Alaska Lawmakers Allow Asbestos in Gravel
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Alaska Lawmakers Allow Asbestos in Gravel

ByAlex Strauss

Alaska lawmakers have decided not to let the threat of mesothelioma stand in the way of progress. In April, the state legislature voted to allow mining and use of asbestos gravel in communities where NOT using it would be too expensive. Asbestos, a mineral long associated with malignant mesothelioma, occurs naturally in many parts of the state.  But according to Alaska Public Radio, the presence of asbestos has stopped construction on roads and other public projects that depend on local gravel. The new legislation gives legal protection to landowners and construction companies if people exposed to asbestos contract mesothelioma or another asbestos-linked illness.  Although the bill’s sponsor says it is intended to jump start projects that have been on hold for years…

Finding the Mesothelioma Asbestos Connection
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Finding the Mesothelioma Asbestos Connection

ByAlex Strauss

Even though the cause of mesothelioma – exposure to asbestos – is well-known, it is not always easy for a mesothelioma patient to find his or her own ‘asbestos connection’. For people who worked in asbestos-filled job environments, such as asbestos mines or factories which manufactured asbestos-containing products, the connection can be obvious. The same is true for mesothelioma patients who have worked as electricians, plumbers, construction workers, or in ship building or demolition – all careers where exposure to asbestos materials was common. But for others, the link can be more challenging.  Since work history can be a vital part of diagnosing mesothelioma, not knowing where, or even if, a person has been exposed to asbestos can delay treatment and impact…

Australian Court: Asbestos Company Directors Guilty
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Australian Court: Asbestos Company Directors Guilty

ByAlex Strauss

After a legal battle that lasted more than ten years and prompted a made-for-TV movie in Australia, seven former corporate directors were recently found guilty of lying to employees and the public about mesothelioma compensation. Building product company James Hardie Industries was Australia’s biggest producer of asbestos cement and had manufactured asbestos products of various kinds since the 1930’s. In 2001, it moved its operation overseas, leaving behind a trust fund for Australian workers whose asbestos exposure at work put them at risk of mesothelioma and other asbestos related diseases. The company publicly stated that this mesothelioma compensation fund was ‘fully funded’ and would provide ‘certainty’ for current and future mesothelioma victims. In fact, the fund was on the verge of…

Mesothelioma Vaccine Jump Starts Immunity
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Mesothelioma Vaccine Jump Starts Immunity

ByAlex Strauss

Scientists studying a vaccine for mesothelioma have published some of their most important preliminary data in the respected medical journal Lung Cancer. Mesothelioma, a cancer of the organ linings caused by asbestos exposure, is highly resistant to conventional treatments.  Not only does it grow quickly, but its shape makes detection and removal difficult. Unlike some other types of solid tumors which may grow in a mass, mesothelioma tumors tend to spread out in a sheet-like formation across membranes. The UK scientists have been experimenting with a new method for targeting and destroying mesothelioma tumors, regardless of their shape. 5T4 is an antigen overexpressed by several kinds of cancer cells. The researchers tested for 5T4 in mesothelioma cells taken from 11 lab-grown cell…

Mesothelioma Still on the Rise in Japan
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Mesothelioma Still on the Rise in Japan

ByAlex Strauss

While the rate of mesothelioma continues to slowly decline in the U.S., the virulent asbestos-linked cancer is still on the rise in Japan. A new Japanese study on future health trends projects that the incidence of mesothelioma won’t peak in Japan until 2027.  In the meantime, tens of thousands of Japanese workers are expected to die of mesothelioma.  Based on considerations such as the number of workers in industrial jobs and the likelihood of asbestos exposure, the study projects the mesothelioma death toll to reach 66,327 people ages 50 to 89 between 2003 and 2050. Although a 2009 study of Japanese mesothelioma risk predicted a maximum of just 37,000 deaths by 2070, the new study’s authors say their prediction method is likely…

Chemoprevention of Mesothelioma: A Neglected Approach?
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Chemoprevention of Mesothelioma: A Neglected Approach?

