The objective is to present historical asbestos airborne concentrations associated with activities involving presumably asbestos-containing materials in steel mills. A total of 138 historical industrial hygiene air samples collected in three US steel mills from 1972 to 1982 were analyzed. The majority of samples were collected during relining of … [Read more...]
A Most Reckless Proposal — A Plan to Continue Asbestos Use in the United States
Each year, nearly 40,000 Americans die often painful, protracted deaths from diseases caused by asbestos. These deaths occur in firefighters, police officers, construction workers, miners, military veterans, shipyard workers, and maintenance workers whose exposures to asbestos are primarily occupational. Death also occurs in partners and children … [Read more...]
Jury clears J&J of liability in California talc cancer case
A California jury on [November 14, 2018] cleared Johnson & Johnson of liability in a case involving a woman who alleged that the company’s talc-based products, including its baby powder, contain asbestos and caused her cancer, the company said. The jury in Humboldt County Superior Court in Eureka, California rejected claims by Carla Allen … [Read more...]
Home-Grown Asbestos
According to the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS), there are 142 former asbestos mines in the continental United States. Of these, only a handful of mines in a few states (California, Vermont, Arizona, and North Carolina) have produced large, commercial quantities of asbestos. Starting in the early 1960s, multiple large, open-pit mines in California … [Read more...]
It’s time for the EPA to ban asbestos once and for all
Nearly 40,000 Americans die from preventable asbestos-caused diseases every year, yet the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) still hasn't banned this toxic substance. Asbestos was once marketed as a "miracle mineral" for its flame-resistance, strength and flexibility to use in construction, but has since been revealed for what it truly is: a … [Read more...]
‘This house killed me’: DIY home renovators the third wave of asbestos victims
It was a winter's day when Herman Maifoffer walked out of his home for what he knew would be the last time. He had helped build the small three-bedroom house in Cabramatta where his three children had grown up and where he had lived for 40 years. As he was wheeled into an ambulance, his wife Rosemary asked if he wanted one last look around. … [Read more...]