Asbestos News Roundup: 5.27.10

May 27th, 2010. By LucyC

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

Asbestos Lawsuits

Charleston, WV: The widow of James P. Davis, from Ashland, KY, has filed an asbestos lawsuit naming 48 defendants as contributors to her late husband’s lung cancer and resulting death.

Mr. Davis was diagnosed with lung cancer on October 11, 2006, and subsequently died June 1, 2009. He worked for Ashland Oil from 1957 until 1995, according to the suit. The defendants are being sued for negligence, contaminated buildings, breach of expressed/implied warranty, strict liability, intentional tort, conspiracy, misrepresentations and post sale duty to warn.

The 48 companies named as defendants are: 3M Company; A.W. Chesterton Company; Ashland Oil, Inc.; Aurora Pump Company; Brand Insulations, Inc.; Buffalo Pumps, Inc.; BW IP, Inc.; Certainteed Corporation; Cleaver-Brooks Company, Inc.; Crane Co.; Fisher Controls International, Inc.; Flowserve FSD Corporation; Flowserve US, Inc.; FMC Corporation; Foster Wheeler Energy Corporation; Garlock, Inc.; General Electric Company, Inc.; Goulds Pumps, Inc.; Honeywell International; Howden-Buffalo, Inc.; IMO Industries, Inc.; Industrial Holdings Corporation; Ingersoll-Rand Company; ITT Corporation; Leslie Controls, Inc.; Lockheed Martin Corporation; Metropolitan Life Insurance Company; Mueller Steam Specialty; Nagle Pumps, Inc.; Nitro Industrial Coverings, Inc.; Ohio Valley Insulating Company, Inc.; Owens-Illinois, Inc.; Rapid American Corporation; Riley Power, Inc.; Rockwell Automation, Inc.; Roper Pumps Company; Schneider Electric USA, Inc.; Sterling Fluid Systems (USA), LLC; Stockham Valves & Fitting; Taco, Inc.; Tasco Insulations, Inc.; the Gorman-Rupp Company; UB West Virginia, Inc.; United Engineers & Constructors, Inc.; Uniroyal, Inc.; Viacom, Inc.; Viking Pump Company; and Vimasco Corporation. (setexasrecord.com)

Asbestos Settlements

Milwaukee, WI:  The estate of John D. Pender was recently awarded $1.48 million in damages by a Milwaukee County jury as compensation for his development of asbestos mesothelioma. Mr. Pender worked as a painter for Harnischfeger, part of P&H Mining Equipment for nearly 40 years, and during that time he was exposed to asbestos-contaminated dust from ground brake linings, the suit claimed. This was noted as the cause of his malignant mesothelioma, which resulted in his death in May 2006. He was 75 years old. (asbestos.com)

Asbestos Hot Spots

Eden Mills, VT: A Boy Scout camp in Eden Mills that has been closed for several months due to the presence of asbestos, could reopen this summer, once officials have concluded that all asbestos has been removed from the property.  

The Burlington Free Press reported this week that the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has had crews working on site since samplings taken in 2009 revealed the potential for asbestos in the buildings and property of the Mt. Norris Boy Scout Reservation. 

The EPA has reportedly said that the interiors of the camp’s 58 buildings have been cleaned with specialized vacuum and negative air machines, and that all bare areas near the camp dining hall have been covered in asphalt to prevent any asbestos fibers from becoming airborne. Additionally, the parking lot has been repaved and surface water rerouted to prevent erosion from disturbing any additional asbestos that may be present in the fill under the asphalt. (Burlingtonfreepress.com)

Denver, CO: The panels holding a 150-foot long mural by Angelo di Benedetto have been found to contain asbestos. The discovery came as a complete surprise to workers assigned to remove the mural from the Colorado State Judicial Building. Apparently, the panels are made of a material that contains 30 percent asbestos. The workers discovered the asbestos when one of the boards accidently snapped.

The judicial building is slated for demolition, and will now have to be surrounded with material to contain any asbestos that does get knocked off from migrating. According to Bill Mosher, managing director of Trammel Crow, the company managing the courthouse project, the asbestos is non-friable, meaning it poses no risk unless panels are broken. “After lots of discussion and talk with attorneys and the state Health Department, we decided we are going to continue to remove it and try to store it in a safe manner,” he told the Denver Post. (denverpost.com)

Asbestos Criminal Law

Merced County, CA: Three officers of the now defunct non-profit construction training company Firm Build are facing charges of felony child endangerment. The charges stem from an allegation that the officers used teenage student workers to remove asbestos containing material on a building project at the former Castle Air Force Base, the Turlock Journal reported this week.

According to the allegations, the students were not informed of the presence of asbestos nor provided with appropriate safety equipment and training. The Merced District Attorney’s Office has said that possibly 80 teenagers may have been exposed to asbestos containing materials while working at the Automobile Training Center (ATC) project at Castle over a seven month period between 2005 and 2006.

The students were participating in the Career and Alternative Education Division of the Merced County Office of Education, created to provide vocational training to at-risk high school students through enrollment in the Regional Occupational Program and the Workplace Learning Academy. The students who were part of the Workplace Learning Academy received school credits while other students were paid through the Regional Occupational Program.

Merced District Attorney, Larry Morse II, advises that any individuals who worked at the ATC site should contact Investigator Anna Hazel at the District Attorney’s Investigations Division at 209-385-7383 with respect to the case. (www.turlockjournal.com)

Tags: Asbestos, Asbestos Mesothelioma

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