When repairs were needed on an old nuclear power plant in Surry, VA, contract workers were called in to do the work. Hundreds of workers were hired including electricians, pipe fitters, general laborers and other contractors from eight different companies. When a dozen workers were caught in a cloud of asbestos after cutting some old pipe, the workers reported the incident. The exposed workers report that they were told all asbestos-containing pipes would be clearly labeled, but they were not labeled at all. A state investigation ensued and six of the eight companies involved in the plant restoration work
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Only now, three full years after her conviction, is she finally sentenced, the woman responsible for endangering hundreds of illegal asbestos workers and innumerable members of New England communities. Albania DeLeon’s punishment is largely financial. She was ordered to pay $1.2 million restitution to the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) and $370,000 restitution to AIM Insurance. Her prison sentence is a mere seven years, with three years of probation after her release. That seems mild compared to the death sentence handed down by most asbestos related illnesses, including asbestosis, mesothelioma and other malignant cancers. Here’s a crime that
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As the 10th anniversary of the 9/11 tragedy approaches, a newly published study offers hints of a possible link between exposure to chemicals released after New York's World Trade Center collapsed and the development of cancer in firefighters who toiled at ground zero. The New York Times reports that the study, released in the British medical journal The Lancet, reveals that 9/11 firefighters are 19 percent more likely to develop cancer than those who were not at the Trade Center wreckage. Although the study’s leader, Dr. David J. Prezant, asserts its findings are far
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Amid a labor dispute and continued debate regarding the asbestos industry as a whole, the only fully operational asbestos mine in Canada is sending out reports saying it may soon be closing its doors. The Quebec-based LAB Chrysotile announced on Tuesday that it may soon shut down operations at its Thetford Mines in the city of Asbestos if a labor conflict with the workers’ union is not resolved. “We've given ourselves 16 weeks to deal with our problems," Mine President Simon Dupere told The Canadian Press in a telephone interview. Despite
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In light of recent reports that there are bark and wood chip products that are contaminated with asbestos, yet being sold in Libby, Montana as well as many other areas, state Senator Max Baucus is stepping in to look for some answers. The Associated Press recently reported that the Environmental Protection Agency has known for at least three years that wood chips that were contaminated with asbestos fibers had been used in yards, city parks, schools, and other public places throughout Libby. Despite the agency’s being aware that dangerous asbestos fibers were being placed throughout the city,
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