARCO alleges that its parent company, Grupo Mexico, systematically stripped its assets and left behind little more than a shell.

Grupo Mexico is a mining conglomerate headed by Chairman and Chief Executive German Larrea Mota-Velasco. The company is the world’s third largest producer of copper, and has mining interests in several South American locations.

ASARCO filed for bankruptcy in 2005, and during the process a bankruptcy judge removed Grupo Mexico’s control over the company due to allegations that the parent company was stripping ASARCO’s assets in an attempt to protect those assets from asbestos and environmental liability claims.

Among ASARCO’s claims are that Grupo Mexico knew it faced potential liabilities of more than $1 billion when it acquired the ASARCO company in 1999, and also that the parent company knew it might also shoulder the responsibility of cleaning up to twenty Superfund sites.

In addition, ASARCO claims that Grupo Mexico stripped the subsidiary of assets, including Peruvian copper mines that ASARCO once had a significant stake in and were the company’s most significant asset. ASARCO claims the parent company did this to prevent the mines being used to pay ASARCO’s creditors.

ASARCO also claims that Grupo Mexico used the fact that it controlled all the parties in the transaction to its own advantage, because it allowed the parent company to underpay ASARCO for the mines.

ASARCO’s legal battle began Monday May 12, with the beginning of a multi-billion dollar civil lawsuit against Grupo Mexico. Among those who testified at the trial was German Larrea Mota-Velasco, who repeatedly denied wanting the Andes copper mines in question, and who stated that he had never intended ASARCO should be forced into bankruptcy.

The outcome of this civil case will likely determine whether or not many of ASARCO’s creditors—including contaminated sites in many western states, as well as bond creditors and former employees and others suffering from asbestos-related diseases that the company is liable for—will see any money when the company emerges from bankruptcy. Some estimates say that ASARCO is responsible for tens of billions of dollars worth of liability, including several billion dollars worth of claims relating to exposure to toxins such as asbestos and lead.

A federal bankruptcy judge has decided that bankrupt copper mining company ASARCO has until July 2 to organize its Chapter 11 reorganization plan. Currently it’s thought likely that the plan will include the sale of its working assets to Sterlite Industries Ltd for $2.6 billion.

ASARCO, which has billions of dollars worth of asbestos and other environmental liabilities, had originally asked to be given until August 1 to organize the plan, but Judge Richard Schmidt decided on the July 2 deadline.

After the deadline passes, outside parties, including ASARCO’s parent company Grupo Mexico, will be allowed to propose plans. Grupo Mexico has put in an unofficial offer of $2.7 billion for the company, having lost control during bankruptcy proceedings.

Grupo Mexico is a mining conglomerate headed by Chairman and Chief Executive German Larrea Mota-Velasco. The company is the world’s third largest producer of copper, and has mining interests in several South American locations.

Sterlite, a subsidiary of Vedanta Resources Ltd, is an India-based copper, zinc and aluminum producer and. The company was the winning bidder at the ASARCO auction in May.

At this stage, however, it’s unclear as to whether ASARCO will sell to Sterlite or to its former parent. ASARCO management is at odds with its former parent for many reasons, which may preclude a Grupo Mexico sale. However, if the Sterlite sale is rejected by ASARCO’s bankruptcy judge it may allow Grupo Mexico a real chance at reacquiring control over its former subsidiary.

ASARCO filed for bankruptcy in 2005, and during the process a bankruptcy judge removed Grupo Mexico’s control over the company due to allegations that the parent company was stripping ASARCO’s assets in an attempt to protect those assets from asbestos and environmental liability claims.

One of those assets was the Peruvian copper mine which was ASARCO’s most valuable asset, arguably the main reason for Grupo Mexico acquiring the company.

Among ASARCO’s claims are that Grupo Mexico systematically stripped the subsidiary of assets, including Peruvian copper mines that ASARCO once had a significant stake in and were the company’s most significant asset. ASARCO claims that Grupo Mexico did this to prevent the mines being used to pay ASARCO’s creditors.

ASARCO also claims that Grupo Mexico had full knowledge of the company’s billions of dollars worth of liabilities when it acquired the company. Grupo Mexico has denied the charges in the recent month-long trial which ended last week. A ruling on the case, in which ASARCO has asked for the return of $11.3 billion in assets, is expected some time during the summer.

