Morrison-Clark, a flooring company in South Barre, Vermont, is back in the spotlight again for its improper 2008 removal of asbestos-containing flooring prior to installing a new floor at Main Street Middle School in Montpelier.
The remodeling project was shut down and the school closed when an engineer with the Vermont Department of Health saw workers using the mechanical chippers to remove old floor tiles, in violation of Clean Air Act rules.
Demolition practices regarding asbestos-containing materials are regulated under NESHAP (National Emissions Standards for Hazardous Air Pollutants). This regulation classifies many resilient flooring materials made during most of the last century as Category I materials, and stipulates very specific methods for their removal.
Asbestos in domestic materials manufacture was limited in 1989, by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), to one percent or less by weight (or volume), but flooring materials made up to 1970 can still contain considerable amounts of asbestos and fall under Category I stipulations.
A recent ruling by the EPA notes that Morrison-Clark failed to: provide advance written notice (typically 10 working days); wet the removed tiles to prevent asbestos fibers entering the air; handle and dispose of the asbestos-containing waste in the specified manner. These violations could result in fines of up to $32,500 per day.
Asbestos is implicated in a number of diseases, including asbestosis, lung and digestive system cancers, and mesothelioma. Asbestosis is generally acquired only after long exposure, but cancers can result from a single exposure. In the case of mesothelioma, that single exposure can lead to a malignant tumor of the mesothelial lining (of the lungs, heart or abdomen) which, after three to five decades, finally invades so much vital tissue that the only prognosis is death within about a year. In about 10 percent of cases, earlier detection and aggressive treatments involving surgery and chemotherapy can lead to a life expectancy of up to five years.
The flooring company already faces a civil suit, filed by the Montpelier School District, which attempts to recoup costs incurred as a result of the company's reportedly improper procedures. The school district charges that it paid out an additional $50,300 to two asbestos remediation firms as a result of Morrison-Clark's work, and an estimated $38,000 in additional miscellaneous costs. These costs have not been explicated, but the fact that the flooring episode delayed school opening (from August 28 to Sept. 2) could account for some of the $38,000. Civil charges against the flooring firm include neglect, breach of contract and fraud. That suit is still pending.
Morrison Clark's lawyer, David Bond, says the company has consistently contested the allegations by both the school district and the Vermont Department of Health, and has requested a hearing. The company insists that its workers followed state regulations - including the use of the mechanical chipper, wetting asbestos and disposing of it appropriately - and that no asbestos contamination was ever discovered as a result of its activities. In addition, Bond asserts that the materials involved in the removal and cleanup aren't regulated by the EPA because of their low asbestos content.
The company has reportedly refused an offer by the EPA to settle, and Bond says he and the company have sufficient testimony to prove the tile removal did not violate any asbestos remediation standards.
If the EPA imposes the maximum penalty allowed - an estimated six-figure fine - Morrison-Clark could well be forced into bankruptcy. The only thing in the company's favor to date is the fact that the EPA agrees that no specific harm as a result of airborne asbestos was caused.
Sources: EPA, WCAX, TimesArgus
Sunday, November 29, 2009
Moline, Illinois High School Closed for Asbestos
On October 9, Fulton High School in Moline, Illinois was closed.
The school would have been closed for Columbus Day anyway, but the unexpected two-day closure was the result of a staff member removing floor tiles from a section of the shop classroom's floor, in violation of every rule the U.S. Environmental Agency, or EPA, has outlined, either through AHERA (Asbestos Hazard Emergency Response Act) regulations or NESHAP (National Emissions Standards for Hazardous Air Pollutants) requirements relating to the Clean Air Act.
The first, AHERA, outlines a protocol for the safe management of asbestos-containing materials in U.S. schools, whether public, parochial or private. One facet of that protocol involves having a management plan in place, which is disseminated annually, or as needed, to keep school staff and parents apprised. The other mandates that school maintenance staff be trained in asbestos recognition. Another important feature demands that identified or potential asbestos-containing materials be removed by certified asbestos removal personnel only.
NESHAP identifies safe asbestos removal procedures, including wetting the material, disposing of it in appropriately marked containers, and making sure it reaches a landfill designated for hazardous waste. One of the most important features of NESHAP classifies materials by category, either Category I or Category II.
Resilient flooring is a Category I material. In fact, most resilient floors manufactured during the first 75 years of the last century contain some measure of asbestos. Only after 1989, when the EPA restricted asbestos in domestic material manufacture to one percent or less by volume, have resilient floors escaped being synonymous with asbestos.
The tile removal project also forced the suspension of the homecoming football game to Erie-Prophetstown, because players were unable to access the hallway that leads to the equipment room. The floor tiles were taken out of the building that way. As a result, Fulton High School is out of the playoffs, and a great many students are disappointed.
The only good news is that school district officials are working closely with the Illinois Department of Health to make sure no traces of asbestos linger to contaminate students and staff.
Ultrafine and virtually indestructible asbestos fibers can, when inhaled or ingested, lead to a number of diseases, most notably pleural mesothelioma. This particularly virulent cancer of the lining around the lungs typically lies dormant for from three to five decades, allowing the tumor to extensively invade vital tissues. By the time pleural mesothelioma is diagnosed, most patients are given less than 18 months to live.
Air quality tests conducted by a licensed asbestos contractor on Oct. 10 revealed no asbestos. The results were available late on Monday, Oct. 12, and students returned to school on Tuesday.
The shop classroom remains sealed off with plastic sheeting and plywood, and will not be used again until the tile is completely removed. The cost of hiring a licensed contractor to perform the removal is estimated at $10,000. School officials plan to complete the project either during the evening, when students and staff are absent, or over the upcoming Thanksgiving holiday.
No mention has been made about disciplining the school employee who removed the tiles in the first place, but presumably school officials will want to make the school's AHERA plan available on a wider and timelier basis.
Sources: Quad City Times, WQAD
The school would have been closed for Columbus Day anyway, but the unexpected two-day closure was the result of a staff member removing floor tiles from a section of the shop classroom's floor, in violation of every rule the U.S. Environmental Agency, or EPA, has outlined, either through AHERA (Asbestos Hazard Emergency Response Act) regulations or NESHAP (National Emissions Standards for Hazardous Air Pollutants) requirements relating to the Clean Air Act.
The first, AHERA, outlines a protocol for the safe management of asbestos-containing materials in U.S. schools, whether public, parochial or private. One facet of that protocol involves having a management plan in place, which is disseminated annually, or as needed, to keep school staff and parents apprised. The other mandates that school maintenance staff be trained in asbestos recognition. Another important feature demands that identified or potential asbestos-containing materials be removed by certified asbestos removal personnel only.
NESHAP identifies safe asbestos removal procedures, including wetting the material, disposing of it in appropriately marked containers, and making sure it reaches a landfill designated for hazardous waste. One of the most important features of NESHAP classifies materials by category, either Category I or Category II.
Resilient flooring is a Category I material. In fact, most resilient floors manufactured during the first 75 years of the last century contain some measure of asbestos. Only after 1989, when the EPA restricted asbestos in domestic material manufacture to one percent or less by volume, have resilient floors escaped being synonymous with asbestos.
The tile removal project also forced the suspension of the homecoming football game to Erie-Prophetstown, because players were unable to access the hallway that leads to the equipment room. The floor tiles were taken out of the building that way. As a result, Fulton High School is out of the playoffs, and a great many students are disappointed.
The only good news is that school district officials are working closely with the Illinois Department of Health to make sure no traces of asbestos linger to contaminate students and staff.
Ultrafine and virtually indestructible asbestos fibers can, when inhaled or ingested, lead to a number of diseases, most notably pleural mesothelioma. This particularly virulent cancer of the lining around the lungs typically lies dormant for from three to five decades, allowing the tumor to extensively invade vital tissues. By the time pleural mesothelioma is diagnosed, most patients are given less than 18 months to live.
Air quality tests conducted by a licensed asbestos contractor on Oct. 10 revealed no asbestos. The results were available late on Monday, Oct. 12, and students returned to school on Tuesday.
The shop classroom remains sealed off with plastic sheeting and plywood, and will not be used again until the tile is completely removed. The cost of hiring a licensed contractor to perform the removal is estimated at $10,000. School officials plan to complete the project either during the evening, when students and staff are absent, or over the upcoming Thanksgiving holiday.
No mention has been made about disciplining the school employee who removed the tiles in the first place, but presumably school officials will want to make the school's AHERA plan available on a wider and timelier basis.
Sources: Quad City Times, WQAD
New York Asbestos Trial Postponed As Judge Considers Motions
In April of 2007, John F. Wood, 57, Mark Desnoyers, 52 (both of Plattsburgh, New York), and Curtis Collins, 50, of Willsboro, New York were accused of a number of illegal activities in central and upstate New York in connection with asbestos removal in public and private buildings and residences.
Desnoyers was charged with falsifying laboratory samples in order to convince clients that all asbestos had been properly removed from their premises - work that was performed under secret agreements with Wood and Collins, both owners of asbestos removal companies.
