Asbestos News Roundup: 12.10.10

December 10th, 2010. By LucyC

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

Asbestos Lawsuits

Charleston, WV: Eighty-two defendant companies have been named in an asbestos claim made by Rick Reed and Ruth Reed, co-executors of the Estate of Willie Oliver Reed.

Willie Oliver Reed was diagnosed with asbestosis and died November 12, 2009, according to the lawsuit. 

The defendants are being sued based on theories of negligence, contaminated buildings, breach of expressed/implied warranty, strict liability, intentional tort, conspiracy, misrepresentations and post sale duty to warn.

The 82 defendants include: 3M Company; A.W. Chesterton Company; Ajax Magnethermic Corporation; Allied Glove Corporation; Alloy Cast Steel Company; Amchem Products, Inc.; Aurora Pump Company; Beazer East, Inc.; Borg Warner Corporation; Brand Insulations, Inc.; Bucyrus International, Inc.; Buffalo Pumps, Inc.; BW IP, Inc.; Certainteed Corporation; Cincinnati Gasket Packing & Manufacturing; Cleaver-Brooks Company, Inc.; Crane Co.; Crown, Cork & Seal USA, Inc.; CSR, Limited; Dezurik, Inc.; Durabla Manufacturing Company; Eaton Corporation; Elliott Turbomachinery, Inc.; F.B. Wright Company; Flowserve Inc.; Flowserve US, Inc.; Foseco, Inc.; Foster Wheeler Energy Corporation; General Electric Company; General Refractories Company; George V. Hamilton, Inc.; Gordon Gasket & Packing Co.; Goulds Pumps, Inc.; Graybar Electric Company, Inc.; Grinnell Corporation; Honeywell International; I.U. North America, Inc.; IMO Industries, Inc.; Industrial Holdings Corporation; Ingersoll Rand Co.; Insul Company, Inc.; ITT Corporation; J.H. France Refractories Company; John Crane, Inc.; Lockheed Martin Corporation; McJunkin Corporation; McNally Industries; Melrath Supply and Gasket Company; Met-Pro Corporation; Metropolitan Life Insurance Company; Nagle Pumps, Inc.; National Service Industries Ventures, Inc.; Nitro Industrial Coverings, Inc.; Oakfabco, Inc.; Oglebay Norton Company; Ohio Valley Insulation Company, Inc.; Owens-Illinois, Inc.; P&H Mining Equipment; Pneumo-Abex Corporation; Premiere Refractories, Inc.; Rapid American Corporation; Riley Power, Inc.; Rockwell Automation, Inc.; Schneider Electric USA, Inc.; State Electric Supply Company; Stockham Valves & Fittings; Tasco Insulation, Inc.; the Gage Company; the William Powell Company; Thiem Corporation; Trecco Construction Services, Inc.; Tyco Flow Control Company LLC a/k/a Crosby Valve, Inc.; Tyco Flow Control Company LLC a/k/a Lunkenheimer Valves; UB West Virginia, Inc.; Uniroyal, Inc.; United Conveyor Corporation; United Engineers & Constructors, Inc.; Viacom, Inc.; Vimasco Corporation; Warren Pumps, Inc.; Weil-McLain Company; West Virginia State Electric Supply; and Zurn Industries, Inc. (wvrecord.com) 

Asbestos Hot Spots

New York, NY: The U.S. Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration has cited the David H. Koch Theater, located at the Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts in Manhattan, for alleged repeat and serious violations of workplace health and safety standards. The theater faces a total of $51,000 in proposed fines, chiefly for asbestos, fall and crushing hazards identified during an OSHA inspection prompted by worker complaints.

OSHA’s inspection found that employees of the theater and of outside contractors had not been informed of the presence of asbestos-containing and potentially asbestos-containing materials in the theater’s promenade area and in nearby electrical closets. The materials had not been labeled and asbestos warning signs had not been posted.

“One means of eliminating hazards such as these is for employers to establish an illness and injury prevention program, in which workers and management jointly work to identify and eliminate hazardous conditions on a continual basis,” said Robert Kulick, OSHA’s regional administrator in New York.

The theater has 15 business days from receipt of the citations and proposed penalties to comply, request an informal conference with OSHA’s area director or contest the findings before the independent Occupational Safety and Health Review Commission.(MMDNewswire.com) 

Scranton, PA: The owner of a long abandoned lampshade factory in Old Forge has been ordered by the Environmental Protection Agency to stop all demolition work at the site and instead begin appropriate clean-up measures for asbestos, which exists in some quantity at the site.

Out of commission for over a decade, the factory on Hillcrest Drive has been under scrutiny by both state and federal environmental officials for a raft of violations, including improper removal of asbestos materials during demolition and storing harmful waste materials on the property. On November 17^th,  inspectors from the EPA found asbestos materials in and outside the building as well as in a trash container on the property.

According to a report at the TimesTribune.com, over half the building had been demolished before state environmental officials became involved during the summer. They were concerned about asbestos and industrial waste on the property and in the air. The EPA cited the owner for violations of federal air pollution laws for tearing down portions of the building and not preventing asbestos from becoming airborne. 

“We’re going after all the materials,” Mark Carmon, a state Department of Environmental Protection spokesman told the local paper. “They’re (EPA) after all the asbestos in the building.”

The building owner, Mr. Stocki, also faces action over environmental violations at a junkyard he operates on Connell Street in the borough.(thetimestribune.com) 

New Haven, CT: A historic site in New Haven is scheduled to fall under the wrecking ball shortly, but not before workers remove lead and asbestos from the gun factory. To help with that effort, Gov. M. Jodi Rell has pledged $5.5 million in state aid towards rehabbing Tract A of Science Park, the iconic abandoned Winchester Repeating Arms Company building at the corner of Munson Street and Winchester Avenue, the New Haven Independent reported.

The funds will help transform the old factory building into a new headquarters for New Haven’s own Higher One, a financial services success story started by three Yale undergraduates 10 years ago.

At a recent press conference about the project, Rell said she expects the state Bond Commission to approve a $2 million grant Friday to pay for site construction. The state will pay another $3.5 million for environmental cleanup, state officials said. (newhavenindependent.org)

Tags: Asbestos, Asbestos Mesothelioma, asbestos_mesothelioma

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