Mesothelioma Lawyers Blog

August 30, 2011

Leominster Developer Fined $100,000 For Not Removing Asbestos

The Worcester Telegram & Gazette reports that a developer has been ordered by state officials to pay $100,000 to make up for breaking asbestos removal laws when renovating and converting a plastics company site to retail and commercial space.

At the turn of the 20th Century and the following decades, many builders used asbestos because it was fire-resistant and affordable in the building of factories, buildings and houses throughout New England. So, asbestos has been sitting in many older buildings for years and people have been exposed to asbestos in Boston and other towns throughout New England likely without knowing it.

And while asbestos is no longer being regularly used in buildings and products in the United States, it was never officially banned. Yet, at least some state officials have taken steps to make sure asbestos is removed from buildings that are redeveloped into shopping plazas or office complexes. These historic buildings that make New England beautiful shouldn’t be torn down because of asbestos, but they should be made safe for future generations.

Boston Mesothelioma Lawyers have seen the awful effects of asbestos exposure and how it can shorten a person’s life through no fault of their own.

According to the newspaper account, the project in Leominster, north of Worcester, was shut down in 2009 after Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection investigators found that required precautions weren’t taken to prevent the release of asbestos. According to the newspaper, workers removed asbestos insulation from heating pipes, dislodged and removed pipes covered with asbestos and got rid of other material containing asbestos — all illegally.

The state alleges in a lawsuit it filed against the developer that he continued renovating the old building even though the project was stopped by state officials. He allegedly pressed on with the work even though he needed emergency containment measures to be put into place, ordered by a state-licensed asbestos contractor.

The contractor later decontaminated the site and disposed of the asbestos waste from two buildings on site. The $100,000 fine was a settlement. A lawyer for the developer blamed the issue on a subcontractor. The building was formerly used to manufacture pink flamingo lawn ornaments and was one of Worcester’s first plastics companies. It went bankrupt and closed in 2006.

The average citizen must be aware of their surroundings. A person wouldn’t stand behind a vehicle spewing exhaust for fear that it could be harmful to them in the future. The same should go for whether they choose to live in an old apartment building or shop in a historical building that has since been converted to retail space.

While these buildings can look nice compared to quickly made and sometimes cookie-cutter looking modern buildings, they most likely were built with asbestos-laden products, including insulation, flooring, piping, boiler room equipment and other things. The primary risk comes when employees are asked to rehab such building and bring them up to date for modern uses. Without the proper precautions, asbestos exposure can have deadly results.
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August 25, 2011

Mesothelioma in Boston, DNA May Be Linked, Researchers Say

by Jeffrey S. Glassman

Philadelphia researchers have found a link between mesothelioma and genetics, a study published online recently suggest, Philly.com reports.

The study’s researchers hope that as more time and effort is put into studying mesothelioma that drugs can be developed that can lead to a cure for this currently incurable rare form of cancer. All the leading studies have shown that exposure to asbestos in New England and throughout the country is the main link to mesothelioma.

And while the study suggests that genetics may be a factor, it doesn’t suggest that asbestos exposure isn’t at play. If anything, it’s possible that some people may be predisposed to being more prone to getting mesothelioma, but it can’t be said at this point that genetics alone is the cause. Boston Mesothelioma Lawyers have seen long-time factory workers contract this cancer, as well as military veterans and those who worked with commonly used products like brake pads, insulation and floor and ceiling tiles.

The symptoms — heavy coughing, fluid and chest pain — seem just like old-age signs in some cases and may delay diagnosis.

Researchers at the Fox Chase Center Center in Philadelphia studied two extended families where they found mesothelioma “common.” After studying the families, 11 with the lung disease had mutations in a gene called BAP1 that is supposed to help suppress tumors.

Researchers hope their studying will lead to the development of new drugs and at least help increase the survival rate of those diagnosed. Patients with mesothelioma live for about 12 months after diagnosis. But those who are able to catch the cancer early before a tumor has spread to other parts of the body can live for up to five years.

Among the family members studied, several also had uveal melanoma, an eye tumor and one of them also had mesothelioma. After studying about two dozen other mesothelioma patients who had no familial link to the cancer, two others had the rare eye cancer as well. Members of the two families also had other forms of cancer, such as in the kidneys and breasts.