Wood's style of asbestos removal was described in an official U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) document as "directing his employees to perform ‘rip and run' asbestos removals that, rather than removing all asbestos, dispersed and left substantial quantities behind, significantly contaminating numerous businesses and homes". The EPA goes on to note that some of the asbestos removed via that process was buried on a Willsboro, New York farm, mandating Superfund intervention, and funds, to clean it up.
Asbestos, widely used in building products like insulation, floor and ceiling tiles, and mastics and caulks up until about 1970, when various health agencies began to recognize its dangers, is the leading cause of mesothelioma.
Mesothelioma is a cancer of the mesothelial tissues around the heart (pericardium), abdomen (peritoneum) and/or lungs (pleura). The most common form is pleural mesothelioma, which occurs in 75 percent of mesothelioma cases.
Pleural mesothelioma has a long dormancy period - up to five decades - during which symptoms are largely indistinguishable from allergies, immune system failures, cardiac conditions or respiratory diseases. Once diagnosed, however (usually via X-rays and blood tests), patients are commonly given between one year and 18 months to live, because the disease has invaded so many vital tissues. About 10 percent of sufferers, if diagnosed early and treated aggressively via surgery and dual chemotherapies, survive up to five years.
One week before the 2007 trial started, Wood (the owner of J&W Construction, Inc.) and Collins (the owner of Adirondack Asbestos) both pleaded guilty to violations of the Clean Air Act and mail fraud and agreed to testify against Desnoyers.
Wood, who started J&W Construction after being released from prison for unrelated felonies in 2005-06, was sentenced to four years in prison and $854,166 in fines by U.S. District Judge David Hurd on February 16 of this year. After his release, he will remain under supervision for another three years.
Collins was given two years and a fine of $114,900 for his part in the scheme, and also ordered to serve three years of supervised release.
Desnoyers, the former owner of Adirondack Environmental Associates, was convicted of conspiracy to violate the Clean Air Act, mail fraud, and false testimony to agents of the EPA.
Desnoyers has yet to be charged. On Sept. 13, after three adjournments, Desnoyers - who was supposed to have been sentenced in March - will again find himself waiting for his day in court because the judge suspended yet another trial to consider motions that might affect Desnoyer's ultimate sentence.
Legal experts suspect Desnoyers may be facing additional charges. A new trial date has not been set, but the original indictment in 2007 suggested that Desnoyers's sentencing might involve up to 25 years in jail and a fine of $1.25 million, plus restitution.
Sources: EPA, Sundance Channel, Rome Sentinel, iStockAnalyst
Desnoyers was charged with falsifying laboratory samples in order to convince clients that all asbestos had been properly removed from their premises - work that was performed under secret agreements with Wood and Collins, both owners of asbestos removal companies.
Wood's style of asbestos removal was described in an official U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) document as "directing his employees to perform ‘rip and run' asbestos removals that, rather than removing all asbestos, dispersed and left substantial quantities behind, significantly contaminating numerous businesses and homes". The EPA goes on to note that some of the asbestos removed via that process was buried on a Willsboro, New York farm, mandating Superfund intervention, and funds, to clean it up.
Asbestos, widely used in building products like insulation, floor and ceiling tiles, and mastics and caulks up until about 1970, when various health agencies began to recognize its dangers, is the leading cause of mesothelioma.
Mesothelioma is a cancer of the mesothelial tissues around the heart (pericardium), abdomen (peritoneum) and/or lungs (pleura). The most common form is pleural mesothelioma, which occurs in 75 percent of mesothelioma cases.
Pleural mesothelioma has a long dormancy period - up to five decades - during which symptoms are largely indistinguishable from allergies, immune system failures, cardiac conditions or respiratory diseases. Once diagnosed, however (usually via X-rays and blood tests), patients are commonly given between one year and 18 months to live, because the disease has invaded so many vital tissues. About 10 percent of sufferers, if diagnosed early and treated aggressively via surgery and dual chemotherapies, survive up to five years.
One week before the 2007 trial started, Wood (the owner of J&W Construction, Inc.) and Collins (the owner of Adirondack Asbestos) both pleaded guilty to violations of the Clean Air Act and mail fraud and agreed to testify against Desnoyers.
Wood, who started J&W Construction after being released from prison for unrelated felonies in 2005-06, was sentenced to four years in prison and $854,166 in fines by U.S. District Judge David Hurd on February 16 of this year. After his release, he will remain under supervision for another three years.
Collins was given two years and a fine of $114,900 for his part in the scheme, and also ordered to serve three years of supervised release.
Desnoyers, the former owner of Adirondack Environmental Associates, was convicted of conspiracy to violate the Clean Air Act, mail fraud, and false testimony to agents of the EPA.
Desnoyers has yet to be charged. On Sept. 13, after three adjournments, Desnoyers - who was supposed to have been sentenced in March - will again find himself waiting for his day in court because the judge suspended yet another trial to consider motions that might affect Desnoyer's ultimate sentence.
Legal experts suspect Desnoyers may be facing additional charges. A new trial date has not been set, but the original indictment in 2007 suggested that Desnoyers's sentencing might involve up to 25 years in jail and a fine of $1.25 million, plus restitution.
Sources: EPA, Sundance Channel, Rome Sentinel, iStockAnalyst
Brothers Face Stiff Fines, Jail Term for Illegal Asbestos Removal
Two brothers, Paul and Steven Mancuso, are accused of falsifying air quality reports regarding their asbestos removal projects in and around the town of Utica, New York. If convicted, Steven Mancuso could face up to five years in state prison and a $250,000 fine. Paul Mancuso, if convicted of operating an illegal disposal business, could be sentenced to fifty-five years in state prison and fines totaling $2.5 million.
Reports issued by the New York bureau of the U.S. Attorney's office show that the brothers, along with associates Frank Meola and Mark Yozzo, doctored the paperwork required by the Environmental Protection Agency for companies conducting asbestos abatement and cleanup projects.
Meola and Yozzo are scheduled to testify in court this week regarding the laboratory samples of air in the area that they took from the sites of demolished businesses, schools, health clinics and homes. Federal prosecutors allege that the men forged the tests in order to hide the inferior precautions taken at the locations where the Mancuso brothers' company carried out the asbestos disposal.
Craig Benedict, the federal attorney handling the prosecution, stated that Yozzo would tell the judge about how Paul Mancuso requested his help in administering air-sampling tasks tied to the company's asbestos removal projects. Benedict also said that Yozzo learned how to take the air samples as he watched Meola carry out the jobs. The problem, according to Benedict, is that Meola was not using the proper procedures for the tests, thus Yozzo never learned how to complete the tests the right way.
Prosecutors have also stated that the brothers and their alleged co-conspirators used various methods to manipulate air-testing documents required by the EPA. One particular instance shows how data written on an EPA form was covered in white correction fluid and written over by another party. Another case shows a document with a piece of paper glued over it that showed different data than the original tests. On several occasions, Yozzo's signature would appear on a document that recorded data at a test site where he was not present.
In opening statements on the case, Benedict and other prosecutors maintain that the brothers conducted asbestos remediation jobs across the area that were both illegal and unsafe. Benedict said that the case was about how the defendants continued "lying, cheating and deceiving" on a regular basis, both to government officials and to their clients with regard to asbestos levels present at the sites they worked. He also stated that Steven Mancuso, an attorney by trade, allegedly wrote falsified legal papers that hid his brother's role in the company. Paul Mancuso had been convicted in 2003 of violating the federal Clean Air Act and was prohibited from conducting asbestos removal operations.
Frank Policelli, the defense attorney for Steven Mancuso, stated his client's innocence and that no one could be certain of who was responsible for the forged documents. During opening statements, he mentioned that the jury should judge the credibility of the prosecution's witnesses and understand that "all the exhibits in the world" would not necessarily point to Steven Mancuso's guilt.
Another aspect of the trial involves Meola's campaign for Utica City Controller. Meola, a Democrat, is running against incumbent Republican Michael Cerminaro and independent Rocco Garro. Meola has not yet decided to stop his campaign and the city's Democratic Party Chairman has not released a statement. Garro called for Meola to drop out of the race due to the scandal. Voters go to the polls on November 3.
Sources: WKTV, Utica Observer-Dispatch
Reports issued by the New York bureau of the U.S. Attorney's office show that the brothers, along with associates Frank Meola and Mark Yozzo, doctored the paperwork required by the Environmental Protection Agency for companies conducting asbestos abatement and cleanup projects.
Meola and Yozzo are scheduled to testify in court this week regarding the laboratory samples of air in the area that they took from the sites of demolished businesses, schools, health clinics and homes. Federal prosecutors allege that the men forged the tests in order to hide the inferior precautions taken at the locations where the Mancuso brothers' company carried out the asbestos disposal.
Craig Benedict, the federal attorney handling the prosecution, stated that Yozzo would tell the judge about how Paul Mancuso requested his help in administering air-sampling tasks tied to the company's asbestos removal projects. Benedict also said that Yozzo learned how to take the air samples as he watched Meola carry out the jobs. The problem, according to Benedict, is that Meola was not using the proper procedures for the tests, thus Yozzo never learned how to complete the tests the right way.
