sbestos Linked to Larynx and Ovarian Cancers

Exposure to asbestos -- long associated with cancers of the lungs -- has been shown to cause some cancers of the ovary and the larynx as well, Cancer Research UK reports.

An international team of World Health Organization scientists writing in the journal Lancet Oncology said that people who have been exposed to asbestos are 1.4 times more likely to develop cancer of the larynx than those who had never been exposed.

Dr. Alison Ross, Cancer Research UK's senior science information officer said, "We already know asbestos can cause lung cancer and mesothelioma and this adds two more cancer types to the list."

International Symposium on Mesothelioma Draws Near

The annual International Symposium on Malignant Mesothelioma is now less than a month away. An annual symposium organized by the Mesothelioma Applied Research Foundation, a charitable organization, will bring together international experts in asbestos-related cancers. patients and caregivers June 25-27 in Washington, D.C. to discuss the latest advances in mesothelioma research.

For more information on reserving your spot for one of the largest events concerning mesothelioma, its treatment, and the people involved, please visit the MARF website for
more information.

Senator Calls for Help to Clean Up Town of Libby

Montana Sen. Jon Testor asked the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency to team up with the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services to work together to clean up asbestos contamination in Libby, Montana and make the community safe again. More than 200 residents of Libby have died and thousands more are still suffering from asbestos diseases. Residents were poisoned by asbestos from a now-defunct vermiculite mine, and the entire community of Libby is now an EPA Superfund site.

British Study Reconfirms Asbestos Exposure, Mesothtelioma Link

A long-running British study monitoring mortality among asbestos workers in occupations exposed to asbestos reconfirmed the link between asbestos exposure and mortality from lung, peritoneal and pleural cancer and mesothelioma, Great Britain's Health & Safety Laboratory reported.


Health & Safety Laboratory Report

Asbestos Abatement at Maryland Schools

Two Washington County, Maryland public schools are undergoing asbestos removal as part of the summer renovation projects. Asbestos is classified by the EPA as a known cancer-causing material requiring specially trained and licensed asbestos abatement workers to conduct site decontamination.

At both Fountaindale Elementary School and E. Russell Hicks Middle School the work is being done by licensed crews in compliance with all federal and state laws. Air samples are tested periodically to ensure the air is clean from airborne asbestos fibers.

Fountaindale Elementary was built in 1949 and the asbestos was found in the glazing compound and caulking on the old windows. The asbestos content there is relatively small and is not in a friable, or easily crumbled form, with the cleanup cost estimated at $24,360.

At E. Russell Hicks Middle School the project will cost approximately $21,000. Built in 1967 asbestos was found as part of a fireproofing insulation on the roof deck above the ceiling tiles.

Washington County Public Schools has an asbestos management plan which the public can view by contacting the facilities management office.

Washington County Asbestos Cleanup

Asbestos Still Used in the United States

Asbestos exposure has been associated to the risk of developing many diseases including mesothelioma, asbestosis, and lung cancer. While the dangers of this substance have been known since the early 1920's, the United States has not yet totally banned its use.

Michelle J. White, an economics professor at UC San Diego, stated in her study “Asbestos and the Future of Mass Torts,” that claims for injuries from asbestos "involve more plaintiffs, more defendants and higher costs than any other type of personal injury litigation in U.S. history."

Although it can take up to 40 years after initial exposure of asbestos for a person to exhibit symptoms of asbestos-related cancer such as mesothelioma, which affects the membranes lining the abdomen or lungs, the patient and their family can often tie the exposure to a specific job.

Victims of asbestos-related diseases can bring suit against the companies or manufacturers of products, and the awards often run into the millions. Much of the award is attributed to the pain and suffering associated with the disease.

While the EPA proposed a ban on asbestos use in 1989 it was overturned by a federal circuit court of appeals in 1991. The Ban Asbestos in America Act of 2007 was proposed but never signed into law. The most current ban proposal is the Bruce Vento Ban Asbestos and Prevent Mesothelioma Act of 2008.

Asbestos Not Banned in U.S.