Archive for the ‘Idaho’ Category

Burley, Idaho – An old processing plant in Burley, Idaho’s West Main Street will undergo a Phase I environmental study to determine the nature and extent of the plant’s environmental problems. The plant is expected to be contaminated with significant amounts of asbestos, and perhaps other potentially toxic substances as well.

The plant is currently owned by J.R. Simplot C. A company with planned premises nearby the plant site, High Desert Milk, Inc., plans to buy the old processing plant, and has requested the environmental study be carried out before it purchases the property.

High Desert Milk wants the plant so it can gain access to an industrial sewer line that connects to an industrial wastewater treatment plant. The company needs access to the sewer line before it begins operating, which is scheduled to happen in June.

Although the city of Burley had originally planned to buy the Simplot land itself, it’s happy to let High Desert Milk do so.

The High Desert Milk Company has expressed an intention to donate the Simplot property to the city once it has gained ownership. High Desert Milk wants the property simply because it needs quick access to the sewer line, and can buy the property more quickly than the city can. With operation scheduled to commence in June it doesn’t want to wait to obtain the property.

The Phase I environmental study for the Simplot property will cost an estimated $6,225, and is being paid for by the city of Burley.  Mayor Jon Anderson says that paying for the study is in the best interests of the city, because it will give a good indication as to how much asbestos is present on the site, and how much an asbestos abatement project would cost.

Anderson said that the possibility of the gift is a valuable one, but he doesn’t want the city to take it without a good idea of what it’s getting.

Asbestos abatement is an expensive business, and many older industrial plants contain large amounts of the toxic substance. Asbestos abatement projects in large industrial locations can potentially cost hundreds of thousands of dollars.

Asbestos was widely used in industrial plants because it provided cheap, effective insulation and fire resistance. In a processing plant it may be located in insulation and any locations where protection from heat is needed, such as near furnaces and boilers, and in moving parts of machinery.

Albion, Idaho – Both asbestos and lead have been found at Albion Normal School, in Albion, Idaho. This story is somewhat different, however—the school has been closed since 1971. Albion Normal School originally opened in 1894, and is one of the state’s oldest schools.

Recent investigation by the Idaho Department of Environmental Quality found that asbestos was present in four buildings on campus, and that both asbestos and lead were present in soil surrounding five buildings.

Even though the school is no longer in use, the asbestos and lead still present a health hazard. A campus museum is present on the site, and social events and track meets have been held there. Some campus buildings have been broken into several times. All of these activities might present health risks to people in or near the buildings, due to the presence of asbestos and lead.

According to the DEQ report, “Based on known concentrations, there is the potential for workers and those people visiting the site to be exposed to lead from dust.”

The report also speculates on how lead (which was likely present in old paint and roofing materials) may have gotten outside. It suggests that people tracked the lead to outside locations, or that rain run-off from the roof leaked into surrounding soil. Asbestos was used in insulation in several of the school’s buildings.

Exposure to lead can cause developmental and learning disabilities. Exposure to asbestos is known to cause mesothelioma, a highly aggressive type of cancer that usually develops in the lining of the lungs up to six decades after exposure to inhalable asbestos.

The school was brought from the city last year, and is now owned by two developers, Troy and Kent Mortensen. The new owners are working with the DEQ to remove the contaminating asbestos and lead and make the school safe for use again. Some asbestos has already been removed from the buildings, and the lead is scheduled to be removed by July.

According to owner Kent Mortensen, “Just the general cleanup of debris is pretty much done. By the first part of summer, all the material that is a hazardous substance will be removed.”

The new owners of the school plan to develop it into a “retreat” for corporate getaways, family reunions, and similar events. DEQ’s Brownfields Revitalization provided grant money to help pay for the costs of cleaning up the site. The site owners may be reimbursed up to 70% of their cleanup costs, which are estimated to total more than $44,000.