Prosecutors have also stated that the brothers and their alleged co-conspirators used various methods to manipulate air-testing documents required by the EPA. One particular instance shows how data written on an EPA form was covered in white correction fluid and written over by another party. Another case shows a document with a piece of paper glued over it that showed different data than the original tests. On several occasions, Yozzo's signature would appear on a document that recorded data at a test site where he was not present.
In opening statements on the case, Benedict and other prosecutors maintain that the brothers conducted asbestos remediation jobs across the area that were both illegal and unsafe. Benedict said that the case was about how the defendants continued "lying, cheating and deceiving" on a regular basis, both to government officials and to their clients with regard to asbestos levels present at the sites they worked. He also stated that Steven Mancuso, an attorney by trade, allegedly wrote falsified legal papers that hid his brother's role in the company. Paul Mancuso had been convicted in 2003 of violating the federal Clean Air Act and was prohibited from conducting asbestos removal operations.
Frank Policelli, the defense attorney for Steven Mancuso, stated his client's innocence and that no one could be certain of who was responsible for the forged documents. During opening statements, he mentioned that the jury should judge the credibility of the prosecution's witnesses and understand that "all the exhibits in the world" would not necessarily point to Steven Mancuso's guilt.
Another aspect of the trial involves Meola's campaign for Utica City Controller. Meola, a Democrat, is running against incumbent Republican Michael Cerminaro and independent Rocco Garro. Meola has not yet decided to stop his campaign and the city's Democratic Party Chairman has not released a statement. Garro called for Meola to drop out of the race due to the scandal. Voters go to the polls on November 3.
Sources: WKTV, Utica Observer-Dispatch
Estes Park Mall Fire Brings Concerns about Asbestos
While a group of 21 specialists, scoured the wreckage of the October 19 fire that ravaged the Park Theatre Mall in Estes Park, Colorado, a canine unit from the state's investigative bureau searches, so far in vain, for the cause of the fire that devastated this historic landmark.
Twelve businesses were destroyed by the fire, including: 14er`s Cafe, the Hiking Hut, Home for the Holidays, Intrigue Gift Shop, the Last Outpost, Madam Vera, Memories Old Time Portraits, Mountain Blown Glass, the Music Box Collection, Spectrum Gallery, 110 E. Elkhorn, and the Wynbrier Wildlife Gallery.
Two other businesses not yet opened, Embroidery and Signs and Pillow Pets, will presumably have to find a new location.
The Park Theatre Mall was built in the early 1900s and served, first, as a carriage house and livery stable, then as a pottery factory. In the 1970s - when sprinkler systems weren't mandated under fire code regulations, and asbestos-containing construction materials were considered acceptable - it was remodeled to become the current mall. At that time, it housed five separate retail locations.
A Salud physician, Dr. George Crislip, said he warned officials during the fire about the danger of asbestos, both to firefighters and first responders, and to residents of Estes Park who were in the vicinity of the fire.
Asbestos was mined and used in a number of building products during most of the last century, leaving a legacy that still kills an estimated 20,000 individuals a year. The fibers, too small to be seen without an electron microscope, can be inhaled or ingested (merely by swallowing saliva) and cause irritations in the respiratory and digestive tracts.
The most dangerous form of asbestos disease is mesothelioma, a cancer of the mesothelial lining around the lungs (pleural mesothelioma), the heart (pericardial mesothelioma) and the abdomen (peritoneal mesothelioma).
Pleural mesothelioma is by far the most common form, found in 75 percent of cases. It lies dormant, sometimes as long as 50 years, producing few definitive symptoms but progressively impacting vital tissue. By the time it is diagnosed, most physicians offer patients a prognosis of between one year and 18 months to live.
As Crislip noted, it's hard to estimate how much asbestos was left behind, or actually created, during remodeling, but much of it was likely exposed by the fire and subsequent crumbling walls, collapsed roof and fire debris blown by the wind.
Calling asbestos a "hidden disaster waiting to happen", Crislip added that human exposure during and after the fire may lead to an Estes Park legacy of asbestos illnesses a few decades down the road, and urged Estes Park citizens to rethink their initiative to abolish the Estes Park Urban Renewal Authority, or EPURA - which initiative will appear on a January 2010 mail-in ballot.
The agency, Crislip noted, would be highly instrumental in asbestos remediation, if the substance was discovered in fire-related debris. EPURA Commissioner Art Blume reiterated the warning, adding that smoke plumes may have carried asbestos debris over the entire town.
Meanwhile, the fire department and canine crews continue to search for a cause of the fire, which may or not be arson-related.
Source: Estes Park Trail-Gazette
Twelve businesses were destroyed by the fire, including: 14er`s Cafe, the Hiking Hut, Home for the Holidays, Intrigue Gift Shop, the Last Outpost, Madam Vera, Memories Old Time Portraits, Mountain Blown Glass, the Music Box Collection, Spectrum Gallery, 110 E. Elkhorn, and the Wynbrier Wildlife Gallery.
Two other businesses not yet opened, Embroidery and Signs and Pillow Pets, will presumably have to find a new location.
The Park Theatre Mall was built in the early 1900s and served, first, as a carriage house and livery stable, then as a pottery factory. In the 1970s - when sprinkler systems weren't mandated under fire code regulations, and asbestos-containing construction materials were considered acceptable - it was remodeled to become the current mall. At that time, it housed five separate retail locations.
A Salud physician, Dr. George Crislip, said he warned officials during the fire about the danger of asbestos, both to firefighters and first responders, and to residents of Estes Park who were in the vicinity of the fire.
Asbestos was mined and used in a number of building products during most of the last century, leaving a legacy that still kills an estimated 20,000 individuals a year. The fibers, too small to be seen without an electron microscope, can be inhaled or ingested (merely by swallowing saliva) and cause irritations in the respiratory and digestive tracts.
The most dangerous form of asbestos disease is mesothelioma, a cancer of the mesothelial lining around the lungs (pleural mesothelioma), the heart (pericardial mesothelioma) and the abdomen (peritoneal mesothelioma).
Pleural mesothelioma is by far the most common form, found in 75 percent of cases. It lies dormant, sometimes as long as 50 years, producing few definitive symptoms but progressively impacting vital tissue. By the time it is diagnosed, most physicians offer patients a prognosis of between one year and 18 months to live.
As Crislip noted, it's hard to estimate how much asbestos was left behind, or actually created, during remodeling, but much of it was likely exposed by the fire and subsequent crumbling walls, collapsed roof and fire debris blown by the wind.
Calling asbestos a "hidden disaster waiting to happen", Crislip added that human exposure during and after the fire may lead to an Estes Park legacy of asbestos illnesses a few decades down the road, and urged Estes Park citizens to rethink their initiative to abolish the Estes Park Urban Renewal Authority, or EPURA - which initiative will appear on a January 2010 mail-in ballot.
The agency, Crislip noted, would be highly instrumental in asbestos remediation, if the substance was discovered in fire-related debris. EPURA Commissioner Art Blume reiterated the warning, adding that smoke plumes may have carried asbestos debris over the entire town.
Meanwhile, the fire department and canine crews continue to search for a cause of the fire, which may or not be arson-related.
Source: Estes Park Trail-Gazette
Sunday, November 22, 2009
Denver Water Whistleblowers Report Asbestos Dumping
Several Denver Water workers are now saying that they were ordered to illegally dump asbestos and other hazardous substances on a lot at 12th Avenue and Sheridan Street more than two decades ago.
This location, three blocks south of the city's east-west divider, Colfax Avenue, lies on the western edge of Lakewood Gulch Park, and south of Sloan's Lake Park, the city's largest water feature. A former dump site, the area includes the Dry Gulch Stream.
Denver Water, founded in 1918, is a public utility that gets its funding from new tap fees and water service charges. As Colorado's oldest water utility, it serves 1.3 million people in the metro area, and also delivers water to areas like Lakewood, Littleton, and the Valley Water District.
Providing one-third of the state's treated water supply, or about 234,000 acre-feet per year, it gets water from the South Platte River, the Blue River, the Williams Fork River, and the Fraser River, as well as South Boulder Creek, Ralston Creek and Bear Creek.
Under a conservation message designed to conserve Eastern Slope Colorado Water, Denver Water's slogan, "Use Only What You Need", suggests an environmentally friendly profile. If what Pacheco says is true, the environmental profile has suffered a serious blow.
Asbestos is a fibrous mineral widely used in construction and some automotive products during most of the last century. The fibers, too small to be seen except with an electron microscope, can be inhaled or ingested from broken material and lodge in the mesothelial tissues of the body (that is, the linings of the lungs, or pleura, the heart, or pericardium, and the abdomen, or peritoneum). Once there, they can lie dormant for decades, causing irritation and, eventually, cancer.
Because of its long dormancy and extensive invasion of vital tissues, pleural mesothelioma is largely viewed as an incurable cancer, and most doctors providing a diagnosis also give patients about a year to live. In cases where the disease is caught early, about 10 percent of victims can survive up to five years if treated aggressively with surgical interventions and dual chemotherapies.