Pharmaceutical company Merck & Co., Inc. this week released an announcement about its international trial of chemotherapy agent Vorinostat (Zolinza®) in people with advanced malignant pleural mesothelioma. The company says it has recently progressed to Phase III clinical trials, and is currently accepting patients for enrollment.

Vorinostat (Zolinza®) is an anticancer drug called an HDAC inhibitor. It works by inhibiting activity of enzymes called HDAC1, HDAC2, HDAC3 (Class 1) and HDAC 6 (Class II). In some cancer cells, excess amounts of the HDAC enzymes prevent normal cellular activity. In past in vitro studies, Zolinza® has decreased the amount of HDAC in cells, and this is believed to slow or stop the growth of cancer cells. However, the exact way in which Zolinza® works is not yet fully understood.

Currently the data obtained from the study remains blind to both investigators and Merck company researchers. The decision to move to Phase III trials has come from a review by the study’s independent Data Safety and Monitoring Board of safety and efficacy data from Phase II trials.

The Vorinostat study is a randomized double-blind placebo-controlled trial, and is designed to determine the efficacy and safety of the drug when taken orally. Vorinostat is being compared to “best supportive care” plus a placebo drug. Patients admitted into the study have advanced pleural mesothelioma and have either failed or are intolerant to chemotherapy in the past.

Phase III clinical trials will enroll up to 660 participants, from a variety of locations including the United States, Belgium, Germany, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Spain, Sweden and the United Kingdom.

Eric Rubin, M.D., vice president, oncology clinical research, Merck Research Laboratories, says, “With no currently approved regimens for relapsed or refractory mesothelioma, continued research focused on identifying targeted therapies and differentiated approaches is critical. We are pleased that the investigation of vorinostat for the treatment of advanced mesothelioma has advanced into Phase III development and look forward to the results of this now expanded trial.”

The Phase III trial will examine safety and toxicity issues as well as the effects of the drug on mean survival time of patients with advanced pleural mesothelioma. Other factors which will be examined include the duration of any positive response to the drug and progression-free survival time.

People interested in participating in the trial can call toll-free 1-866-890-6619 (in the U.S.) and 1-888-577-8839 (outside of the U.S.) or visit www.merckcancertrials.com for further information.

Jamestown, California - Jamestown, California officials have a plant to use soil from the Jamestown Mine site to help close the Jamestown Landfill.

The plan has received approval from the advisory Jamestown Area Planning Commission and will go before the Tuolumne County Board of Supervisors for final approval in June, but some residents are concerned about the possibility of asbestos contamination occurring during the soil switch.

The plan is part of the county’s efforts to avoid fines of up to $10,000 per day by meeting a state-mandated deadline to close the old Jamestown Landfill site as soon as possible. In order to avoid paying hefty fines the work has to be started by July 1 and completed by December 31, 2008.

To be able to close the landfill, the plan is to remove 41,500 cubic yards of soil from the Jamestown Mine site, which is owned by the county.

The mine is just three miles away from the landfill, and Tuolumne County Geographic Information Systems coordinator Larry Beil says using the soil from the mine could save as much as $300,000 on the costs of soil and transporting it to the landfill. The soil will be taken from piles of soil that were removed from the mine site before the mining began.

Deputy County Administrator Daniel Richardson believes it’s good for taxpayers, but Jamestown resident Joan Gorsuch is worried about using soil from the mine due to the possibility of some type of contamination occurring.

Her main concern is that asbestos may be released into the air. Asbestos is naturally present in the soil at the mine site. The substance is present in a large amount of the earth’s crust in very low concentrations, but there are asbestos deposits present in many locations where the concentration is much higher.

Asbestos is dangerous when fibers become airborne, as they can then be inhaled into the lungs. Over time, asbestos embedded in the lungs can cause chronic lung conditions and a type of asbestos cancer called mesothelioma.

Daniel Richardson says that workers will take precautions to prevent the release of large amounts of dust into the air, just as would occur in any type of construction project. In addition, he says, the work will only be carried out during the day on weekdays.

