A decaying feed store in Laurel, MS recently caught fire, but no action was taken to protect townspeople from resulting asbestos debris. As a result of the negligence of the authorities in ignoring the dangers presented by the conflagration, residents of Laurel have been left furious. They believe that not much has been done to stop the spread of asbestos from the debris.
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The popular Miami Science Museum has been temporarily closed down after the discovery of a particular type of asbestos in an insulation sample taken from a mechanical room in the museum’s planetarium.
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A recent report from the Ohio Environmental Protection Agency has revealed that 37 bags of asbestos were dumped in a vacant home at Lagrange Street and 23 such bags were dropped in the Eastern part of Toledo, Ohio. Both places where the bags were dumped are working class neighborhoods. The bags are believed to have been dropped by the same individuals at both the spots.
The bags dropped at Lagrange Street were found in a vacant house while the ones dropped in East Toledo were found on St. Louis Street, near a garage, in an alley. An investigation to find the dumpers is ongoing, but it is being believed that the waste came from a big building complex that used asbestos as an insulating material. There was too much waste dumped to have come from one city home.
The Ohio Environmental Protection Agency has joined forces with law enforcement officials in the area and is looking forward to making some arrests in the case. The penalty for the dumpers can be monetary or criminal in nature. The criminals may also have to serve a jail term as dumping asbestos is a serious violation of environmental law.
Asbestos is a natural fiber, which if inhaled or ingested, can cause fatal diseases like asbestosis, lung cancer and even mesothelioma. Asbestos has been banned from use in construction though there are still many buildings which had incorporated asbestos when originally built. Demolition and renovation of buildings cause asbestos to become airborne and exposure to this substance can result in deadly diseases with a long latency period. Thus, removal of asbestos from such buildings is highly regulated and should only be performed by professionals. Awareness of the dangerous effects of improperly handled asbestos is critical and thus those who have dumped the asbestos need to be punished.
A follow-up study is to be conducted on a group of 600 people who, a decade ago, were part of a health screening in Libby, Montana. These people, age 10-19 at the time of the study, were exposed to Libby amphibole asbestos when still young. The study aims to determine potential effects of early asbestos exposure on such people.
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Re-inspection of the buildings contaminated with asbestos in Portsmouth, New Hampshire is to be conducted this month. As per the regulations of the US Environmental Protection Agency, asbestos contaminated buildings need to be re-inspected every three years. Qualified and certified asbestos inspectors will conduct the inspection. After the results are analyzed by management planners, recommendations will be given to the city so that the buildings contaminated with asbestos can be managed safely and efficiently.
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Researchers with Somalogic, Inc. have recently developed new technology that may enable oncologists to earlier diagnose two types of rare cancer, mesothelioma and pancreatic cancer. The test has thus far proven to be highly accurate, measuring changes in the blood that detect mesothelioma in its earliest stages, when treatment is expected to be more successful.
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Following the violation of Massachusetts state asbestos regulations at one of the company’s earlier work facilities, the Delaware based Life Technologies Corporation will now have to pay a $7,940 penalty. The penalty has been ordered by the Department of Environmental Protection in Massachusetts (MassDEP).
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Floods in the Sumas River Valley in January last year caused havoc for the residents of Washington. After-effects of the flood are still lingering. The debris left for yards alongside the river is reportedly contaminated with asbestos up to a level as high as 27%, and has thus raised an asbestos scare in the city. The debris has been found along the river all the way up into Canada.
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If you are suffering from mesothelioma, pain management is one of the most important aspects of your treatment. And, although mesothelioma-related pain cannot always be relieved completely, much progress has been made in understanding and treating pain over the past few decades. Researchers have identified pain receptors and clarified the pain signal process when transmitted to the brain. Now there are several different types of therapy that can lessen the pain of mesothelioma.
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Although the majority of those diagnosed with mesothelioma are told their survival rate is less than one year upon diagnosis, stories of patients living beyond their original prognosis are continuing to surface. Every survivor story that comes to light gives current mesothelioma sufferers a little more hope for the future. One Mesothelioma survivor, Janelle Bedel, is raising awareness of the disease with her own success story.
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