We’ve got another story out of Sokolove’s home state of Massachusetts — this time not quite as heartwarming.

Home of the original settlement from Europeans, many towns here in Massachusetts were founded in the early 1600s. While few of the buildings in this state date back that far, it is safe to say Massachusetts is home to many more aged structures than most other states.

This includes schools — many of which were built in the early twentieth century. With these aging structures comes the threat of widespread asbestos exposure for thousands of students, and a recent press release from the group Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility (PEER) highlights just how dangerous this problem really is.

PEER described non-compliance with federal asbestos regulations as “widespread” and recommends the Federal Government intervene to coordinate mass-abatement procedures.

Data from the Massachusetts Cancer Registry indicates a noticeable increase in malignant mesothelioma and other asbestos-related diseases among teachers and administrators in the Bay State. The effects on schoolchildren have yet to be studied.

Here’s what’s truly frightening — nearly 90 percent of schools on average have not been in compliance with federal regulations in the past decade. In any one particular year during that term, no more than 22 percent had been in compliance. Recent inspections of 40 schools unearthed nearly 300 violations alone.

“School children, teachers, custodians and cafeteria workers are at risk of exposure throughout the Commonwealth,” said former EPA biologist and attorney Kyla Bennett. “These ultrahigh rates of noncompliance sound an alarm bell that we need more boots on the ground now to turn the corner on this by the end of the summer, before the schools reopen.”

Right now the Massachusetts Division of Occupational Safety is responsible for handling the abatement of schools, but Bennett says these alarming statistics indicate it may be time for the EPA to intervene and take jurisdiction from the state agency.

“Noncompliance rates on the order of 90 percent indicate that the Massachusetts Division of Occupational Safety may not have adequate resources to enforce federal asbestos protections,” Bennett said.

So, parents, keep this in mind when your children return to school in the fall. And let’s do all we can to Ban Asbestos Now.

In a story a bit out of left field, an Australian news outlet profiles a couple who have decided to continue life in a former asbestos mining town that has been all but quarantined by the Australian government.

Mario Hartmann and Gail Malcom are one of only eight remaining residents in the barren Western Australian town of Wittenoom. Once a booming mining town in the 1950s and 1960s, Wittenoom attracted new residents to fill high-paying mining jobs. But the closure of the mine in 1966 amid concerns of asbestos’ toxicity commenced the town’s slow demise into its current state.

The town is no longer recognized by the government, after a massive cleanup attempt failed to lower asbestos levels in the area. Maps and road signs now warn travelers to keep windows closed and to stay in one’s vehicle when passing through, and the government has eliminated all basic services in the area – essentially rendering Wittenoom a ghost town.

But these dire warnings don’t seem to bother Hartmann and Malcom, the latter being the first person to move to the town in decades and subsequently meeting her future husband when everyone else seemed to be moving out. For them, it seems leaving the town they met was unthinkable – as they turned turn a government offer of $43,000 to move out.

Of course, there is a reason Hartmann and Malcom are one of only eight remaining residents. They’re willing to take a chance that is not statistically good – that one can breathe in asbestos fibers on a daily basis for years and experience little to no side effects. 1,000 of 20,000 former residents have already succumbed to asbestos-related diseases like mesothelioma.

Not to mention the fact that, when living in a ghost town, eating requires more than a trip to the grocery store (Hartmann shoots Kangaroos to feed the family dog).

But the following quote from Hartmann best sums up his (perhaps misguided?) thought process:

“Cancer is a throw of the dice. Some people get it and some people don’t.”

As the largest Superfund site in the history of the U.S., the town of Libby, Mont. has been forever turned upside down by the vermiculite mine six miles outside of town that kicked up asbestos dust for decades and is directly responsible for killing more than 400 residents.

The Environmental Protection Agency have been a mainstay in Libby for nearly a decade, spending much of the time discovering that the asbestos problem is much worse than originally thought.

But the EPA aren’t the only ones interested in what’s going on in Libby. The Center for Asbestos Related Disease is undertaking a $4.8 million study of former residents who attended Libby High School between 1950 and 1999.

The purpose of the study is to track the health of these roughly 13,000 students and determine the extent of contamination – specifically why Libby residents have been diagnosed with Asbestos-related diseases on a much faster timeline than many others who have been exposed in other ways and places.

Dr. Stephen M. Levin, who is part of the study, said, “This progresses much more rapidly [in Libby residents] than your grandfather’s asbestos-related disease.”

Some theorize diseases has been faster-moving in Libby because of exposure while lungs were still developing – before the age of eighteen.

The attempt to clean up the pollution has been difficult at best, and advocates of the study say it could be important in helping the federal government better understand the problem.

Gayla Benefield, a prominent resident and spokesperson for what has been going on in Libby, talks about why this study is crucial as a way to better understand Asbestos exposure.

“We are sort of the petri dish of asbestos here in Libby,” she said.