Former Denver Water worker testimony was apparently prompted by the fact that digging for the western corridor of the city's light rail service, RTD Fast Tracks, and erecting a proposed new light rail station, will expose this buried asbestos. The question is whether the dumping was illegal, or part of a larger program to dispose of hazardous waste at a time when regulations were not so stringent.
Adrienne Anderson, an environmental investigator for Denver Direct, the city's small but totally independent electronic environmental publication, calls the news "outrageous", and says, if true, Denver Water should be responsible for cleaning up the site. The cost will actually fall to RTD Fast Tracks, which is funded by taxpayers.
Denver Water has neither confirmed nor denied the report, but did issue a statement saying that it had disposed of hazardous waste in the past "in accordance with regulations current at the time". The agency has also denied any affiliation or connection with the former landfill at 12th and Sheridan, and noted that asbestos disposal regulations, managed through the Colorado Department of Public Health & Environment, or CDPHE, have changed over time.
Whistleblowers attended the Denver Water board meeting on Oct. 28 (Tuesday), ostensibly held to announce a rate increase as a result of water availability issues in the increasingly dry state. CO WATCH, a project of the Rocky Mountain Peace and Justice Center, was at the meeting to hear the testimony (later reported by Denver Fox News affiliate KDVR). Anderson writes for CO WATCH.
Sources: KDVR, FasTracks Regional Transportation District of Denver website, CO WATCH website
This location, three blocks south of the city's east-west divider, Colfax Avenue, lies on the western edge of Lakewood Gulch Park, and south of Sloan's Lake Park, the city's largest water feature. A former dump site, the area includes the Dry Gulch Stream.
Denver Water, founded in 1918, is a public utility that gets its funding from new tap fees and water service charges. As Colorado's oldest water utility, it serves 1.3 million people in the metro area, and also delivers water to areas like Lakewood, Littleton, and the Valley Water District.
Providing one-third of the state's treated water supply, or about 234,000 acre-feet per year, it gets water from the South Platte River, the Blue River, the Williams Fork River, and the Fraser River, as well as South Boulder Creek, Ralston Creek and Bear Creek.
Under a conservation message designed to conserve Eastern Slope Colorado Water, Denver Water's slogan, "Use Only What You Need", suggests an environmentally friendly profile. If what Pacheco says is true, the environmental profile has suffered a serious blow.
Asbestos is a fibrous mineral widely used in construction and some automotive products during most of the last century. The fibers, too small to be seen except with an electron microscope, can be inhaled or ingested from broken material and lodge in the mesothelial tissues of the body (that is, the linings of the lungs, or pleura, the heart, or pericardium, and the abdomen, or peritoneum). Once there, they can lie dormant for decades, causing irritation and, eventually, cancer.
Because of its long dormancy and extensive invasion of vital tissues, pleural mesothelioma is largely viewed as an incurable cancer, and most doctors providing a diagnosis also give patients about a year to live. In cases where the disease is caught early, about 10 percent of victims can survive up to five years if treated aggressively with surgical interventions and dual chemotherapies.
Former Denver Water worker testimony was apparently prompted by the fact that digging for the western corridor of the city's light rail service, RTD Fast Tracks, and erecting a proposed new light rail station, will expose this buried asbestos. The question is whether the dumping was illegal, or part of a larger program to dispose of hazardous waste at a time when regulations were not so stringent.
Adrienne Anderson, an environmental investigator for Denver Direct, the city's small but totally independent electronic environmental publication, calls the news "outrageous", and says, if true, Denver Water should be responsible for cleaning up the site. The cost will actually fall to RTD Fast Tracks, which is funded by taxpayers.
Denver Water has neither confirmed nor denied the report, but did issue a statement saying that it had disposed of hazardous waste in the past "in accordance with regulations current at the time". The agency has also denied any affiliation or connection with the former landfill at 12th and Sheridan, and noted that asbestos disposal regulations, managed through the Colorado Department of Public Health & Environment, or CDPHE, have changed over time.
Whistleblowers attended the Denver Water board meeting on Oct. 28 (Tuesday), ostensibly held to announce a rate increase as a result of water availability issues in the increasingly dry state. CO WATCH, a project of the Rocky Mountain Peace and Justice Center, was at the meeting to hear the testimony (later reported by Denver Fox News affiliate KDVR). Anderson writes for CO WATCH.
Sources: KDVR, FasTracks Regional Transportation District of Denver website, CO WATCH website
Thursday, November 19, 2009
Fresno, California Police Department Employees Exposed to Asbestos
On September 21, a Fresno, California-area newspaper reported the exposure of about 90 city employees to asbestos as a result of construction crews installing fire suppression equipment in two computer rooms next to the police department's communications, or dispatch, center.
Asbestos exposure can lead to a number of diseases. The first is asbestosis, a respiratory disease similar to asthma commonly acquired after long exposure to asbestos, either in mining, manufacturing (of asbestos-containing products), or installation of said products, as with automobile brake mechanics.
Fortunately, in 1989 the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency limited the use of asbestos in domestic products to one percent or less by a volume. The limit does not imply to imported products, which can contain unregulated levels.
Another asbestos-induced disease is pleural mesothelioma. One of three types of cancer of the mesothelial lining, pleural mesothelioma is by far the most common, closely followed by peritoneal mesothelioma (abdominal) and pericardial mesothelioma (heart).
Not only is pleural mesothelioma common, and caused primarily by asbestos, but - unlike asbestosis - it requires only a single exposure to trigger the disease. Once exposed, victims are not likely to exhibit many symptoms for several decades, or up to 50 years in some cases, and what few symptoms they do exhibit can easily be mistaken for allergic reactions, compromised immune systems, or persistent pneumonias.
At the end of this long dormancy period, symptoms can become quite pronounced, and diagnosis is usually made by a simple X-ray. Unfortunately, by that time, the tumor has invaded so many tissues, and even vital organs, that little can be done to halt the cancer. Many patients diagnosed with long-standing pleural mesothelioma are given about a year to live, though some cases, caught early enough, respond moderately well to aggressive therapies involving surgery and/or multiple regimens of chemotherapy.
Only recently have tests become available that can diagnose pleural mesothelioma early, and the most technologically sophisticated of these relies on testing the soluble mesothelin-related protein content of pleural effusions, or fluid accumulations in the pleural cavity.
The 90 workers in Fresno's police department, all of whom were in the area at various times, have been notified via voice mail and other means that their exposure may have left them open to developing mesothelioma in the future. Fortunately, the risk was mitigated due to the fact that the rooms in which the work was conducted have their own separate air system, so only those entering the rooms have been directly exposed, though these individuals might have carried asbestos fibers into other rooms on clothing.
In the interim, the dispatch center has been relocated elsewhere, and city officials have ordered air-quality sampling of the dispatch center and equipment rooms to determine if asbestos particles became airborne.
Asbestos, when sealed, sequestered or undisturbed, is not dangerous. When it becomes airborne, it can be inhaled or ingested, leading to lesions in the lungs and/or digestive tract that can develop into various forms of mesothelioma.
City officials knew the area contained asbestos, but did not consider it a danger because it had been sealed off. The fire suppression installation had been going on for over a week before someone noticed that asbestos-containing materials had been disturbed. Employees who may have been exposed have been informed that they can see their own medical provider and file a claim with the city against the future development of asbestos-related diseases.
The legacy costs of mesothelioma can't even be calculated, but in the U.S. alone, $40 billion sits in various trusts to pay those costs. Unfortunately, only about 30 percent of that actually makes it way to those suffering from mesothelioma, according to non-profit global think tank RAND Corporation.
Asbestos was widely used in hundreds of construction, automotive and household products during most of the last century, leading to the aforementioned legacy costs. According to a Yale School of Organization and Management study conducted in 1992, this widespread use of asbestos will lead to 200,000 asbestos-related deaths over the next 25 years, at a cost to manufacturers and their insurers of at least $50 billion dollars.
Sources: Madison Record, KSEE, JusticeNewsFlash
Asbestos exposure can lead to a number of diseases. The first is asbestosis, a respiratory disease similar to asthma commonly acquired after long exposure to asbestos, either in mining, manufacturing (of asbestos-containing products), or installation of said products, as with automobile brake mechanics.
Fortunately, in 1989 the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency limited the use of asbestos in domestic products to one percent or less by a volume. The limit does not imply to imported products, which can contain unregulated levels.
Another asbestos-induced disease is pleural mesothelioma. One of three types of cancer of the mesothelial lining, pleural mesothelioma is by far the most common, closely followed by peritoneal mesothelioma (abdominal) and pericardial mesothelioma (heart).
Not only is pleural mesothelioma common, and caused primarily by asbestos, but - unlike asbestosis - it requires only a single exposure to trigger the disease. Once exposed, victims are not likely to exhibit many symptoms for several decades, or up to 50 years in some cases, and what few symptoms they do exhibit can easily be mistaken for allergic reactions, compromised immune systems, or persistent pneumonias.