ByAlex Strauss

A group of researchers in Italy is calling for renewed study of a mesothelioma prevention approach they say has been ignored for too long. The method, called chemoprevention, involves using low doses of targeted toxins to seek out and kill cells that have the potential of turning into mesothelioma.  Ideally, these agents are designed to latch onto compounds that are only produced by pre-cancerous cells, minimizing the risk to healthy cells. This idea may be particularly valuable for malignant mesothelioma.  Although the cause – asbestos exposure – is well-known,  there is no way to keep exposed individuals from developing the disease. And because the early symptoms of mesothelioma are typically mild and may mimic other, less serious, conditions, mesothelioma is frequently diagnosed…

Mesothelioma Death: Asbestos Was Climber’s Greatest Risk
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Mesothelioma Death: Asbestos Was Climber’s Greatest Risk

ByAlex Strauss

An Australian mountain climber who made headlines in 2006 by surviving a harrowing experience on Mt. Everest has died of mesothelioma. Fifty-six year old Lincoln Hall had climbed many of the world’s highest peaks, including Mt. Everest in 2006.  But when he developed serious symptoms of oxygen deprivation on the way down, he was left for dead by his climbing team. An American guide and his two clients found Hall the next day and sacrificed their own summit experience to save his life.  After treatment in a Nepal hospital for a chest infection, fluid on his brain and frostbite, Hall eventually returned to Australia where he was hailed as a hero. Despite the risks Hall took in his life, including his…

New Trust for Navy Veterans with Mesothelioma
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New Trust for Navy Veterans with Mesothelioma

ByAlex Strauss

Starting this month, Navy veterans who contracted mesothelioma by working with certain types of valves and steam control equipment on ships have a new potential source to help pay their medical bills and expenses. CIRCOR, the parent company of Leslie Controls, a major supplier of valves and gaskets to the US Navy from the 1940s until the 1980s, has created a trust fund specifically for Navy veterans with mesothelioma and other asbestos-related diseases.  The $74 million dollar trust fund was part of a Chapter 11 bankruptcy reorganization plan. Mesothelioma is caused by exposure to the fibrous mineral, asbestos. Asbestos is a known carcinogen that has been linked not only to mesothelioma but also to lung cancer, asbestosis, and a host of other…

Asbestosis and Mesothelioma Rates Remain High in Louisiana
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Asbestosis and Mesothelioma Rates Remain High in Louisiana

ByAlex Strauss

A new report has some discouraging health news for the residents of Louisiana: Their risk of mesothelioma and other asbestos-related diseases remains higher than residents of other states, despite an increase in asbestos regulation. In a recent study of the chronic, debilitating lung disease, asbestosis, researchers in the Louisiana Department of Health and Hospitals note that the state has more facilities that produce, process or use asbestos than any other state in the US. Like mesothelioma, a deadly cancer of internal body membranes, asbestosis is caused by inhaling or ingesting asbestos fibers. “As a condition highly associated with occupational exposure, its incidence has been affected by changes in industry standards,” the authors write in the Journal of the Louisiana State Medical…

Italy Verdict May Have Worldwide Mesothelioma Impact
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Italy Verdict May Have Worldwide Mesothelioma Impact

ByAlex Strauss

Advocates of better protection for workers from mesothelioma and other occupational diseases have won a major court victory. A Swiss billionaire and a Belgian executive – both former managers in the Italian affiliate of the Eternit cement company – have been sentenced to 16 years in jail and ordered to pay millions of Euros for negligence that led to more than 2,000 deaths from mesothelioma and other asbestos-related diseases. The Reuters news agency predicts that the decision, announced in Turin, Italy, could “set a precedent for proceedings worldwide about safety in the workplace.” Stephan Schmidheiny was a former owner of the cement company and Jean Louis Marie Ghislain de Cartier de Marchienne was a shareholder and former manager in the…