Attic-Stored Christmas Décor Could Pose Risk of Mesothelioma
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Attic-Stored Christmas Décor Could Pose Risk of Mesothelioma

ByAlex Strauss

Christmas decorations stored in the attic could carry a hidden health risk of mesothelioma and other asbestos caused diseases for millions of American homes. An estimated 35 million older homes are insulated with a vermiculite insulation sold under the brand name Zonolite. But the vermiculite mined by the W.R. Grace Company to produce Zonolite has been found to also contain fibers of asbestos, a naturally-occurring mineral that has been linked to such deadly diseases as asbestosis, lung cancer and mesothelioma. The EPA says Zonolite insulation is unlikely to pose a health risk when left undisturbed.  But inhaling the insulation dust accidently transported from the attic on Christmas decorations, wreaths, artificial trees or lights could put residents at serious risk including causing or…

Legal Settlements Highlight Mesothelioma Risk
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Legal Settlements Highlight Mesothelioma Risk

ByAlex Strauss

Recent large legal settlements in the Northeast highlight the continuing legacy of mesothelioma and asbestos exposure for U.S. industrial workers. Courts in New York and New Jersey have awarded more than $8 million dollars in recent weeks to workers who contracted mesothelioma from working around asbestos. A naturally occurring mineral once mined by the ton, asbestos can become deadly when inhaled or ingested.  Its tiny rock-like fibers lodge in the lungs or other organs, triggering inflammation that can lead to asbestosis, lung cancer or mesothelioma over time.  Mesothelioma can take 20 to 50 years to develop and is very difficult to cure. Asbestos was used in many products including the roofs and wallboard of houses, oven mitts used in kitchens, the boiler…

Mesothelioma Study Could Lead to Drug for Prevention
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Mesothelioma Study Could Lead to Drug for Prevention

ByAlex Strauss

Asbestos exposure is the biggest risk factor for the development of malignant mesothelioma, a rare but aggressive cancer that usually carries a poor prognosis.  The numbers of mesothelioma patients is rising as more people pay the price for years of asbestos exposure.  While researchers around the world search for more effective treatments, a group of scientists in Italy have discovered information that may eventually be used not only to treat but to prevent mesothelioma in high risk patients. Researchers in the Department of Clinical and Experimental Medicine at the University of Ferrara are studying the presence of adenosine receptors (ARs) in the pleura, or lung lining, of patients with and without malignant mesothelioma.   Adenosine receptors are involved in processes such as…

Firefighters Want Lifetime Monitoring for Mesothelioma
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Firefighters Want Lifetime Monitoring for Mesothelioma

ByAlex Strauss

A group of firefighters in Washington State may pave the way for better protection of others who are at risk of mesothelioma cancer. The firefighters in Everett, Washington were exposed to asbestos, a known carcinogen, during training exercises in city-owned homes in 2007.  Because it was a training exercise, the firefighters were not wearing the type of gear that would normally protect them from deadly asbestos fibers and health risks like mesothelioma.  Now, they are asking their city to pay to have doctors monitor them for mesothelioma throughout their lives, or face a possible lawsuit. According to the Everett online news source, HeraldNet, dozens of firefighters and their families are asking for $9 million from the city to provide lifetime monitoring for…

Controversy over California State Rock Raises Awareness
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Controversy over California State Rock Raises Awareness

ByAlex Strauss

People opposed to a proposal to drop serpentine as California’s official state rock are making their voices heard.  But the asbestos awareness group that helped craft the legislation says the debate is actually helping to fuel their cause. Linda Reinstein is co-founder of the Asbestos Disease Awareness Organization (ADAO), the largest independent organization dedicated to preventing asbestos-related diseases through education and legislation.  The group worked with California legislators to draft Senate Bill 624 which would strip serpentine – the host rock for the toxic mineral asbestos – of the title it has held since 1965. “This is a symbolic move meant to show support for patients and for families who have lost loved one to asbestos-related diseases,” says Reinstein.  “California…