At the end of this long dormancy period, symptoms can become quite pronounced, and diagnosis is usually made by a simple X-ray. Unfortunately, by that time, the tumor has invaded so many tissues, and even vital organs, that little can be done to halt the cancer. Many patients diagnosed with long-standing pleural mesothelioma are given about a year to live, though some cases, caught early enough, respond moderately well to aggressive therapies involving surgery and/or multiple regimens of chemotherapy.
Only recently have tests become available that can diagnose pleural mesothelioma early, and the most technologically sophisticated of these relies on testing the soluble mesothelin-related protein content of pleural effusions, or fluid accumulations in the pleural cavity.
The 90 workers in Fresno's police department, all of whom were in the area at various times, have been notified via voice mail and other means that their exposure may have left them open to developing mesothelioma in the future. Fortunately, the risk was mitigated due to the fact that the rooms in which the work was conducted have their own separate air system, so only those entering the rooms have been directly exposed, though these individuals might have carried asbestos fibers into other rooms on clothing.
In the interim, the dispatch center has been relocated elsewhere, and city officials have ordered air-quality sampling of the dispatch center and equipment rooms to determine if asbestos particles became airborne.
Asbestos, when sealed, sequestered or undisturbed, is not dangerous. When it becomes airborne, it can be inhaled or ingested, leading to lesions in the lungs and/or digestive tract that can develop into various forms of mesothelioma.
City officials knew the area contained asbestos, but did not consider it a danger because it had been sealed off. The fire suppression installation had been going on for over a week before someone noticed that asbestos-containing materials had been disturbed. Employees who may have been exposed have been informed that they can see their own medical provider and file a claim with the city against the future development of asbestos-related diseases.
The legacy costs of mesothelioma can't even be calculated, but in the U.S. alone, $40 billion sits in various trusts to pay those costs. Unfortunately, only about 30 percent of that actually makes it way to those suffering from mesothelioma, according to non-profit global think tank RAND Corporation.
Asbestos was widely used in hundreds of construction, automotive and household products during most of the last century, leading to the aforementioned legacy costs. According to a Yale School of Organization and Management study conducted in 1992, this widespread use of asbestos will lead to 200,000 asbestos-related deaths over the next 25 years, at a cost to manufacturers and their insurers of at least $50 billion dollars.
Sources: Madison Record, KSEE, JusticeNewsFlash
In West Virginia, Former GSA Asbestos Official Sentenced
In October of 2007, Paul Prendergast, former coordinator for The W. Virginia Department of Administration's General Services Division (GSA), which regulates the occupational health and safety of the state's residents, pleaded guilty to violating the federal Travel Act by divulging confidential bid information to a Maryland company.
Almost a year to the day, Prendergast has been sentenced to a year in prison and $3,000 in fines by a Maryland federal court, which heard the testimony surrounding Prendergast - who worked for the GSA from 1998 to 2003 - and his involvement with Maryland-based Environmental and Demolition Services Inc. (EDS), a construction company engaged in asbestos remediation and other environmental building solutions.
Prendergast, 47, reportedly provided EDS with the information needed to win bids. In return, he received kickbacks totaling $11,000 between 2000 and 2003, during his tenure as GSA coordinator. Also, in 2001, he negotiated a joint-venture landfill agreement with EDS in which he would share the proceeds.
After leaving the GSA and W. Virginia, Prendergast - as a result of his alliance with EDS - also obtained a highly paid position in an associated firm also based in Gaithersburg, where he settled. While there, he earned a yearly salary of $85,000 and received an additional $55,000 from a subcontractor by virtue of his role as project manager for the company.
During his GSA tenure, Prendergast was in charge of asbestos and lead removal from the W. Virginia Capitol Complex, a 535,000-square-foot building comprised of 333 rooms in the main building and two wings, all built between 1924 and 1932.
Most buildings erected in the first half of the last century contain varying amounts of asbestos, either as insulation or in floor tiles, acoustical ceilings, or even in plaster. Given the age and size of the Capitol Complex, and the need (recognized by the state's Legislature in 1990) to continually renovate, many projects were undertaken. The cost to the state, between 1999 and 2005, was $329,634 just for asbestos abatement work alone.
Asbestos, when it becomes friable (or broken), releases minute particles that can be inhaled or ingested by swallowing saliva. When this happens, the particles can become lodged in the mesothelial linings of the body, found in the lung (pleura), around the heart (pericardium), and in the abdomen (peritoneum).
The most common form of mesothelioma, a cancer of mesothelial tissues, is pleural, which accounts for 75 percent of all cases. Because of its long dormancy, sometimes up to 50 years, mesothelioma ends up involving a lot of vital tissue before it is diagnosed. When diagnosis is finally achieved, doctors rarely give patients more than 18 months to live, though then percent - diagnosed early - may survive up to five years under a combined regiment of surgery and dual chemotherapies.
In 2007, after pleading guilty, Prendergast agreed to cooperate with investigators, acting as an undercover informant recording conversations and documenting questionable behavior with regard to asbestos removal by companies hired by the state. In exchange, the state agreed to postpone his sentence until enough evidence could be accumulated to convict said companies.
Subsequent to Prendergast's leaving the GSA, his replacement, Gary Bryant Jr. (and Bryant's assistant, Gary McClanahan) were both fired for inflating their pay by filing false overtime records. The same Legislative Auditor's report, issued in 2006, found that the GSA had improperly distributed monies from the Asbestos Litigation Recovery Fund.
A 2006 report by the Legislative Auditor's office concluded that Prendergast's replacement, Gary Bryant Jr.; and Gary McClanahan, Bryant's assistant, were milking overtime in the asbestos abatement program to inflate their pay. Bryant and McClanahan were fired.
The report also criticized General Services for improperly distributing funds from the Asbestos Litigation Recovery Fund (Asbestos Fund), a federal fund set up to pay asbestos injury claimants and administrated at the state level.
Sources: Charleston Gazette, The New Standard
Almost a year to the day, Prendergast has been sentenced to a year in prison and $3,000 in fines by a Maryland federal court, which heard the testimony surrounding Prendergast - who worked for the GSA from 1998 to 2003 - and his involvement with Maryland-based Environmental and Demolition Services Inc. (EDS), a construction company engaged in asbestos remediation and other environmental building solutions.
Prendergast, 47, reportedly provided EDS with the information needed to win bids. In return, he received kickbacks totaling $11,000 between 2000 and 2003, during his tenure as GSA coordinator. Also, in 2001, he negotiated a joint-venture landfill agreement with EDS in which he would share the proceeds.
After leaving the GSA and W. Virginia, Prendergast - as a result of his alliance with EDS - also obtained a highly paid position in an associated firm also based in Gaithersburg, where he settled. While there, he earned a yearly salary of $85,000 and received an additional $55,000 from a subcontractor by virtue of his role as project manager for the company.
During his GSA tenure, Prendergast was in charge of asbestos and lead removal from the W. Virginia Capitol Complex, a 535,000-square-foot building comprised of 333 rooms in the main building and two wings, all built between 1924 and 1932.
Most buildings erected in the first half of the last century contain varying amounts of asbestos, either as insulation or in floor tiles, acoustical ceilings, or even in plaster. Given the age and size of the Capitol Complex, and the need (recognized by the state's Legislature in 1990) to continually renovate, many projects were undertaken. The cost to the state, between 1999 and 2005, was $329,634 just for asbestos abatement work alone.
Asbestos, when it becomes friable (or broken), releases minute particles that can be inhaled or ingested by swallowing saliva. When this happens, the particles can become lodged in the mesothelial linings of the body, found in the lung (pleura), around the heart (pericardium), and in the abdomen (peritoneum).
The most common form of mesothelioma, a cancer of mesothelial tissues, is pleural, which accounts for 75 percent of all cases. Because of its long dormancy, sometimes up to 50 years, mesothelioma ends up involving a lot of vital tissue before it is diagnosed. When diagnosis is finally achieved, doctors rarely give patients more than 18 months to live, though then percent - diagnosed early - may survive up to five years under a combined regiment of surgery and dual chemotherapies.
In 2007, after pleading guilty, Prendergast agreed to cooperate with investigators, acting as an undercover informant recording conversations and documenting questionable behavior with regard to asbestos removal by companies hired by the state. In exchange, the state agreed to postpone his sentence until enough evidence could be accumulated to convict said companies.
Subsequent to Prendergast's leaving the GSA, his replacement, Gary Bryant Jr. (and Bryant's assistant, Gary McClanahan) were both fired for inflating their pay by filing false overtime records. The same Legislative Auditor's report, issued in 2006, found that the GSA had improperly distributed monies from the Asbestos Litigation Recovery Fund.
A 2006 report by the Legislative Auditor's office concluded that Prendergast's replacement, Gary Bryant Jr.; and Gary McClanahan, Bryant's assistant, were milking overtime in the asbestos abatement program to inflate their pay. Bryant and McClanahan were fired.
The report also criticized General Services for improperly distributing funds from the Asbestos Litigation Recovery Fund (Asbestos Fund), a federal fund set up to pay asbestos injury claimants and administrated at the state level.