The work is planned to start as soon as approval is obtained. The project will be completed at a cost of close to $6 million, which includes the cost of previous failed measures taken to close the dump site.

Corinth, New York - Clean up of asbestos-laden fire debris has been a week-long job in the village of Corinth, New York, where fire destroyed three businesses on the town’s main street in February.

Clean up of the burned-out building sites began on Thursday and could be finished as early as Monday, says site supervisor for Rensselaer-based BCL Services Inc, Brian Hladik.

The presence of asbestos in the burned buildings has increased the cost of the clean up somewhat. Asbestos was a common addition to many different types of construction materials up until the 1980s. Cheap, light, durable and highly fire resistant, asbestos was typically considered something of a “wonder mineral” and was used in appliances, fire-resistant protective fabric, and many other items in addition to construction materials.

However, many businesses and home-owners and workers are now paying the price, due not only to the high cost of asbestos abatement and removal, but also to the personal costs of asbestos exposure, in the form of chronic lung diseases and asbestos cancer.

Cleaning up a burned out building which contains asbestos construction materials is a difficult and time-consuming-not to mention expensive-process due to the precautions which must be taken to protect workers and the public from asbestos exposure, and to prevent the release of asbestos fibers into the environment.

Asbestos fibers are considered safe as long as they are trapped within the matrix of construction materials such as cement products and plasters. However, damage such as remodeling, demolition, and fire damage breaks up construction materials and can potentially release large amounts of inhalable asbestos fibers into the air.

For workers involved in cleaning up the three Main Street businesses in Corinth, that means extra precautions taken to prevent asbestos exposure and release of asbestos fibers.

For the business owners, that means extra expenses incurred in clean up, due not only to the measures that must be taken on site, but also because disposal of asbestos containing waste is around three times more expensive than disposal of non-hazardous waste.

Luckily for these business owners, the clean up has been partly funded by a “small cities” grant which was given to the village. In mid-May, members of the Village Board voted to help the owners of the businesses clean up the sites by providing a subsidy of $74,000.

The Whisnant Vs DuPont case may be back to square one, as Judge Donald Floyd has agreed that the case should be retried.

During February and March, the jury in a six-week asbestos trial listened to plaintiff claims that Willis Whisnant had developed mesothelioma as a result of negligence on the part of contractual employer DuPont. The jury decided in favor of the defendant. Now, the plaintiff’s attorney, Glen Morgan, is asking that the verdict be set aside and a new trial granted.

The case was filed by Caryl Richardson representing the estate of Willis Whisnant, who died in 1999 at 72, after being diagnosed with mesothelioma. During the trial, the jury heard that Whisnant had been a B.F. Shaw pipefitter in 1966 and had been contracted to work at DuPont. The plaintiff attorney argued that Whisnant had negligently and maliciously been exposed to asbestos.

However, on March 25 the jury returned their verdict, which effectively found that DuPont was not guilty of negligence.

Plaintiff attorney Glen Morgan subsequently filed a Plaintiff’s Motion for a New Trial, stating that the jury’s decision was “contrary to the overwhelming weight and preponderance of the evidence.” The sixteen-page motion argued that the jury may have been unduly influenced by an online and print publication, “The Southeast Texas Record,” which publishes articles about local court events.

Morgan claimed that the newspaper, which is owned by the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, deliberately publishes “anti-plaintiff propaganda,” and that articles about the Whisnant trial which were clearly favorable to DuPont may have contributed to the jury’s decision.

The plaintiff’s attorney cited a specific instance in which the Southeast Texas Record described evidence that presiding Judge Floyd had ruled was not admissible. Morgan argued that any juror reading that article would have learned information that had been excluded from the trial, and may have been unduly influenced to decide in favor of DuPont as a result.

DuPont defense attorney M.C. Carrington defended the jury’s verdict, saying that “…the jury had every reason to reach the decision that they did. There is not any way that the court will find that there is insufficient evidence to support the jury finding.” Carrington also said that there was not enough evidence to determine whether or not the jury was unduly influenced by The Southeast Texas Record’s coverage of the trial.

Judge Donald Floyd evidently agrees with Glen Morgan, but in his two-paragraph decision, the judge did not give any reason for his ruling.