MADISON COUNTY, Illinois - Madison County has long been known in the world of asbestos litigation for the large number of asbestos and mesothelioma lawsuits filed in the Madison County District Courts, but that trend had reversed itself over the past few years. However, the trend appears to be turning again. In the five days between March 13 and March 18, attorneys filed a record 20 asbestos lawsuits, the largest number of asbestos-related suits filed in the county in over two years.

Of the 20 cases filed, only four plaintiffs reside in Illinois, and of those four, two live outside the county - one in Chicago and one in Bloomington.

The upswing in asbestos filings is good for the county. The lawsuits represent over $129,997 in filing fees, jury demands and answer fees to be paid to the Circuit Clerk’s Office.
The following cases were filed during the five day filing period:

- Marcella Waters of Nebraska filed suit claiming that she was exposed to asbestos while working as a secretary from 1946 through 1947, and on the clothing of her husband, who worked for various companies as a laborer. Waters was diagnosed with mesothelioma on December 6.

- Mary Hazelrigg of Indiana was diagnosed with mesothelioma on October 6, 2006 and died of it on April 2, 2007. Her estate claims that Hazelrigg was exposed to asbestos while working as a welder assistant during the 1970s, as well as from the clothing of her ex-husband, who worked as a laborer.

- Darrel Henderson of Kansas City, Kansas worked around and with asbestos during his career in the U.S. Navy. He claims that his lung cancer was caused by occupational exposure in the course of his work as a printer and concrete laborer.

- Nancy Foster worked around asbestos as a laborer and hotel housekeeper from 19675-1975. Her estate claims that she died of lung cancer as a result of her exposure on the job.

- Edward Kronsperger was diagnosed with mesothelioma on January 22. His suit claims that he was exposed to asbestos during his tenure in the Navy, and during his work as a material handler and maintenance man from 1960 to 1985, and on the clothing of his father when he was a child.

- James Price was diagnosed with lung cancer just prior to his death on June 17, 2007. His estate has filed suit against numerous employers and suppliers, claiming that his exposure to asbestos while working with and around it was responsible for his lung cancer.

- William Yeager was diagnosed with mesothelioma on December 7, 2007. His suit claims that he was exposed to asbestos during his career as a boilermaker in various locations around the U.S.

- Forest Bateman was diagnosed with mesothelioma January 10. His lawsuit claims that he suffered occupational exposure to asbestos during his duties as a machinist, x-ray technician and dairy farmer, as well as on the clothing of his wife, who worked on the assembly line at General Motors.

- Nina Anderson was diagnosed with mesothelioma on November 5, 2007. Her lawsuit claims that she was exposed to asbestos while working as a waitress, laborer, key punch operator and secretary, as well as to asbestos that was carried home from work on her ex-husband’s clothing.

- Daniel Malcolm was diagnosed with mesothelioma on March 13, 2006. The suit filed by his estate claims that he was exposed to asbestos while working as a teacher from 1965 through 1994, and during his work in a foundry in the summer of 1964.

- Larry Marlow was diagnosed with mesothelioma on June 22, 2007. He claims he was exposed to asbestos during his 41 years of working as a laborer.

- Doyle Clanton died of mesothelioma. His estate filed suit claiming that his death was the result of exposure to asbestos while working as a machinist from 1956 to 1990.

- Lois Nisi also died of mesothelioma. Her estate has filed suit claiming that her death was the result of exposure to asbestos in various products during her work as a machinist.

- Gloria LaBarge was diagnosed with mesothelioma on March 27, 2007. Her suit claims that she was exposed to asbestos while working in various occupations from 1968 through 2008.

- Roy Brown was diagnosed with mesothelioma on December 6, 2007. His estate claims that his illness was caused by working with and around asbestos from 1972 to 1974 as a laborer in Indiana an Illinois

- John Bariringer was diagnosed with mesothelioma on June 6, 2007. He claims that his disease was caused by exposure to asbestos at the Great Lakes Naval Base in Illinois in 1946 and 1947, and from exposure to asbestos during the course of his occupation in the management of computers from 1955 to 1991.

- Dolores Joppa was diagnosed with mesothelioma on September 20, 2007. She claims that she was exposed to asbestos via secondhand exposure on the clothing of her husband who worked with and around asbestos, and in the course of her work duties with Western Electric and with Phillips Oil.