Sources: Charleston Gazette, The New Standard
Columbia, Missouri Parent Moves Student Because of Asbestos Risk
Early this year, Christine Doerr raised the alarm about asbestos in Room 213 at Jefferson Junior High School in the Columbia, Missouri school district.
Doerr's concern was the result of a renovation that subsequently revealed, according to a Department of Natural Resources (DNR) inspection, high asbestos levels in the air. Missouri's DNR is the agency charged with regulating asbestos in public buildings.
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, or EPA, target is 1 percent, or 0.01 fibers per milliliter of air - a limit the agency does not describe as "safe" but only as acceptable. The EPA, like OSHA, the CDC and the American Cancer Society, agrees that that there is no safe level of asbestos; an hour or a lifetime can trigger mesothelioma.
The school district initially went by a 1983 inspection document, which showed that all asbestos had been removed. Given that report, school district officials felt it was safe to proceed with the renovation without hiring an asbestos inspector. After the DNR inspection, the district collected its own samples, all of which showed the same disconcertingly high levels of asbestos.
The DNR ultimately sent the school district a warning letter, advising it to insure that such violations don't happen in the future by hiring a full-time air quality inspector. The school district complied. The position is funded at $68,850.
Doerr's daughter, who suffers from allergies and asthma, has since moved to Columbia Independent School (CIS), a tuition-based private K-12 school, with the help of a full scholarship. Doerr, of course, is delighted. She is also not the first to take her child out of Columbia's public schools. In January, Ines Segert, a member of the Columbia Board of Education, moved her son over to CIS, though this time the issue was math.
Asbestos in schools is increasingly becoming a problem as America's schools age. Asbestos, widely used in many construction and renovation materials during most of the last century, can lead to a number of diseases when its fibers become airborne. One of these diseases, asbestosis, is generally triggered only by long exposures. Malignant mesothelioma, however, can be caused by a single exposure, and its tendency to lie dormant for several decades means that, by the time it is diagnosed, the cancer has become extensive, invading not only tissue but vital organs.
A number of school districts over the past decade have made the news by violating the EPA's AHERA (Asbestos Hazard Emergency Response Act) regulations which govern schools, both public and private. AHERA, passed in 1986, lays out some essential asbestos monitoring, reporting and remediation rules aimed at protecting America's school children from precisely the kind of hidden danger that asbestos represents.
The violations are often unintentional, but this is no protection to students. Parents who are concerned that their school district might not be up-to-date on asbestos regulations in schools can request a copy of the EPA's 20-page publication, ABCs of Asbestos in Schools (Report Number: EPA-745-K93-017), either by writing to the agency at the Office of Pollution Prevention and Toxics, Washington D.C. 20005, or by accessing an electronic copy of the document at: http://www.epa.gov/asbestos/pubs/abcsfinal.pdf
Source: Columbia Tribune
Doerr's concern was the result of a renovation that subsequently revealed, according to a Department of Natural Resources (DNR) inspection, high asbestos levels in the air. Missouri's DNR is the agency charged with regulating asbestos in public buildings.
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, or EPA, target is 1 percent, or 0.01 fibers per milliliter of air - a limit the agency does not describe as "safe" but only as acceptable. The EPA, like OSHA, the CDC and the American Cancer Society, agrees that that there is no safe level of asbestos; an hour or a lifetime can trigger mesothelioma.
The school district initially went by a 1983 inspection document, which showed that all asbestos had been removed. Given that report, school district officials felt it was safe to proceed with the renovation without hiring an asbestos inspector. After the DNR inspection, the district collected its own samples, all of which showed the same disconcertingly high levels of asbestos.
The DNR ultimately sent the school district a warning letter, advising it to insure that such violations don't happen in the future by hiring a full-time air quality inspector. The school district complied. The position is funded at $68,850.
Doerr's daughter, who suffers from allergies and asthma, has since moved to Columbia Independent School (CIS), a tuition-based private K-12 school, with the help of a full scholarship. Doerr, of course, is delighted. She is also not the first to take her child out of Columbia's public schools. In January, Ines Segert, a member of the Columbia Board of Education, moved her son over to CIS, though this time the issue was math.
Asbestos in schools is increasingly becoming a problem as America's schools age. Asbestos, widely used in many construction and renovation materials during most of the last century, can lead to a number of diseases when its fibers become airborne. One of these diseases, asbestosis, is generally triggered only by long exposures. Malignant mesothelioma, however, can be caused by a single exposure, and its tendency to lie dormant for several decades means that, by the time it is diagnosed, the cancer has become extensive, invading not only tissue but vital organs.
A number of school districts over the past decade have made the news by violating the EPA's AHERA (Asbestos Hazard Emergency Response Act) regulations which govern schools, both public and private. AHERA, passed in 1986, lays out some essential asbestos monitoring, reporting and remediation rules aimed at protecting America's school children from precisely the kind of hidden danger that asbestos represents.
The violations are often unintentional, but this is no protection to students. Parents who are concerned that their school district might not be up-to-date on asbestos regulations in schools can request a copy of the EPA's 20-page publication, ABCs of Asbestos in Schools (Report Number: EPA-745-K93-017), either by writing to the agency at the Office of Pollution Prevention and Toxics, Washington D.C. 20005, or by accessing an electronic copy of the document at: http://www.epa.gov/asbestos/pubs/abcsfinal.pdf
Source: Columbia Tribune
California Planning to Send Asbestos Waste to Winnemucca, Nevada
You know your town or community is small when acting as a trash dump is considered a viable source of revenue. You know you're fighting a losing battle when the desert landscape where you live in relative isolation is viewed as an appropriate place to dump such toxic trash as asbestos.
This is the situation in Winnemucca, Nevada lately, where California waste disposal company Recology is seeking a contract to dump 20 tons of garbage for the next 95 years.
Tiny Winnemucca, 320 miles northeast of San Francisco as the crow flies, is scarcely more than a pit stop on Highway 80 between Salt Lake City and the Bay area. Its population, 7,726, barely qualifies it for the 11 schools within its district. In fact, the town boasts twice as many hotels and motels as schools, not only because it is on a major east-west artery but because Nevada's gambling laws make even the smallest town a tourist hotspot.
The proposed one-square mile dump, or landfill, is reportedly in a seismic zone; that is, subject to possible earthquakes, and landfill plans don't include engineered barriers or liners to protect the area's delicate aquifer.
Nevada's Democratic Senator, Harry Reid, is urging Gov. Jim Gibbons to block the proposal. Residents of Winnemucca are equally incensed, not merely by the idea that their desert is seen (by Californians) as a prime dumping ground, but by the fact that the waste may include asbestos.
Asbestos, a fibrous mineral widely used in construction and automotive products for most of the last century, is most dangerous when broken - as it would be when sent to a landfill. Although the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency mandates that it be properly sealed, or wrapped, not everything arrives at a landfill in the condition in which is was packaged, and residents are concerned that eventually asbestos would disperse into the air, or migrate into the water table.
Other ingredients planned for the landfill include household waste, rubber tires and dried sewage sludge. At a rate of 20,000 tons per week, the pile could eventually stand 20 stories high - an eyesore visible for miles. But it is the asbestos that truly worries some residents, because once it gets into the water, or the air, the potential for a number of diseases like asbestosis, lung and digestive system cancers, and peritoneal mesothelioma, rises exponentially.
Asbestosis is the result of long exposure, and would not be expected to show up for several generations. Unfortunately, the same is true for mesothelioma, which has a dormancy period of up to 50 years before the symptoms become disconcerting enough that sufferers feel compelled to seek medical care. Thus, by the time most mesothelial cancers are diagnosed, they have invaded so much vital tissue that the prognosis is quite poor. In fact, most mesothelioma sufferers are given between a year and 18 months to live, with less than 10 percent (those diagnosed early) surviving up to five years with aggressive treatment.
Recology argues that the revenue stream, about $1 million per year, more than makes up for the dangers. Clearly, a majority of the Humboldt County Board of Commissioners agree, with only Commissioner Tom Fransway dissenting.
Recology spokesman Adam Alberti assures that the landfill will be double-lined, but Jim French, of Nevadans Against Garbage, has described the proposal as flying so far under the radar (in terms of actual plans submitted) that nothing guarantees the plan is safe.
Source: San Jose Mercury News
This is the situation in Winnemucca, Nevada lately, where California waste disposal company Recology is seeking a contract to dump 20 tons of garbage for the next 95 years.
Tiny Winnemucca, 320 miles northeast of San Francisco as the crow flies, is scarcely more than a pit stop on Highway 80 between Salt Lake City and the Bay area. Its population, 7,726, barely qualifies it for the 11 schools within its district. In fact, the town boasts twice as many hotels and motels as schools, not only because it is on a major east-west artery but because Nevada's gambling laws make even the smallest town a tourist hotspot.
The proposed one-square mile dump, or landfill, is reportedly in a seismic zone; that is, subject to possible earthquakes, and landfill plans don't include engineered barriers or liners to protect the area's delicate aquifer.
Nevada's Democratic Senator, Harry Reid, is urging Gov. Jim Gibbons to block the proposal. Residents of Winnemucca are equally incensed, not merely by the idea that their desert is seen (by Californians) as a prime dumping ground, but by the fact that the waste may include asbestos.