I think everyone would like to see more help for those who suffer from mesothelioma in New England and throughout the nation. It’s obvious that asbestos is dangerous and it’s also obvious that companies knew of its effects on workers and still continued to use it to insulate and to make products that every American would use.

Sadly, that’s why many Americans today are suffering the health consequences. It was the greed and profit-seeking nature of companies decades ago that continued to use asbestos despite knowing the risks. And now it’s their dedicated workers who are paying with their lives.

It’s certainly possible that some people are more apt to cancer, as some families have few people die of cancer, whereas in other families, it strikes everyone in one form or another. But the widely believed and trusted research shows that asbestos exposure is the trigger and cause of mesothelioma.
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August 20, 2011

Boston Mesothelioma Lawyers’ Asbestos Exposure Blog Series Hits West Coast

by Jeffrey S. Glassman

For several months now, Boston Mesothelioma Lawyers have been chronicling the more than two dozen sites where people may have been exposed to harmful asbestos fibers from processing plants.

As the series moves farther from the possible asbestos exposure in New England to sites out west, this blog will look at people who may have gotten mesothelioma in Portland, Oregon, Spokane, Washington and Honolulu, Hawaii.

Mesothelioma is a rare and incurable form of cancer. After exposure to asbestos, which has never been banned in the United States yet has been tied to mesothelioma and other illnesses, the microscopic fibers travel through a person’s body before landing on the lining of major organs, such as the heart, lungs and liver. There, they can stay for decades, developing and forming tumors. Some people can be exposed 30 to 40 years before diagnosis. And once diagnosed, the patient typically lives 12 months or less.

Asbestos exposure may have come at an early age, perhaps when serving in the U.S. military or while using commonly purchased consumer products, such as brake pads, floor and ceiling tiles, insulation or boiler room equipment, for instance. Or the exposure could have come by working years in an old factory or living in an older apartment complex.

Asbestos was used because of its fire-retardant qualities. But as more and more people became sick, companies were resistant to make changes and clean up their buildings. Many corporations knew the harmful effects of asbestos, yet continued to use it. And now, decades later, people are dying from it.

The Centers For Disease Control and Prevention analyzed 28 sites across the country where vermiculite, a natural mineral, was either mined or shipped to for processing. Seventy percent of the country’s vermiculite came from Libby, Montana and much of that vermiculite was tainted with asbestos.

The CDC analysis of those sites looked at whether those areas may have caused people to get sick and whether there is still dangerous asbestos in the soil some 15 years after mining stopped in 1990.

Mesothelioma Portland: This city had two processing plants, one run by Vermiculite-Northwest, Inc.and the other run by Supreme Perlite Company.

The Supreme Perlite Company plant operated from 1968 through 1974 and processed more than 600 tons of vermiculite. The Vermiculite-Northwest plant was in business from the 1950s through 1993. In that time, workers processed more than 193,000 tons of vermiculite. Both workers and those who lived near the plants may have been exposed to this harmful mineral.

Mesothelioma in Spokane: Washington’s only vermiculite processing plant, this facility was owned and operated by Vermiculite-Northwest and W.R. Grace. This plant processed more than 100,000 tons of asbestos.

Mesothelioma in Honolulu: This facility operated from 1954 to 1983 and was run by Vermiculite of Hawaii. Records show the plant received more than 100,000 tons of vermiculite for processing during that time.
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August 18, 2011

Asbestos Exposure Sites Revealed by Boston Mesothelioma Lawyers

by Jeffrey S. Glassman

The Centers For Disease Control and Prevention has highlighted more than two dozen factories throughout the country that processed vermiculite that was tainted with asbestos.

The plants ceased in 1990 or earlier after it was discovered that the vermiculite, a natural mineral, was contaminated with asbestos, which can lead to life-threatening illnesses, including mesothelioma in Boston and throughout New England. Boston Mesothelioma Attorneys know that many people were unknowingly exposed to asbestos either through work at factories or older buildings. And it’s that exposure that can lead to a diagnosis of mesothelioma and other asbestos-related illnesses.