In an incredible story out of Merced, Calif., the District Attorney announced charges have been filed against three construction workers for deliberately exposing teens to asbestos at a local construction site five years ago.

The group of high school students signed up for a hands-on experience to learn more about construction. However, instead of the usual hammer-and-nail or measure-and-cut exercise, the students were told to work on removing asbestos from a building being renovated on the site of the former Castle Air Force Base in Merced.

It is unclear from the video whether students were told they would be handling asbestos, but it is likely they were not – as supervisors neglected to give warn them of the dangers of what they were doing and failed to provide protective gear for the students.

A spokesperson for the District Attorney’s office said seven students have come forward, but more have been unknowingly exposed and need to be tracked down. Six more have called the office back since the story has gone public, yet more need to be found.

“It was a knowing and willing violation on all parts,” the spokesperson said.

She also acknowledged the motive of those responsible: to cut company costs, as proper asbestos removal can be costly and time consuming.

Unfortunately such cutting of corners is becoming all too common in a poor economy and a construction sector hurting even more. But what really is reprehensible is the knowing and willing exposure of innocents.

Three men have been found, taken into custody and charged in the matter. Bail has been set at $500,000.

The family of a former Miami construction firm owner has just received $14 million in compensatory and punitive damages from a mesothelioma settlement.  The Miami Dade jury concluded that William Aubin’s family should receive the sum from chemical manufacturer Union Carbide after Aubin passed away from mesothelioma cancer.  Mesothelioma is a rare and aggressive cancer caused almost exclusively by exposure to asbestos.  The disease can take 15-40 years to appear and often starts in the lungs (pleural mesothelioma) or the abdomen (peritoneal mesothelioma).  Victims only average about 1 year of life post-diagnosis.

Mr. Aubin suffered his asbestos exposure from operating his construction firm that used asbestos-laden Union Carbide products for over 40 years, said his mesothelioma attorney, Juan Bauta.  Because many asbestos manufacturers knew the potential hazards yet concealed this information from the public, the area of mesothelioma law has evolved to help compensate victims.  In this particular case, the jury awarded the $14 million because Union Carbide was found negligent for selling their asbestos-containing products without any warning labels that the dangerous material was present.  Union Carbide was not the only defendant and four of the compound manufacturers selling UC’s products were also found liable.

If you may have been exposed to asbestos, you may be entitled to financial compensation. To learn more about legal options, please contact us for a free, no-obligation evaluation of your potential claim.

Read the full article here.

Another instance of improper asbestos removal at a U.S. school is making news. This time, the incident occurred in Vermont’s state capital, Montpelier, where local flooring company Morrison-Clark, Inc., was accused in 2008 of improperly handling asbestos during a project at a local middle school.

With many of the schools around the country aging and in need of repair, it seems one of the stories we’re beginning to hear more often is about the problems with asbestos abatement in these schools – and,  sometimes, the lengthy court battle that accompanies it.

The company admitted no wrongdoing and agreed to settle the case – paying $65,000 to the Montpelier School District. However, this amount was not enough to recoup the legal fees and extra costs the district incurred running tests and doing necessary clean-up work after health inspectors found Morrison-Clark’s workers to be in violation.

John Hollar, school board chairman, said settling was the best option given the circumstances.

The school district originally filed a consumer fraud complaint against the company, saying a representative of Morrison-Clarke had assured a school district representative that the handling of the vinyl asbestos tiles would be done properly. The judge in the case threw out the complaint after determining it did not constitute consumer fraud.

The company also agreed to pay the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) $27,500 for allegedly violating the Clean Air Act and the National Emission Standard for Hazardous Air Pollutants for Asbestos. The EPA only got involved in the case after being tipped off by an anonymous call from an “asbestos contractor” working with the school district.

According to the EPA, the company did not provide a notice to the agency before starting work, did not wet the asbestos to keep dust from going airborne, failed to properly contain it for disposal and failed to properly handle and dispose of the asbestos.

Morrison-Clark has also been banned from performing any renovation or demolition work involving vinyl asbestos tiling.

This has been the twenty-fourth “compliance action” taken by the Vermont Department of Health in the last year alone – indicating the prevalence of asbestos and the ongoing problem of proper removal.

Asbestos products were widely used in construction until the mid-1970s and in some cases the mid-1980s, so it’s very conceivable to think a vast majority of schools around the country have asbestos issues to deal with.

Fined nearly $30,000 by the Environmental Protection Agency last week, three charter schools in Arizona were found guilty of not conducing initial asbestos inspections or developing an asbestos management plan.

The Asbestos Hazard Emergency Response Act (AHERA) requires regular inspection of U.S. schools. The act is a means of regulating, inspecting, cataloging and handling asbestos in all U.S. schools, and was put into law in 1986 to ensure the safety of public buildings from the dangers of asbestos exposure and that any asbestos material pre-existing is monitored and undamaged by renovations, age, or other circumstance.