Asbestos, a fibrous mineral widely used in construction and automotive products for most of the last century, is most dangerous when broken - as it would be when sent to a landfill. Although the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency mandates that it be properly sealed, or wrapped, not everything arrives at a landfill in the condition in which is was packaged, and residents are concerned that eventually asbestos would disperse into the air, or migrate into the water table.
Other ingredients planned for the landfill include household waste, rubber tires and dried sewage sludge. At a rate of 20,000 tons per week, the pile could eventually stand 20 stories high - an eyesore visible for miles. But it is the asbestos that truly worries some residents, because once it gets into the water, or the air, the potential for a number of diseases like asbestosis, lung and digestive system cancers, and peritoneal mesothelioma, rises exponentially.
Asbestosis is the result of long exposure, and would not be expected to show up for several generations. Unfortunately, the same is true for mesothelioma, which has a dormancy period of up to 50 years before the symptoms become disconcerting enough that sufferers feel compelled to seek medical care. Thus, by the time most mesothelial cancers are diagnosed, they have invaded so much vital tissue that the prognosis is quite poor. In fact, most mesothelioma sufferers are given between a year and 18 months to live, with less than 10 percent (those diagnosed early) surviving up to five years with aggressive treatment.
Recology argues that the revenue stream, about $1 million per year, more than makes up for the dangers. Clearly, a majority of the Humboldt County Board of Commissioners agree, with only Commissioner Tom Fransway dissenting.
Recology spokesman Adam Alberti assures that the landfill will be double-lined, but Jim French, of Nevadans Against Garbage, has described the proposal as flying so far under the radar (in terms of actual plans submitted) that nothing guarantees the plan is safe.
Source: San Jose Mercury News
Judge Rules against Plaintiffs in SDG&E, Sempra Energy Asbestos Dispute
The case began in 2000, when residents of Encanto and Lemon Grove, California, living within 500 feet of a gas pipe demolitions site, received letters from San Diego Gas & Electric (SDG&E) notifying them of the presence of asbestos at the site.
In September of that year, SDG&E expanded the "unsafe" zone to 1,000 feet, but continued to insist that pre-inspections by various county and municipal agencies deemed the work no threat to health and safety.
The pipe demolition work led to a federal grand jury trial in 2006, with residents charging the utility, project manager Kyle Rhuebottom, and two Sempra entities with violating the Clean Air Act under NESHAP (National Emission Standards for Hazardous Air Pollutants) regulations. Sempra Energy is the gas delivery portion of SDG&E's utility operations.
Called a "Proposition 65" case (the state's Safe Drinking Water and Toxic Enforcement Act of 1986), the grand jury ruled that the entities named had failed to properly warn residents of the asbestos hazards at the Encanto Gas Holder site from 2000 to the date the case was dismissed.
Asbestos, a fibrous mineral used widely during most the last century as insulation for buildings, boiler pipes and the like, emits - when broken - microscopic fibers that can be inhaled or ingested merely by swallowing saliva.
Once inside the body, these minute fibers irritate tissue, causing lesions which can lead to mesothelioma, a cancer of the mesothelial linings around the lungs (pleural), heart (pericardial) and abdomen (peritoneal).
Of these, pleural mesothelioma is the most common, occurring in three-fourths of cases. Because of its long dormancy period (up to five decades), and initially insignificant symptoms, by the time pleural mesothelioma is diagnosed it has caused a lot of damage, and doctors usually give patients less than two years to live.
Additionally, rates of exposure are not linked to causation or severity; a single exposure, or a lifetime's exposure, can cause mesothelioma.
Asbestos-containing pipe wrap from the Encanto site tested at 5- to 10-percent chrysotile asbestos (for the 1953 sample). A second sample, from 1955, showed asbestos content in the 40- to 50-percent range. SDG&E's own sample, as tested by a laboratory, showed 50- to 60-percent asbestos.
Since 2001, Chollas Creek in the Encanto Gas Holder site has displayed a white coating after storm-water runoff - a coating residents are convinced contains asbestos fibers which can seriously impact their future health.
In spite of that, 27 pieces of evidence, including the asbestos testing portion of the case, were ruled inadmissible, irrelevant or irregular by Judge Dana M. Sabraw in District Court. As a result, this newest trial, United States of America v. SDG&E, has been dismissed.
The trial, scheduled for November 20 at the Hall of Justice Department C-60 (Sacramento), has been removed from the calendar, leaving plaintiffs to wonder if all the thanks given them by local U.S. Department of Justice attorney Melanie Pierson, and Judge Yuri Hofmann, are merely a polite brush-off from a legal system that seems to favor corporations over people when it comes to the legacy of asbestos disease.
Source: San Diego Reader
In September of that year, SDG&E expanded the "unsafe" zone to 1,000 feet, but continued to insist that pre-inspections by various county and municipal agencies deemed the work no threat to health and safety.
The pipe demolition work led to a federal grand jury trial in 2006, with residents charging the utility, project manager Kyle Rhuebottom, and two Sempra entities with violating the Clean Air Act under NESHAP (National Emission Standards for Hazardous Air Pollutants) regulations. Sempra Energy is the gas delivery portion of SDG&E's utility operations.
Called a "Proposition 65" case (the state's Safe Drinking Water and Toxic Enforcement Act of 1986), the grand jury ruled that the entities named had failed to properly warn residents of the asbestos hazards at the Encanto Gas Holder site from 2000 to the date the case was dismissed.
Asbestos, a fibrous mineral used widely during most the last century as insulation for buildings, boiler pipes and the like, emits - when broken - microscopic fibers that can be inhaled or ingested merely by swallowing saliva.
Once inside the body, these minute fibers irritate tissue, causing lesions which can lead to mesothelioma, a cancer of the mesothelial linings around the lungs (pleural), heart (pericardial) and abdomen (peritoneal).
Of these, pleural mesothelioma is the most common, occurring in three-fourths of cases. Because of its long dormancy period (up to five decades), and initially insignificant symptoms, by the time pleural mesothelioma is diagnosed it has caused a lot of damage, and doctors usually give patients less than two years to live.
Additionally, rates of exposure are not linked to causation or severity; a single exposure, or a lifetime's exposure, can cause mesothelioma.
Asbestos-containing pipe wrap from the Encanto site tested at 5- to 10-percent chrysotile asbestos (for the 1953 sample). A second sample, from 1955, showed asbestos content in the 40- to 50-percent range. SDG&E's own sample, as tested by a laboratory, showed 50- to 60-percent asbestos.
Since 2001, Chollas Creek in the Encanto Gas Holder site has displayed a white coating after storm-water runoff - a coating residents are convinced contains asbestos fibers which can seriously impact their future health.
In spite of that, 27 pieces of evidence, including the asbestos testing portion of the case, were ruled inadmissible, irrelevant or irregular by Judge Dana M. Sabraw in District Court. As a result, this newest trial, United States of America v. SDG&E, has been dismissed.
The trial, scheduled for November 20 at the Hall of Justice Department C-60 (Sacramento), has been removed from the calendar, leaving plaintiffs to wonder if all the thanks given them by local U.S. Department of Justice attorney Melanie Pierson, and Judge Yuri Hofmann, are merely a polite brush-off from a legal system that seems to favor corporations over people when it comes to the legacy of asbestos disease.
Source: San Diego Reader
Mesothelioma Death Rates in Northeast England at Record Levels
The total number of workers in the northeast section of England who are suffering from mesothelioma has reached the highest levels yet recorded. Worse still, an extensive research report of the British government's Health and Safety Executive (HSE) office states that the number of people in the region to be diagnosed with the disease is not due to reach its full height until the year 2016.
The study results imply that workers in the industrial region will continue to be treated for the disease, which affects the fluid surrounding the lungs, for years to come. Mesothelioma is a rare and often fatal form of cancer that frequently arises from long-term exposure to asbestos fibers. Patients with the disease often die within eighteen months of receiving the diagnosis. With incidences of mesothelioma on the rise, the HSE is treating the situation as a regional and national health crisis.
Investigators at the HSE have predicted that the number of mesothelioma cases will continue to increase for at least another seven years. Reports show a total of 2,046 men died due to mesothelioma in 2005 and 2,058 in 2006, with a sharp increase to 2,156 in 2007. Results from the study also examined the frequency of incidence among females; since jobs that require exposure to asbestos are in male-dominated sectors such as construction, demolition and mining, male patients had an incidence rate five times higher than their female co-workers.
However, the death rate for females rose at a much steeper rate. From 2002 to 2004, the death rate from malignant mesothelioma among females was 11.19 per million, compared to 87.08 per million among males. From 2005 to 2007, the death rate from mesothelioma among females jumped to 16.41 per million, an increase of over forty-six percent from the previous three years. The death rate among males during the same time period was 89.52 per million, an increase of less than three percent.
During the 1950s and 1960s, northeastern England was an industrial center, with numerous facilities specializing in coal mining and shipbuilding. Many of these facilities used asbestos in manufacturing and mining processes. Although women did not typically work in these areas at the time, the theory is that many of the women who contracted the disease did so by being exposed to asbestos fibers that clung to the male worker's clothing.