Entire towns could have been exposed to asbestos as the tainted vermiculite was shipped from 1920 to 1990 throughout the country. Asbestos was a popular insulator because of its fire-resistant abilities and so it was used in the building of houses as well as in the manufacturing of other products, such as brake pads, cement, generators and all other sorts of commonly purchased goods.

Exposure to asbestos can go largely unnoticed for years and sometimes decades. Research has shown that these microscopic flakes can be inhaled and travel through the blood stream until they rest on major organs, including the lungs, heart or liver. They can stay for up to 30 or 40 years undetected before a person has the symptoms common of mesothelioma, such as coughing, fluid build up and chest pain. Once a person is diagnosed with mesothelioma, they have, on average, a year to live.

There is no cure to this form of cancer and the effects can be devastating to a family. A life can be cut short because a former employer denied to improve upon the safety of their workers by allowing a building to be tainted with asbestos, despite knowing the problems of the material.

In our latest blog in a series about sites detailed by the CDC, Boston Mesothelioma Lawyers hit the west coast, with three plants that processed tainted vermiculite in California.

Mesothelioma in Santa Ana: This W.R. Grace & Company plant in Southern California processed vermiculite from a mine in Libby from 1972 to 1993.
During that time, workers at the plant processed more than 400,000 tons of vermiculite and in 1990, when the plant was still operating, about 35,000 people lived within a mile of the plant.

Asbestos in Los Angeles: This plant processed vermiculite from 1950 to 1977, processing more than 120,000 tons of the natural mineral. It’s unclear for what purpose the vermiculite was processed at this plant.

Mesothelioma Diagnosis in Newark: This W.R. Grace plant operated from 1966 to 1993 and workers, those who lived with them or lived near the plant may have been exposed to asbestos.

In the 27 years the plant operated, it processed about 300,000 tons of vermiculite from the mine in Libby. This plant is located about 30 miles south of San Francisco in a mixed commercial, industrial and residential use area.
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August 17, 2011

Forensic Sculptor Dies of Pleural Mesothelioma at 70

by Jeffrey S. Glassman

A 70-year-old forensic sculptor, a rare field that aids police in investigating murder victims, died recently in Philadelphia of pleural mesothelioma, a rare form of incurable cancer.

Boston Mesothelioma Lawyers have seen the devastation of family members who have lost a loved one to mesothelioma in New England, as it is a rapid-moving form of cancer once detected that has no known cure.

Frank Bender made his living sculpting the faces of crime victims through the studying of skulls. He was diagnosed with pleural mesothelioma, a form of the cancer that attacks the outer lining of the lungs.

The obituary goes on to lay out the man’s extraordinary career, which started with his photography skills and morphed into a life of re-creating the faces of murdered or missing victims in cases where DNA, fingerprints and dental records did little good. His goals was to help law enforcement try to identify someone. His work was used by local law enforcement agencies, the FBI and was featured on America’s Most Wanted.

After leaving the U.S. Navy, he took painting classes at the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts in Philadelphia. Because there were no anatomy classes offered at night, he ventured to the morgue and saw the body of a woman, who was shot in the head and unrecognizable. He told the medical examiner he knew what she looked like and proceeding to create a bust of a woman later identified as Anna Duval, a Phoenix woman who traveled east to recoup money; her killer was fingered as a mob hit man.

But, sadly, the man’s life was cut short because of mesothelioma and likely exposure to asbestos. The obituary notes he served in the U.S. Navy which is significant because this branch of the armed forces was a major consumer of asbestos — it was used as insulation on warships as well as in shipyards throughout the United States.

Much of the country’s vermiculite, a natural mineral, was contaminated with asbestos and came from a mine in Libby, Montana. As the Mesothelioma Lawyers Blog has documented for months, this asbestos was useful as an insulator and was used in manufacturing of floor and ceiling tiles, peat moss and other products for years. Asbestos can be found in many historic homes and buildings throughout New England because it was fire-resistant and affordable.

But companies became aware of its harmful effects and link to illnesses and many refused to change, didn’t tell employees of the risks or didn’t clean up the buildings or factories that contained the materials.