- Frederick Shuberg was diagnosed with mesothelioma on August 6, 2007. His suit claims that he was exposed to asbestos while working as a technician from 1964 to 2004.

- Lawrence Schmidt was diagnosed with colon cancer, and claims that it is the result of working with asbestos as a painter with the Venice Public School System and other employers.

- Charles Lampin was diagnosed with esophageal cancer in December 2007. His estate has filed suit claiming that his cancer was caused by exposure to asbestos whlle he was in the U.S. Navy and during his work as an electrician.

March 21, 2008, Madison County, Illinois – Over the past few years, asbestos cases had dropped off in Madison County. This week, however, that all changed, as twenty asbestos-related lawsuits were filed between March 13 and March 18.

That’s a total of 1,036 summonses being sent to defendants in the suits, and a total of $129,997 in fees paid to the Madison County Circuit Clerk’s Office.

March 13

* Marcella Walters (Nebraska) was diagnosed with mesothelioma in 2007 and claims she was exposed to asbestos between 1946 and 1977 while working as a secretary. She also claims she received secondary exposure from her husband’s work clothes.

* The estate of Mary Hazelrigg (Indiana) claims she was exposed during the 1970s while working as a welder’s assistant, and via secondary exposure from her ex-husband’s clothing. She died in April 2007 after being diagnosed with mesothelioma in October 2006.

* Darrel Henderson (Kansas) claims he has lung cancer that developed as a result of asbestos exposure during his service in the US Navy. He was diagnosed in 2007.

* The estate of Nancy Foster claims her lung cancer developed following asbestos exposure during the 1960s and 1970s while working as a laborer and housekeeper.

* Edward Kronsperger, diagnosed with mesothelioma in January 2008, claims he developed the disease as a result of asbestos exposure while in service to the US Navy.

* The estate of James Price (Tennessee) claims he developed lung cancer as a result of asbestos exposure while working for Texaco, Shell Oil, Amoco, Anheuser-Busch, Chrysler and American Zinc between 1964 and 1993.

March 14

* William Yeager (Missouri) claims his mesothelioma developed following asbestos exposure during his career as a boilermaker.

* Forrest Bateman (Idaho) developed mesothelioma, allegedly following work as a dairy farmer, machinist, and x-ray technician, between 1949 and 1990. He also claims to have suffered secondary exposure from his wife’s work clothes.

* Nina Anderson (Illinois) claims her mesothelioma developed from a mixture of occupational and secondary asbestos exposure from her husband’s work clothes.

* The Estate of Daniel Malcolm claims he died of mesothelioma caused by asbestos exposure that occurred during his career as a teacher and foundry-worker.

March 17

* Larry Marlow (Texas) was diagnosed with mesothelioma in 2007, following a 41 year career working as a laborer.

* The estate of Doyle Clayton claims his mesothelioma developed after working as a machinist between 1956 and 1990.

* The estate of Lois Nisi claims her mesothelioma developed as a result of asbestos exposure that occurred during her 48-year machinist career.

* Gloria LaBargage (California) claims she developed mesothelioma as a result of asbestos exposure that occurred after 1968.

* Roy Brown (Indiana), diagnosed with mesothelioma in 2007, claims his disease results from asbestos exposure during his work as a laborer between 1972 and 1974.

March 18

* John Barringer (Pennsylvania) was diagnosed with mesothelioma in 2007 and claims it’s the result of exposure that may have occurred while in service to the US Navy or during his time as a computer manager in Pennsylvania.

* Dolores Joppa (Arkansas) claims her mesothelioma is the result of both primary and secondary asbestos exposure.

* The estate of Frederick Shuberg claims he died from mesothelioma as a result of asbestos exposure that occurred from 1964 during the deceased’s work as a technician.

* Lawrence Schmidt claims his colon cancer developed as a result working with asbestos during his work as a painter.

* The estate of Charles Lampin, Sr. claims his esophageal cancer occurred as a result of asbestos exposure.