Cancer

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 more...The city of Commerce, Texas has filed a lawsuit against a Louisiana property management company that alleges they improperly disposed of asbestos debris from an apartment complex they owned. The city of Commerce has filed the multi-million dollar suit against Fountainbleau Management of New Orleans alleging illegal asbestos disposal following a 2008 fire at the company’s Live Oak Apartments. An independent analysis by a Dallas company after the blaze found that the complex contained asbestos in ceilings, walls, and tiles. Asbestos, a naturally occurring mineral fiber was, for years, used in construction products for its tensile strength and more...Last Wednesday, a jury from Mississippi’s Smith County awarded Thomas Brown Jr. the biggest asbestos verdict in U.S. history. Brown is from Brookhaven, MS and filed his asbestos lawsuir against defendants Chevron Phillips Chemical (CP Chem) and Union Carbide Corporation. He has been granted $322 million by the jury to cover medical expenses, pain and suffering, and punitive damages. Mr. Brown spent from 1979 through the mid-1980’s working in Mississippi oil fields. He has since been diagnosed with asbestosis, a lung disease caused by exposure to asbestos. The disease has been relegated Mr. Brown to an oxygen breathing more...An asbestos removal project has begun at the Gifford Gardens Apartment Complex located in Gifford, Florida. A November 16th vote approved the demolition of the vacant 55-unit complex which has recently turned into a center for criminal activity. The first step in the demolition has begun with necessary asbestos removal. Asbestos is a mineral that, for decades, was used in numerous building products before the public learned of its hazardous health effects which include diseases like mesothelioma and lung cancer. The asbestos at the Gifford Gardens apartments is located in ceiling plaster and is acting as a fire more...The attorney General for Northern Ireland has referred the Damages (Asbestos-Related Conditions) Bill to the UK Supreme Court. People in Northern Ireland who suffer from asbestos-related diseases will be allowed to sue those responsible for damages. The court will hear the case in June. Two clauses added by the Northern Ireland Assembly are up for judicial review. “The Bill seeks to allow persons who have developed pleural plaques on their lungs - a form of scarring of the outer lining of the lung - following asbestos exposure to sue more...