Microscopic asbestos flakes can be ingested over time and travel through the blood system and can rest on the lining of the lungs, heart, liver or other major organs. They can stay for decades, sometimes 30 or 40 years, before causing common symptoms, such as chest pain, coughing and built-up fluid. The median lifespan after diagnosis is 12 months.
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August 15, 2011

Norwood 21-Year-Old Diagnosed With Mesothelioma

by Jeffrey S. Glassman

The Boston Globe recently reported about a 21-year-old, who was the football and hockey captain at Norwood High School. The young man was recently diagnosed with the rare form of cancer mesothelioma.

This is the second case of a young person who has been diagnosed with cancer that the Mesothelioma Lawyers Blog has reported on. A California teenage football player recently died after being diagnosed with the cancer only a few months earlier. Now the case hits home with a young man being diagnosed with mesothelioma in New England.

According to the article, the young man is being treated at the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute in Boston. He was diagnosed with peritoneal mesothelioma in February. That form of cancer, which affects the lining of the abdomen, affects 100 to 500 diagnosed Americans each year.

Family and friends recently held a fundraiser for the man, whose family has been saddled with expensive medical bills and are financially exhausted. Doctors believe he would be best cared for using alternative treatments, which aren’t available in Boston and some which may not be covered by insurance.

This is a sad story, heightened perhaps by the fact that the patient in this case is so young. Many mesothelioma patients are older, having been exposed to asbestos over time and after having the microscopic asbestos flakes sit for 30 to 40 years before being diagnosed with mesothelioma:

Shortness of breath
Fluid in the chest wall
Fatigue
Wheezing or coughing
Coughed up blood
Abdominal pain
Bowel problems

Some would simply attribute the symptoms to old age, or years of smoking; but they can actually be attributed to exposure to asbestos. For many of these older patients, it’s from years in the military, which was a large user of asbestos. For others, they may have spent years working at factories or older buildings or with parts that used asbestos, such as brake pads and other manufactured goods.

But it now appears that young adults may have spent years being exposed to asbestos as they were growing up and it has caused mesothelioma at a younger age. Growing up in New England, many people may be exposed to asbestos after living in, playing in or going to school in older buildings that may contain asbestos. Asbestos was used for insulation in many buildings at the turn of the 20th century and onward until manufactures started to use it less frequently after realizing the ill-effects.

But some manufacturers continued using it, despite knowing that asbestos exposure was dangerous and could potentially cause ailments and death. The United States never officially banned its use, but it has been significantly curtailed. However, many historic buildings throughout New England are known to contain the natural mineral, despite years of warnings about the potential problems.
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August 13, 2011

Massachusetts Files $1 Million Claim to Clean Up Asbestos in Walpole

by Jeffrey S. Glassman

Officials in Massachusetts have filed a $1 million claim for funds to clean up more than 100 years of pollution from companies, Dow Jones Newswires reported recently.

Among the companies the state is requesting money from is the predecessor to W.R. Grace & Co., which, as the Mesothelioma Lawyers Blog has previously reported, was responsible for operating the vermiculite mine in Libby, Montana as well as several plants that processed the asbestos-tainted vermiculite.

Mesothelioma in Massachusetts is a serious form of cancer that is deadly and incurable. Research has shown that the median life expectancy after diagnosis is about 12 months. Our Boston Mesothelioma Lawyers have seen the destruction this cancer and other asbestos-related illnesses can do to a family.

According to the article, factories around the 22 acres of land in water in the state’s Blackburn & Union Privileges Superfund Site were contaminated with asbestos, arsenic, lead and other hazardous substances.

This latest proposed settlement follows a roughly $13 million agreement last year with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. It includes $300,000 to help fund state-run groundwater restoration projects and $575,000 for other U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service projects.

The company that preceded W.R. Grace & Company manufactured asbestos brake linings and clutch linings at the property from 1915 to 1936, the state said. A predecessor to another party in the settlement, Tyco Healthcare Group, LP, later ran a textile factory there from 1946 to 1983 and used caustic solutions.

W.R. Grace ran the Libby mine from 1963 to 1990, when it was shut down. The mine operated beginning in 1919 and shipped — at its peak — about 2 million tons of asbestos-laced vermiculite throughout the country. Plants across the United States heated the vermiculite and turned it into insulation, peat moss, ceiling and floor tiles and other commonly used products. The U.S. Navy was a large importer of the material and used it on ships and in shipyards. The Libby mine produced about 70 percent of the country’s vermiculite.