An HSE representative asserted that asbestos exposure for workers in the area was not simply a problem of the past, but still poses a serious health threat to modern workers. Although the British government instituted a total ban on asbestos-containing materials in 2000, at least half a million foreign-owned facilities in Britain still contain asbestos at varying levels. According to the HSE spokesman, asbestos "is Britain's biggest industrial killer".
One of they key initiatives that the HSE office is likely to start is an asbestos education program for both the workers on the ground and the supervisors and managers of the affected facilities. Agency officials also warned that they would step up efforts to prosecute firms that did not follow strict guidelines in cleaning up and disposing of the toxic material, including providing workers with protective clothing and breathing masks, as well as minimizing the danger of exposure to the general public.
Sources: The Northern Echo, FMWorld
The study results imply that workers in the industrial region will continue to be treated for the disease, which affects the fluid surrounding the lungs, for years to come. Mesothelioma is a rare and often fatal form of cancer that frequently arises from long-term exposure to asbestos fibers. Patients with the disease often die within eighteen months of receiving the diagnosis. With incidences of mesothelioma on the rise, the HSE is treating the situation as a regional and national health crisis.
Investigators at the HSE have predicted that the number of mesothelioma cases will continue to increase for at least another seven years. Reports show a total of 2,046 men died due to mesothelioma in 2005 and 2,058 in 2006, with a sharp increase to 2,156 in 2007. Results from the study also examined the frequency of incidence among females; since jobs that require exposure to asbestos are in male-dominated sectors such as construction, demolition and mining, male patients had an incidence rate five times higher than their female co-workers.
However, the death rate for females rose at a much steeper rate. From 2002 to 2004, the death rate from malignant mesothelioma among females was 11.19 per million, compared to 87.08 per million among males. From 2005 to 2007, the death rate from mesothelioma among females jumped to 16.41 per million, an increase of over forty-six percent from the previous three years. The death rate among males during the same time period was 89.52 per million, an increase of less than three percent.
During the 1950s and 1960s, northeastern England was an industrial center, with numerous facilities specializing in coal mining and shipbuilding. Many of these facilities used asbestos in manufacturing and mining processes. Although women did not typically work in these areas at the time, the theory is that many of the women who contracted the disease did so by being exposed to asbestos fibers that clung to the male worker's clothing.
An HSE representative asserted that asbestos exposure for workers in the area was not simply a problem of the past, but still poses a serious health threat to modern workers. Although the British government instituted a total ban on asbestos-containing materials in 2000, at least half a million foreign-owned facilities in Britain still contain asbestos at varying levels. According to the HSE spokesman, asbestos "is Britain's biggest industrial killer".
One of they key initiatives that the HSE office is likely to start is an asbestos education program for both the workers on the ground and the supervisors and managers of the affected facilities. Agency officials also warned that they would step up efforts to prosecute firms that did not follow strict guidelines in cleaning up and disposing of the toxic material, including providing workers with protective clothing and breathing masks, as well as minimizing the danger of exposure to the general public.
Sources: The Northern Echo, FMWorld
All About Mesothelioma
Mesothelioma is a form of cancer that is normally caused by asbestos exposure. Mesothelioma is cancer that occurs in the mesothelium.
Mesothelioma:
Mesothelioma is a type of cancer affecting the cells of mesothelial lining in the chest and abdomen. Mesothelioma cancer can develop in the tissues covering the lungs or the abdomen. Mesothelioma has also been found in the stomach and other abdominal organs but it is much rarer in those areas than are both pleural mesothelioma and peritoneal mesothelioma. Mesothelioma can also occur in the ovaries and scrotum. Mesothelioma invades the chest wall or the esophagus during the second stage.Mesothelioma also takes a long time to develop (typically 15-40 years), so patients today could have been exposed prior to the 1980s when asbestos was not highly regulated. Mesothelioma is not caused by smoking, as lung cancer so often is.
Symptoms:
Symptoms One of the most common symptoms of mesothelioma is an accumulation of fluid between the lining of the lung and the chest cavity. Symptoms include:abdominal painascites, or an abnormal buildup of fluid in the abdomen a mass in the abdomen problems with bowel function weight loss. Symptoms such as trouble swallowing, pain, or swelling of the neck and face can be indications that the cancer has spread beyond the mesotheliom to other parts of the body. Symptoms of pleural mesothelioma include persistent pain in the chest and severe difficulty breathing caused by pleural effusion, or an accumulation of fluid in the pleural lining Cough, weight loss, and fever are also common symptoms. Symptoms of peritoneal mesothelioma include weight loss and abdominal pain and swelling due to a buildup of fluid in the abdomen. Symptoms of mesothelioma may not appear until 20 to 50 years after exposure to asbestos.
Diagnosis:
The key to long-term survival from treatment of mesothelioma is early diagnosis, which enables the greatest potential for success from standard therapies. Diagnosis begins with a review of the patient's medical history, including any history of asbestos exposure. Diagnosis of Mesothelioma is based on a pathological exam, more commonly referred to as a biopsy.Since this disease can be hard to diagnosis and costly to treat, it may require the consultation of an experienced attorney. When conclusive diagnosis cannot be made from fluid samples, diagnosis is often made through a surgical procedure called a throrascopy.The average age at diagnosis of mesothelioma is between 50 and 70 years old, with men being affected three to five times more often than women. The diagnosis may be suspected with chest X-ray and CT scan, and is confirmed with a biopsy (tissue sample) and microscopic examination. The median survival time is 17 months, with ten percent of patients living for three years after diagnosis.
Conclusion:
Mesothelioma is a deadly cancer which is fairly rare although in the last few decades the number of people who have died from it have dramatically increased. Mesothelioma is a rare form of cancer, but the deadliest one of all. Mesothelioma is a rare form of cancer and only affects between 2,000 and 3,000 people in the United States per year. Mesothelioma is less common in African Americans than in white Americans. Mesothelioma is rare in people under age 55. National Cancer Institute stats show that 3000 new diagnosis of malignant mesothelioma is reported each year. Mesothelioma is not always fatal and that is the hope to hold on to.
Mesothelioma:
Mesothelioma is a type of cancer affecting the cells of mesothelial lining in the chest and abdomen. Mesothelioma cancer can develop in the tissues covering the lungs or the abdomen. Mesothelioma has also been found in the stomach and other abdominal organs but it is much rarer in those areas than are both pleural mesothelioma and peritoneal mesothelioma. Mesothelioma can also occur in the ovaries and scrotum. Mesothelioma invades the chest wall or the esophagus during the second stage.Mesothelioma also takes a long time to develop (typically 15-40 years), so patients today could have been exposed prior to the 1980s when asbestos was not highly regulated. Mesothelioma is not caused by smoking, as lung cancer so often is.
Symptoms:
Symptoms One of the most common symptoms of mesothelioma is an accumulation of fluid between the lining of the lung and the chest cavity. Symptoms include:abdominal painascites, or an abnormal buildup of fluid in the abdomen a mass in the abdomen problems with bowel function weight loss. Symptoms such as trouble swallowing, pain, or swelling of the neck and face can be indications that the cancer has spread beyond the mesotheliom to other parts of the body. Symptoms of pleural mesothelioma include persistent pain in the chest and severe difficulty breathing caused by pleural effusion, or an accumulation of fluid in the pleural lining Cough, weight loss, and fever are also common symptoms. Symptoms of peritoneal mesothelioma include weight loss and abdominal pain and swelling due to a buildup of fluid in the abdomen. Symptoms of mesothelioma may not appear until 20 to 50 years after exposure to asbestos.
Diagnosis:
The key to long-term survival from treatment of mesothelioma is early diagnosis, which enables the greatest potential for success from standard therapies. Diagnosis begins with a review of the patient's medical history, including any history of asbestos exposure. Diagnosis of Mesothelioma is based on a pathological exam, more commonly referred to as a biopsy.Since this disease can be hard to diagnosis and costly to treat, it may require the consultation of an experienced attorney. When conclusive diagnosis cannot be made from fluid samples, diagnosis is often made through a surgical procedure called a throrascopy.The average age at diagnosis of mesothelioma is between 50 and 70 years old, with men being affected three to five times more often than women. The diagnosis may be suspected with chest X-ray and CT scan, and is confirmed with a biopsy (tissue sample) and microscopic examination. The median survival time is 17 months, with ten percent of patients living for three years after diagnosis.
Conclusion:
Mesothelioma is a deadly cancer which is fairly rare although in the last few decades the number of people who have died from it have dramatically increased. Mesothelioma is a rare form of cancer, but the deadliest one of all. Mesothelioma is a rare form of cancer and only affects between 2,000 and 3,000 people in the United States per year. Mesothelioma is less common in African Americans than in white Americans. Mesothelioma is rare in people under age 55. National Cancer Institute stats show that 3000 new diagnosis of malignant mesothelioma is reported each year. Mesothelioma is not always fatal and that is the hope to hold on to.
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