All forms of asbestos are still considered ‘known carcinogens’

The recently updated 12th Report on Carcinogens, a public health document mandated by Congress, was released earlier this month by the Washingotn, D.C.-based U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.  The report lists 54 chemicals, metals, pesticides, drugs and other compounds that are known and 186 that are suspected of causing cancer.  Asbestos remains on the list, without a single one of its forms escaping scrutiny.

Asbestos is a naturally occurring mineral fiber that was widely used in construction and manufacturing throughout the 19th and 20th centuries.  It was finally banned from most in the United States in 1989 for causing illnesses like lung cancer and mesothelioma, a rare cancer of the protective lining of the lungs, heart, chest and abdomen.   The only known cause of the latter is prolonged asbestos exposure.

Asbestos appeared as a known carcinogen on the 1st Report on Carcinogens in 1980, and studies have found that exposure to all forms of asbestos, including chrysotile, amosite, anthophyllite and crocidolite, increases the risk of cancer.  Despite its danger, asbestos can still be found in many buildings, which may explain why approximately 3,000 Americans are still being diagnosed with malignant mesothelioma each year.

New substances added to the 12th Report on Carcinogens include industrial chemical formaldehyde and the family of aristolochic acids and glass wool.  Ironically, both asbestos and glass wool have been used in the manufacture of insulation.  Fibers from both substances can be inhaled, ultimately lodging in the lungs and eventually causing the development of tumors.

This entry was posted on Tuesday, July 5th, 2011 at 11:35 am and is filed under News.

Asbestos educator warns that Libby isn’t Montana’s only Mesothelioma hotbed

In the 1990’s, the vermiculite mine in Libby, Montana made the sleepy town synonymous with asbestos exposure, cancer and asbestos injury mortality.  However, it is important to remember that the asbestos-containing vermiculite mined in Libby was distributed throughout the United States.  Although the effects of long-term, concentrated asbestos exposure was witnesses in the town, a recent editorial by Bruce Ingraham published in the Billings Gazette alleges that almost 90% of mesothelioma cases reported in Montana occur in communities along railroad lines in towns far from Libby, such as Dillon, Hardin and Sidney.

Mesothelioma is a rare cancer of the protective lining of the lungs, heart, chest and abdomen.  Its only known cause is prolonged asbestos exposure.  Therefore, it is perfectly reasonable to assume that anyone who regularly worked with products made of the vermiculite mined in Libby would also be particularly at risk of developing asbestos cancer.

“As an asbestos educator I often get asked about asbestos concerns stemming from Libby. However, this same awareness of Libby needs to be applied to your own home, school and work environment,” says Ingraham.  “Vermiculite insulation, which is often less than 5 percent asbestos, is only one asbestos product. Many items used in the Montana building industry contain far more asbestos than vermiculite. Karstolite, a nearly 100 percent asbestos product, whose production was based in the Bozeman area, is less common than the Libby vermiculite; yet presents a far greater exposure risk.”

Ingraham also chastises the Montana DEQ’s indifference toward illegal asbestos abatement, which if done improperly can expose workers and citizens to the deadly fiber.  He says that the DEQ’s actions are “no different than W.R. Grace’s failing to protect the workers and citizens of Libby.”

This entry was posted on Saturday, July 30th, 2011 at 9:40 am and is filed under News.

Electricians at elevated risk of asbestos exposure, mesothelioma

Electricians are one of the types of workers most at risk of exposure to toxic asbestos.  This naturally occurring mineral fiber was regularly used in construction materials throughout the 19th and 20th centuries and was only banned from use in the United States in 1989.  When contractors and electricians work in a building constructed prior to the 1980’s, they are often at risk of inhaling microscopic asbestos fibers.  These fibers can lodge in the lungs and cause the onset of such fatal diseases as asbestosis, lung cancer or mesothelioma, a rare cancer of the protective lining of the lungs, heart, chest and abdomen.

It has been reported that from 1990 to 1999, the construction was the most frequently listed occupation (24%) on U.S. death certificates of persons over the age of 15 for whom asbestosis was listed as the cause of death. Of those, 4.4% listed “electrician” or “former electrician” as their vocation. Plus, a 1995 British study revealed that construction workers, including electricians, were the workers at greatest risk of contracting asbestos cancer.   According to OSHA, the most common causes of renovation job injury include falls, electrocution, exposure to overhead objects and airborne contaminants, such as dust, asbestos and silica.

In the past decade there have been a handful of major lawsuits against large corporations for exposing electricians to the asbestos that eventually ended their lives.  In 2006, an Ohio appeals court ruled that General Motors knew that an electrician was in danger from asbestos in the insulation on steam pipes and in wiring. In 2007, the family of a California electrician who died of malignant mesothelioma settled with six defendants for $2.3 million before the wrongful death case even went to trial.  And most recently, a jury in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania found eight manufacturers liable for the asbestos-related death of former Navy electrician’s mate, David Lanpher.

This entry was posted on Monday, July 18th, 2011 at 12:40 pm and is filed under News.

U.S. government reiterates its stance on asbestos’ carcinogenic properties

For as much as some industrial groups would like to argue the contrary, it has been proven time and time again that asbestos causes cancer.  This highly toxic mineral fiber was used throughout the 19th and 20th centuries in a variety of industries, but was banned in the United States and most first world nations in the 1980’s due to its hazardous effect on human health.

Once again Washington, D.C. has weighed in with the 12th edition of the congressionally mandated study of cancer-causing substances, known as the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services’ Report on Carcinogens, which reiterates that “asbestos and all commercial forms of asbestos are known to be human carcinogens based on sufficient evidence of carcinogenicity from studies in humans.”

Asbestos has been proven to cause a slew of fatal respiratory diseases, including asbestosis and lung cancer.  Plus it is the only known cause of mesothelioma, a rare and terminal cancer of the protective lining of the lungs, heart, chest and abdomen.

Among the people most susceptible to asbestos exposure and of subsequently contracting asbestos cancer are workers in the construction, shipbuilding and breaking, building demolition and automotive brake repair industries. These same workers can also cause the second-hand exposure of their family member by carrying asbestos fibers home on their clothes and bodies. Veteran mesothelioma is also quite common, as the U.S. military used asbestos heavily from the 1940s until the 1970s.

Malignant mesothelioma takes an average of 40 years to develop, and symptoms usually don’t appear until the cancer has reached stage three or four.  Symptoms include persistent cough, shortness of breath, problems swallowing, fatigue, weight loss, profuse sweating and pain in the chest, abdomen or when breathing.

This entry was posted on Thursday, July 21st, 2011 at 9:37 am and is filed under News.