Outdoor Recreation Could Pose Mesothelioma Risk in California
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Outdoor Recreation Could Pose Mesothelioma Risk in California

ByAlex Strauss

Outdoor enthusiasts are being warned to steer clear of the trails around abandoned gold mines in California’s Sierra Nevada foothills, or risk mesothelioma and other asbestos related diseases. A study by The Sierra Fund (TSF) says mountain bikers, hikers and horseback riders in these areas could be in danger of serious health hazards including mesothelioma because of high levels of toxic minerals in the soil around the old mines.  The study, called The Gold Country Recreational Trails and Abandoned Mines Assessment, found many of these public lands to be contaminated with lead, arsenic and asbestos. According to Elizabeth Martin, CEO of The Sierra Fund, “More than 100 years after the end of the Gold Rush era, the environmental, cultural and health impacts of that…

Experts Predict Mesothelioma Epidemic in India

Experts Predict Mesothelioma Epidemic in India

ByAlex Strauss

Once prized as an insulator and building material, the mineral asbestos is now recognized by health experts around the world, including the World Health Organization (WHO), as a potent carcinogen that can cause mesothelioma and other asbestos related diseases.  While many industrialized nations now ban or seriously restrict its use, India continues to import and use asbestos at a rate that is alarming the world medical community. A recent article published in the British medical journal, The Lancet, predicts that with “India’s surging consumption of asbestos, the industry’s hefty political and economic clout, and the country’s poor record of worker protection….a sizeable burden of asbestos-related disease is inevitable” leading to health consequences that “will be felt into the next century.”  These health…

Mesothelioma Patients Stigmatized Study Says
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Mesothelioma Patients Stigmatized Study Says

ByAlex Strauss

Patients with mesothelioma, an aggressive form of cancer caused by exposure to asbestos, may bear the brunt of public prejudice against lung cancer, according to a new study. Although mesothelioma is a rare cancer, attacking just 2,000 to 3,000 Americans each year, the most common form, which occurs in the linings around the lungs, is classified as lung cancer.  According to the American Cancer Society, lung cancers of all kinds are the most prevalent cancer killer worldwide, claiming more lives than breast, prostate and colon cancers combined.  Asbestos exposure has also been shown to cause lung cancers other than mesothelioma, and may account for many more deaths. But a new study commissioned by the Global Lung Cancer Coalition (GLCC) says, despite…

Navy Can Be Blamed for Mesothelioma Death
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Navy Can Be Blamed for Mesothelioma Death

ByAlex Strauss

A California Appeals Court says the U.S. Navy can legally be blamed for failing to protect one of its shipyard workers from the asbestos that eventually took his life. Ulysses Collins died of mesothelioma, a cancer caused by asbestos, in 2005 at the age of 65.  Collins had spent 30 years working as a welder and pipefitter in various California Naval shipyards.  Collins and his family brought suit against 17 companies, including Plant Insulation, one of the major manufacturers of the asbestos insulation heavily used by the Navy.  A jury found in the Collins’ favor and awarded them $10 million, but the jury questioned why the Navy was not named as one of the entities at fault. At the time, the…

California’s State Rock Could Cause Mesothelioma
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California’s State Rock Could Cause Mesothelioma

ByAlex Strauss

The first state to have a state rock is about to strip that rock of its title. California legislators are considering a measure to take serpentine, a greenish-gray rock which is plentiful throughout the state, off the list of state symbols.  Serpentine was designated the ‘state rock’ in 1965, before it was known that fine shards of one of the elements in it, asbestos, can causemesothelioma.  When serpentine is broken up during construction or excavation, the asbestos dust released can be a public health hazard. Asbestos was once prized for its resistance to heat and chemical degradation and was widely used in a variety of construction and shipbuilding applications.  But asbestos fibers are sharp and about 100 times narrower than…