The worst offender – Phoenix’s Cave Creek High School – failed to conduct ongoing inspections of its documented 12,580 square feet of asbestos material.

As long as asbestos is intact and not broken or exposed, the EPA considers the material safe. However, if asbestos products have been disturbed or tampered with, the risk of asbestos exposure increases exponentially. This highly increases the chances of inhalation, indirectly leading the mesothelioma or other asbestos-related diseases like asbestosis and lung cancer.

There are eight major steps to compliance – including instructing maintenance staff on asbestos awareness and handling, creating an asbestos management plan accessible to all parents and staff, requiring documentation of all asbestos-related activity, and conducting a survey every six months of asbestos sources.

What makes exposure even more dangerous is its latency period – symptoms sometimes do not set in for decades and often when it is too late for treatment.

All schools are now in compliance with AHERA.

Summer school plans have been put on hold for some after a building on the campus of Humboldt State University closed down last week because of possible asbestos exposure.

Faculty members of the chemistry department were inside the Science A building on the campus installing computer ports on lab tables, but were forced to cease work when it was discovered sanding of the tables was releasing asbestos into the air. The tables were partly composed of asbestos and sanding down the new ports created an unhealthy and dangerous situation for those in the building.

Heating and cooling systems were shut down to avoid the spread of the dangerous fibers.

Paul Mann, public information officer, said the measure was taken as a precaution – to ensure faculty who may be unaware of the incident were prevented from entering the building until conditions were deemed safe.

About two dozen people were found and asked to leave the building in the aftermath of the sanding mishap. They were asked to leave the building, then doors were locked and warning signs posted around the building.

Asbestos has commonly been used in building materials for years, especially prior to 1980 in the U.S. Everything from ceiling tiles, pipe insulation, to flooring and drywall contained asbestos – so remodeling work has become dangerous in recent years as aging homes and buildings are worked on.

The school is working with a local industrial hygienist trained in indoor air quality sampling and investigating to determine if any airborne asbestos still exists in the building.

“Health and safety is our first priority for students and faculty,” said Dean of Extended Education Dan Hansen. “We’ll keep our fingers crossed.”

The family of a Tyler, Texas woman that passed from mesothelioma have recently filed a wrongful death lawsuit to obtain a mesothelioma settlement.  Claudia Headley lost her battle with the disease on May 30, 2008.  Robert Headly, her husband, and sons Scott and Steven filed the suit against Shell Energy North America (US) LP, Royal Dutch Shell PLC, Exxon Mobile Corp. and Alon USA, as successor in interest to Cosden Petroleum, on May 28, 2010 in the Tyler Division of the Eastern District of Texas.  Exposure to asbestos is almost exclusively the cause of the rare and aggressive cancer mesothelioma.  It is a disease that can take 15-40 years to develop, often starting in the lungs (pleural mesothelioma) or the abdomen (peritoneal mesothelioma).  Victims of the disease typically have an average life expectancy of a year following a diagnosis.

The case of Mrs. Headley is commonly referred to as secondary asbestos exposure because it is believed that her disease was caused from the asbestos fibers brought home on her family’s work clothing.  Much of her family including her father, husband, and son were employed at various oil refineries in Texas.   The case contends that Claudia Headley was exposed because she would check the pockets and wash her family’s work clothing often coated with asbestos dust from work.

Instances of secondary exposure illustrate the dangers associated with asbestos.  Unfortunately, despite never working directly with asbestos products, Mrs. Headley died from this deadly cancer.  Because many of the asbestos manufacturers were aware of the potential hazards of their product, yet hid the information from the public, the area of mesothelioma law has evolved to help compensate victims and their families. The Headleys are seeking wrongful death damages for pecuniary loss, termination of the husband-wife relationship, mental anguish, loss of household services, termination of the parent-child relationship, necessary medical, funeral and burial expenses, exemplary damages, interest and court costs.

Read the full article here.

Residents of the Blue Valley mobile home park in East Boise, Idaho are upset because they are alleging that asbestos is buried in an area of the park where their children play.  They are angered because despite their claims, the owners of the park do not seem to be doing anything to fix the situation.  While the asbestos has not been independently verified, the residents are saying that they have proof that pipes made of asbestos materials are under a gazebo in a location where the children of the park play.

Asbestos is a known carcinogen and can cause a number of health problems including malignant mesothelioma, a rare and aggressive cancer caused solely by asbestos exposure.    Asbestos fibers can be released into the air when asbestos-containing products are disturbed. These fibers can be inhaled directly into the victim’s lungs or land on clothing, slowing for secondhand exposure.  Mesothelioma often takes from 15-40 years to develop and victims have a life expectancy of around a year post-diagnosis.

The residents believe that the pipes came from underneath their old community lake and that when dug up, the pipes were simply covered up.  The homeowners of the park are still in possession of the chunk of pipe that they are claiming contains asbestos.  The owners of the park have yet to comment on the matter, but hopefully a safe resolution to the matter can be reached.

Read the full article here.