Asbestos News Roundup: 8.1.13 – US Asbestos Use on Rise in some Industries

August 1st, 2013. By LucyC

A roundup of recent asbestos-related news and information that you should be aware of. An ongoing list of reported asbestos hot spots in the US from the Asbestos News Roundup archive appears on our asbestos map.

Asbestos Use in the US on the Rise in Some Industries

The Asbestos Disease Awareness Organization (ADAO), the largest independent asbestos victims’ organization in the U.S., today announced that President and Co-Founder Linda Reinstein will testify about the dangers of asbestos before the U.S. Senate Committee on Environment and Public Works (EPW).

Ms. Reinstein will discuss the facts about the continued use of lethal asbestos in the U.S., with ports in the states of Louisiana, Texas, California and New Jersey still actively receiving and unloading asbestos shipments. Reinstein will also reference the U.S. Geological Survey’s (USGS) report that states that U.S. asbestos consumption in 2012 was estimated to be 1,060 tons. In the past two years, the nation has seen an increase in asbestos consumption in the chlor-alkali industry specifically, even though viable and affordable asbestos substitutes exist.

Asbestos fibers are odorless, tasteless, indestructible, and can be nearly 700 times smaller than a human hair. All forms of asbestos can cause cancer and respiratory diseases.

Each year, an estimated 10,000 Americans die from asbestos-related disease: 3,000 from mesothelioma, 5,000 from lung cancer, and 2,000 from other cancers or respiratory diseases. Between 2000 and 2010, 43,464 Americans died from mesothelioma and asbestosis – just two of the leading asbestos-caused diseases. (ADAO)

Asbestos Lawsuits

Oakland, CA: A take-home or second hand asbestos lawsuit brought by the wife of a retired Bay Area ironworker will be allowed to move forward. Donald LeBoa worked for hundreds of days on the construction of the Bank of America high rise building in San Francisco in the late 1960’s. According to court documents, the project involved a continuous sweeping of dry oversprayed fireproofing in the building, which caused large amounts of asbestos-containing dust to become airborne.

The asbestos in the air fell on everyone in the area, including Mr. LeBoa, whose work clothes became covered with asbestos dust, according to court documents. Mr. LeBoa wore his work clothes home every day and his wife washed them. Mrs. LeBoa shook out the dust from her husband’s clothes before putting them in the washing machine with the rest of the laundry.

Mrs. LeBoa was diagnosed in 2012 with mesothelioma, a fatal cancer. According to court documents, the asbestos on her husband’s work clothes allegedly caused Mrs. LeBoa’s mesothelioma.

The sweeping work that created the asbestos dust that fell onto Mr. LeBoa’s work clothes was performed by a company called Cahill. According to court documents, Cahill allegedly did not try to control the asbestos dust in the building nor did Cahill warn anyone of its risks.

Mrs. LeBoa sought compensation from Cahill, along with other defendants, in a take-home exposure asbestos lawsuit (LeBoa v. Alta Building Material Co., et al., Alameda County Superior Court, No. RG13667129) for its role in causing her harm. According to court documents, Cahill asked the court to dismiss the case, arguing that a person exposed to deadly dust tracked into her home should have no right to file a lawsuit. Judge Jo-Lynne Q. Lee disagreed with Cahill and allowed Mrs. LeBoa’s case to move forward. The judge’s order explained, “Cahill has not made a sufficient legal argument to induce this court to establish a new rule of law and grant it summary judgment under that new rule.”

According to court documents, trial for this take-home exposure asbestos lawsuit begins on August 13, 2013 against Cahill and the other defendants. (prweb.com)

Asbestos Settlements

Buffalo, NY: An upstate New York jury has awarded $3 million in an asbestos gasket and packing case against Crane Co., finding the defendant 35 percent liable for the decedent’s asbestos mesothelioma.

The New York Supreme Court for Erie County jury reached the verdict on July 31 after two days of deliberations. Judge Jeremiah J. Moriarty III presided over the two-week trial.

In its verdict, the jury awarded $2.5 million to decedent Lee Holdsworth and $500,000 to his widow. An additional $67,700 was issued for Holdsworth’s medical bills. (Harrismartin.com)

Asbestos Law

Boston, MA: The state Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) has fined a Haverhill company $3,000 by for its failure to follow proper asbestos-removal procedures at a job site in Fitchburg last summer.

According to a recent press release, during an August 2012 inspection of the former Fitchburg Gas and Electric power plant site, at 115 Sawyer Passway, Fitchburg, DEP inspectors observed workers from Absolute Environmental Contractors, Inc., improperly handling and disposing of asbestos-insulated pipes.

According to the DEP, the pipes were placed in an open-top, roll-off container without being adequately wetted or sealed in leak-tight, labeled containers, as required by law.

State regulations require removal contractors to wet asbestos-containing materials thoroughly during all phases of removal, handling and packaging for disposal in order to minimize the potential for asbestos fibers to become airborne and reduce the chance of exposure for workers and the public.

Absolute Environmental Contractors is licensed by the state Department of Labor Standards to be an asbestos contractor.

“Licensed asbestos contractors are most certainly aware of the required asbestos-removal procedures and must strictly follow all work practices prescribed by the MassDEP asbestos regulations,” said Lee Dillard Adams, director of the DEP Central Regional Office in Worcester. “The cost of noncompliance includes payment of penalties and escalated cleanup, decontamination and monitoring costs.” (sentinelandenterprise)

 

Tags: Asbestos, asbestos lawsuit, Asbestos Mesothelioma

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