Biotechnology company MolMed has issued a press release stating that it will present key findings about two ongoing Phase II trials with Arenegyr at the next American Society of Clinical Oncology Annual Meeting. The results will be presented at the meeting over June 1 and June 2.

MolMed is a biotech company which focuses on research and development of new anti-tumor therapy. Arenegyr is one a relatively new class of anti-cancer drug called a “vascular targeting agent.” These types of drugs selectively target the vascular system of tumors, and prevent cancer cells from receiving vital blood, oxygen, and nutrients. Arenegyr is currently undergoing clinical trials both as a single chemotherapy agent and in combination with different drugs. The new chemotherapy drug is being trialed for mesothelioma and colorectal cancer treatment.

MolMed has said in poster sessions that their preliminary results show that Arenegyr has demonstrated both safety and efficacy, has promising survival rates, and may provide substantial clinical benefit. In addition, the drug appears to have low toxicity.

In the company’s malignant plural mesothelioma trial, Arenegyr was tested as a “second line therapy” in patients who had received prior chemotherapy treatment. MolMed claims its results show that 41 patients in the trial have overall improved survival rates, and almost doubled progression-free survival rates.

Malignant plural mesothelioma is a type of asbestos cancer which develops in the lining of the lungs as a result of exposure to asbestos. The cancer is relatively rare but highly lethal, as the cancer is both aggressive and resistant to treatment.

The company has also trialed Arenegyr for the treatment of colorectal cancer, which has a variety of different causes, one of which is known to be asbestos exposure. Colorectal cancer is the third most common cancer in the world, with one million new cases diagnosed every year, and is the second most common cause of cancer deaths in the Western world. Most patients with advanced colorectal cancer develop resistance to commonly-used therapies, and there is therefore a strong need for new treatments.

MolMed’s colorectal cancer study included 43 patients, all of whom had received other types of prior treatments which had all failed. MolMed claims the preliminary data shows a fifty percent relative improved overall survival rate.

Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of MolMed Claudio Bordignon said of the results, “These encouraging preliminary results provide further evidence to support our program of full clinical development of Arenegyr in both indications.”

Washtenaw County, Michigan - An effort to restore an old Navy ship is being delayed due to money shortages. The high cost of restoration includes money for asbestos abatement, as the substance was heavily used in Navy vessels during much of the twentieth century.

The ship in question is the USS Washtenaw County, which served in the Vietnam War. The ship is currently docked on the Columbia River downstream from Rainier, Oregon. Due to environmental concerns, such as the presence of asbestos on the ship, it can’t be towed to sea and sunk, and due to money shortages, restoration can’t be completed.

The USS Washtenaw County is the only Navy ship which bears that name. The vessel is an LST, a flat-bottomed ship designed to effectively navigate rivers, and land on beaches when troops or equipment need unloading. She earned more than twenty distinctions for her Vietnam War service, including earned 13 battle stars, two Presidential Unit Citations, two Navy Unit Commendations, and four Meritorious Unit Commendations.

Walt James of Portland, Oregon is a member of the company which owns the ship. He says the chances of restoration being completed are slim, to the projected cost of the project, which could be as high as one million dollars. Currently the restoration fund totals just $14,000.

Since the USS Washtenaw County was decommissioned in 1973, she has been bought and resold a number of times. It was finally purchased by the Amphibious Forces Memorial Museum in Vancouver, Wash., in 2005, a partnership comprising Walt James and two associates. They had planned to restore the ship, but the unexpectedly high cost, together with the problems caused by theft and damage to the ship, has prevented the project from moving ahead.

Much of the current trouble is due to the theft of valuable metal from the ship with around $100,000, and damage to the ship’s engine room caused by the thieves. In addition, there is asbestos and other toxins present on the ship, which contributes to the high cost restoration.

Walt James has already put $20,000 of his own money into the fund, and says the Oregon Department of Environmental Quality is now pressuring him to move the ship from its current location on the Columbia River.

However, the Coast Guard is telling him exactly the opposite: that the presence of asbestos, PCBs, and oil on the ship means it can’t be moved. The EPA has also told him that the ship can’t be sunk at sea due to the presence of those toxins.