Asbestos News Roundup: 7.8.11

July 8th, 2011. 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 

Jefferson County, TX: Three defendant companies have been named in an asbestos lawsuit filed by Willis Mareceaux this month. Mareceaux filed the lawsuit on behalf of his late wife’s estate, alleging that his asbestos exposure while working in various refineries indirectly caused the death of Yolande Mareceaux.

The named defendants in Willis’ asbestos lawsuit are Atlantic Richfield, Chevron USA and Oxy USA. He filed the lawsuit on June 28 in Jefferson County District Court.

In his lawsuit, Mareceaux, who worked as a pipefitter, boilermaker and carpente, claims that Yolande was indirectly exposed to asbestos through his employment. “During the time decedent lived at home with her husband, she was exposed to asbestos containing products,” the lawsuit states. “Decedent was exposed to asbestos dust brought home on her husband’s clothing while … working on defendants’ premises.”

Mareceaux’s lawsuit also claims that the defendants should have warned the Mareceaux family of the dangers of asbestos dust on clothing, including the risk for secondary asbestos-related disease. Mr. Mareceaux is suing for exemplary damages. (SETexasrecord.com)

Jefferson County, TX: Texaco and Chevron USA are facing another asbestos lawsuit, this time filed by the widow of Homer Fitts, who, the lawsuit claims, was negligently exposed to asbestos throughout his career working for the defendants. Eunice Fitts filed the lawsuit June 23 in Jefferson County District Court, on behalf of her late husband.

Homer was, according to the asbestos lawsuit, employed by Texaco at its Port Arthur refinery, working as a pipefitter and painter—during which time, and as a result of those occupations, he was exposed him to deadly asbestos dust and fibers. “As a result of such exposure, Homer Fitts developed an asbestos-related disease, asbestosis and lung cancer, for which he died a painful and terrible death on March 10, 2010,” the lawsuit states.

According to the lawsuit, the defendants were aware of the health hazards associated with asbestos yet still allowed their employees to work with asbestos products in the workplace. The plaintiff is suing for exemplary damages. (SETexasrecord.com)

Asbestos Settlements

New Orleans, LA: An Orleans Parish Civil District Court jury hearing an asbestos lawsuit has found in favor of the plaintiff, and awarded him a $1.5 million settlement in general damages.

Leopold Granier Jr., developed asbestos mesothelioma as a result of his exposure to asbestos, the lawsuit claimed. Granier was exposed to asbestos through the negligence of Avondale Shipyards, Cajun Insulation and Union Carbide Corp. The jury’s four page verdict also found that Avondale, Cajun and Union Carbide were strictly liable and that the products in their possession were a “substantial and contributing cause” of Granier’s mesothelioma.

The jury also found that Union Carbide, in particular, was strictly liable because asbestos materials incorporated into the company’s Taft, La., plant were a “substantial and contributing cause” of the man’s cancer, the jury found.

Avondale shipyard was, at one time, the largest employer in the state of Louisiana, employing more than 20,000 people. The shipyard was acquired by Northrop Grumman Corp., and is now slated to close in 2013. Northrop Grumman made the decision as a result of a reduced order for warships from the US Navy. (Legalnewsline.com)

The jury also awarded Granier $104,160.77 in special damages, in addition to the $1.5 million in general damages.

Asbestos Hot Spots

Libby, MT: Perhaps the most infamous superfund site in the US, Libby finds itself in the news again, and its residents in danger of deadly asbestos exposure, resulting from a recent discovery of asbestos-contaminated woodchip piles littering the grounds around the town.

Some reports suggest that the federal government has been aware of the situation for as long as three years, without doing anything to mitigate the associated health hazards.

According to a report in the Huffington Post the contaminated bark and wood chips were a popular item for residents of the town who were landscaping their properties, as well as contractors who packaged the product and sold it around the country.

To date, the government has spent $370 million cleaning up the town, an operation that has been underway since 2009, when Libby was given a public health emergency designation under the federal Superfund law. Libby was the home to the now defunct WR Grace Vermiculite Asbestos Mine, which produced Zonolite asbestos insulation for many years.

Many an asbestos claim has been filed, and Libby residents continue to be treated at a local clinic for exposure to asbestos that can lead to asbestosis lung disease.

Tags: Asbestos, Asbestos Mesothelioma, asbestos_mesothelioma

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