Asbestos News Roundup: 2.11.10

February 11th, 2010. By LucyC

A roundup of recent asbestos-related news and information that you should be aware of.

Asbestos Lawsuits

Charleston, WV:  Two couples are suing 63 companies in separate asbestos lawsuits. David L. McClure and Nancy A. McClure, and Billy R. Beckett and Helen J. Beckett allege they were exposed to asbestos products of the defendants while working at various job sites over many years.

The McClures and the Becketts claim the defendant companies manufactured, processed, converted, distributed, supplied and/or sold the products that contained asbestos materials that presented a substantial risk of harm.

The 63 companies named in the separate cases are 3M Company; A.W. Chesterton; Amchem Products, Inc.; Anchor Packing Company; Aurora Pump Company; Benjamin F. Shaw Company; Brand Insulations, Inc.; Cameron International Corporation; Catalytic, Inc.; Certainteed Corporation; Cleaver-Brooks Company, Inc.; Crane Co.; Crown, Cork & Seal USA, Inc.; DeZurik, Inc.; Dow Chemical Company; Flowserve FSD Corporation; Flowserve US, Inc.; Flowserve US, Inc., and its Byron Jackson Division; Ford, Bacon & Davis, LLC; Foster Wheeler Energy Corporation; Foster Wheeler U.S.A. Corporation; Gage Company; Garlock, Inc.; General Electric Company; George V. Hamilton, Inc.; Georgia Pacific Corporation; Gorman-Rupp Company; Goulds Pumps; Honeywell International, Inc.; Industrial Holdings Corporation; Ingersoll-Rand Company; ITT Corporation; John Crane, Inc.; Lockheed Martin Corporation; McJunkin Corporation; Metropolitan Life Insurance Company; Minnesota Mining and Manufacturing Company; Mueller Steam Specialty; Nagle Pumps, Inc.; National Service Industries, Inc.; Nitro Industrial Coverings, Inc.; North Bros., Inc.; NSI Ventures, Inc.; Ohio Valley Insulating Company, Inc.; Onyx Industrial Services, Inc.; Owens-Illinois, Inc.; Peerless Pumps, Inc.; Pneumo Abex Corporation; Rapid American Corporation; Riley Power, Inc.; SFB Companies, Inc.; Square D Company; State Electric Supply Company; Sterling Fluid Systems (US), LLC; Surface Combustion, Inc.; Tasco Insulations, Inc.; UB West Virginia, Inc.; Union Carbide Corporation; Uniroyal, Inc.; Viacom, Inc.; Vimasco Corporation; West Virginia Electric Supply; and Worthington Pump.  (wvrecord.com)

Asbestos Law

Richmond, VA: A bill was passed in the House this week that’s designed to protect a certain company from asbestos litigation, according to media reports. The Bill, HB 629, reportedly doesn’t mention the company by name, however, according to at least one media source, given the way sit’s drafted it could only apply to Crown Cork & Seal, a Philadelphia-based manufacturer of cans and bottle caps, which has plants in Suffolk and Winchester.

“Crown Cork & Seal has never manufactured any products containing asbestos. But in 1963 it purchased the stock of Mundet Cork Co., which had an insulation division that it sold 90 days later. Under existing law, Crown is liable to lawsuits resulting from the presence of asbestos in Mundet’s insulation products. 

Crown has given $101,033 in campaign contributions to Virginia lawmakers since 2008, according to the nonprofit Virginia Public Access Project. Terry Kilgore, the bill’s sponsor, received $3,000.” (pilotonline.com)

Asbestos Hot Spots

Libby, MT: Asbestos levels in schools in the infamous town of Libby, Montana, are reportedly decreasing. The announcement was made by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) at a public meeting in Libby on Monday, February 8. 

In 2009 the EPA took air and soil samples at five schools in Libby, and 49 out of 51 samples did not detect the presence of asbestos. (thewesternnews.com) A toxicologist for the EPA said that the asbestos fibers detected were most likely brought into the schools on shoes or clothing. Asbestos was detected in five of 63 outdoor activity-based samples taken in situations simulating students at play on swing sets or at sporting activities, or maintenance workers mowing lawns or sweeping. However, the EPA stressed that the asbestos levels were just barely detectable. (thewesternnews.com)

Tags: Asbestos, Asbestos Mesothelioma

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