In Libby, where many people worked at the plant because it was a main source of employment, hundreds have died and many have fallen ill because of asbestos-related diseases. Some have noted that the town was coated in a film caused by the mine and its workers.

These microscopic asbestos flakes were ingested by workers, their families and anyone who lived nearby. And the asbestos would travel through the blood system and land on major organs, such as the heart and lungs. There, they would stay for sometimes decades before producing symptoms of mesothelioma — chest pain, coughing, shortness of breath and fluid.

Because the asbestos can cultivate for sometimes 30 or 40 years before showing symptoms, many smokers would simply chalk up the pain to a smoking habit or older people to the aging process. But exposure to asbestos was preventable, as many companies and employers knew the hazardous effects, yet exposed workers without regard for the health and well-being.
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August 10, 2011

June Massachusetts Tornadoes Exposed Many to Asbestos From Historic Buildings

by Jeffrey S. Glassman

The June tornadoes that ripped through Springfield and other parts of western Massachusetts destroyed buildings — killing three people.

But as the Daily Hampshire Gazette recently reported, along with the destruction, the tornadoes may have opened up a secondary public concern with exposure to asbestos. Because many of the buildings in Springfield are several centuries old, many were build with asbestos.

Asbestos has never been officially banned in the United States, but companies have wisely discontinued its use after it became linked to illnesses and cancer, such as mesothelioma. Buildings constructed centuries ago and into the 1970s may have contained asbestos. It was used because of its ability to insulate and be a fire retardant.

And workers in older buildings and factories, as well as Navy seaman, may have been exposed to the natural mineral for years. The U.S. military was a heavy user of asbestos. But asbestos is tricky in that exposure is difficult to detect because it is microscopic and can be ingested or inhaled and sit inside a person for up to 40 years without being detected. After attaching to major organs, such as the heart and lungs, it can lead to a diagnosis of many illnesses, including mesothelioma. Mesothelioma patients have an average life expectancy of 12 months after diagnosis.

According to the article, there were an estimated 500 buildings destroyed in Springfield after tornadoes, one with maximum winds of 160 mph, wreaked havoc on a 39-mile path in about an hour. Debris was found as far away as 40 miles.

Immediately following the tornado, with many buildings collapsed, there was a risk to public health from airborne asbestos fibers.

“During the demolition, we monitored the air quality in downtown Springfield and all the results were well within health and safety standards,” said Catherine Skiba, spokeswoman for the Western Massachusetts regional office of the Department of Environmental Protection.

While there may be standards for the air quality, it’s unclear from the article exactly how frequently the air was tested and when. The article also only addresses Springfield and not the neighboring towns.

Cleanup crews from throughout the region that came to help could have been exposed to asbestos in older buildings that collapsed. Emergency responders to Ground Zero in New York following the Sept. 11, 2001 terrorist attacks were said to be exposed to high concentrations of asbestos.

While it would certainly be good news if those living in tornado-damaged towns and cities weren’t exposed to high levels of asbestos, it may be prudent to see a doctor anyway. For those who have lived in New England and visited, worked in or lived in centuries-old buildings, exposure to asbestos may be ongoing without us even knowing it.
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August 5, 2011

Boston Mesothelioma Lawyers’ Series on Asbestos Exposure Sites Moves West

by Jeffrey S. Glassman

Boston Mesothelioma Lawyers have spent months documenting the cities across the country that have been exposed to asbestos-laced vermiculite due to mining and processing procedures.

Vermiculite was mined mainly in Libby, Montana, which produced 70 percent of the country’s supply the natural mineral from the early 20th Century until 1990. Much of the vermiculite was tainted with asbestos, which has been linked to illnesses, including mesothelioma, a deadly and incurable cancer.

Asbestos has never officially been banned in the United States, but companies have curtailed its use due to the clear link to illnesses and cancer. When ingested, those exposed to asbestos don’t realize it. The microscopic flakes travel through the blood system and land on the lining of major organs, such as the lungs and heart. They can stay, largely unnoticed, for years and sometimes up to 30 or 40 years before a mesothelioma diagnosis is made. Once diagnosed, the average life span is 12 months.

This debilitating cancer, and other asbestos-related illnesses like it, were largely preventable. Because of its ability to insulate and help buildings be fire-retardant, it was a popular product. It was used not only as insulation, but also to manufacture ceiling and floor tiles and peat moss, among other products. But as workers in mines and older buildings along with U.S. Navy seamen and other military personnel where it was used began falling ill, companies who knew of its dangerousness should have stopped using it. Many did not.

This series looks at the processing plants in cities where asbestos-laced vermiculite was shipped and a recent study by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, which did testing on the sites to determine the amount of exposure and the amount of asbestos there today, some two decades after the Libby mine stopped shipping vermiculite across the country.

Mesothelioma in Denver: This Western Minerals Company plant operated from around 1967 to 1990. The plant processed vermiculite contaminated with asbestos. More than 100,000 tons of vermiculite was processed at the plant.

Since 1990, the site has been occupied by Minnesota Corn Processors, a corn syrup manufacturer. In 1990, while the plant was still operating, about 13,000 people lived within one mile of the site, according to U.S. Census data. Soil sampling showed that asbestos was still in the ground to this day.

Mesothelioma in Phoenix: This W.R. Grace/Solomon’s Mines company plant operated from 1964 until 1992.

The CDC reports that the mine processed more than 100,000 tons of vermiculite in the nearly 40 years it operated. The plant continues to process vermiculite, but from safer sources, the CDC reports.

Mesothelioma in Glendale: The Ari-Zonolite Company plant processed vermiculite from Libby between 1951 and 1964. Plant workers processed more than 100,000 tons of the mineral.

As with all sites, workers, those who lived with workers and those who lived near the site may have been exposed to asbestos. A checkup with a doctor may be appropriate.
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July 30, 2011

Massachusetts School Contains Asbestos; School Will Replace Gym

by Jeffrey S. Glassman

A southern Massachusetts school’s buckling gymnasium floor led engineers to discover traces of asbestos in the glue beneath, costing the school at least $280,000 to replace, The Herald News reports.

While this is a lot of money for a school district at a time when many schools are facing budget cuts and unsure financial times, this is a critical step they must take. Asbestos exposure in Boston and throughout the nation can lead to a diagnosis of the cancer mesothelioma and other illnesses that are life-threatening. Consulting with an experienced Mesothelioma Attorney in Boston will ensure the case is properly reviewed — justice is worth fighting for.

In Swanea, which is near Providence, R.I., the school system’s assistant superintendent told the newspaper the trace amounts of asbestos were not considered harmful to those using the gym because asbestos typically poses a danger when flakes can be inhaled.

The School Department has inquired with the Massachusetts School Building Authority to see if emergency funding can be acquired. If not, Joseph Case High School will require a loan to pay for the floor replacement. Humidity and age is to blame for the floor warping over the years. The air circulation system, which pumps in outside air and recirculates it into the gym is also to blame.

The current floor is made of maple and was installed in 1975. Beneath the floor is a layer of tar paper and cork adhered to cement, the newspaper reports. Because of the asbestos, demolition will require an asbestos abatement, which will cost between $100,000 and $130,000. The cost for a straight demolition would have been about $30,000.

While it is great news that the gym of the high school is being replaced, this story shows that oftentimes businesses — and in this case schools — aren’t quick to address the potentially deadly effects of asbestos.

While officials told the newspaper they don’t believe anyone was harmed by the asbestos in the school’s gym, it may be difficult to actually make that statement. While it is true that asbestos exposure is harmful when flakes are inhaled, it’s possible that an old gym that has been deteriorating for years could have let asbestos into the air.

It is microscopic and difficult to track. So, for the last 36 years while asbestos has been in that old gym, countless numbers of students, parents and community members have attended sporting events and other events, while possibly being exposed. Asbestos in old schools and other buildings remains quite common — another indicator of the risks.

The same can be said for thousands of buildings throughout New England that are old and likely built with asbestos. Asbestos is a naturally occurring mineral that was mined in the United States from the early 20th Century until around 1990. While it has never officially been banned, companies have curtailed its use in the wake of discoveries that it causes deadly illnesses. It was once primarily used in the construction of buildings because of its fire-retardant quality and its ability to insulate houses and buildings.
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