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.
In June, a Salvation Army Thrift Store in Philadelphia collapsed, killing six people. The building was in the process of being demolished, but hadn’t been checked for asbestos. First responders are now asking if there was asbestos in the building—they are worried for their health and possible risk for asbestos-related diseases such as mesothelioma and asbestosis.
The building, located at 22nd and Market Streets, collapsed on June 5. Firefighters were called to the scene as first responders, but were not wearing gear that would protect them from asbestos. In fact, reports indicate there were 125 emergency crews at the site, some of whom were there for hours. The rescue and recovery efforts ran from 10:45 am on Tuesday until late in the day on Wednesday.
First responders are just some of the people who may be at risk for asbestos exposure from work in old buildings. According to information posted by the Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry (ATSDR), workers in the following areas can be exposed to asbestos:
• Brake repair mechanic
• Carpenter
• Demolition worker
• Dry wall finisher
• Electrician
• Insulation installer
• Miner
• Pipe or steam fitter
• Plumber
• Roofer
• Shipyard worker
• Vermiculite processing plant worker
• Welder
The ATSDR also states that outdoor workers, such as construction workers, landscapers, and excavators might be exposed to naturally occurring asbestos found above the ground through activities that crush asbestos-containing rock or stir up dust in soils that contain asbestos.
New Orleans, LA: Elizabeth Gailyne Sutherland has filed an asbestos lawsuit against numerous defendant companies, which, she alleges, contributed to her asbestos exposure and resulting asbestos mesothelioma.
Mrs. Sutherland suffered secondhand or ‘take home’ asbestos exposure. In her lawsuit, she asserts her husband’s work for the defendants resulted in her inhalation of asbestos containing material and contraction of mesothelioma.
The defendant companies are: Alma Plantation LLC, Anco Insulation Inc., Arrowood Indemnity Company, Eagle Inc., Liberty Mutual Insurance Company, Metropolitan Life Insurance Company, Taylor-Seidenbach Inc. and the McCarty Corporation in the Orleans Parish Central District Court on March 11.
The asbestos lawsuit accuses the defendants of knowing the hazard their material contained but failing to warn petitioner, her husband and others of the potential danger of contact with the material, failing to provide safety equipment, failing to provide general ventilation in work areas, failing to warn that asbestos dust could be carried on the employee’s clothing and expose members of their households and selling, distributing and manufacturing asbestos containing products.
Mrs. Sutherland is seeking an unspecified amount for physical pain and suffering, medical expenses and rehabilitation, loss of earning and disability. (louisianarecord.com)
St. Clair County, IL: a Federal Employers’ Liability Act suit has been filed by Howard Sturgeon in alleging he was exposed to asbestos during his 28 years as a communications technician at CSX Transportation.
Specifically, Sturgeon claims through the course of his work, which involved wiring buildings and working in buildings that contained asbestos, he was exposed and inhaled asbestos.
According to the complaint, CSX: negligently and carelessly failed to provide a safe place to work; failed to warn of the presence and hazards of asbestos; failed to provide proper safety equipment; failed to provide safe buildings and equipment; and failed to provide safe methods of work.
As a result of his asbestos exposure, Sturgeon claims he has developed severe and permanent injuries to his lungs, respiratory system and body, all of which cause him to suffer great pain and mental anguish, lose money and earnings he otherwise would have earned and caused him to spend money for medical expenses.
Sturgeon is seeking damages in excess of $50,000. (madisonrecord.com)
Bloomington, IL: The family of Jake Lilienthal, who died in 2009 from asbestos lung disease, has been awarded $1.4 million in damages, by a McLean County jury.
According to the attorneys for the Lilienthals, Jake Lilienthal developed from his work for the GM&O Railroad from 1957 to 1972 at rail yards on Bloomington’s west side. His asbestos exposure continued after he transferred to the company’s shops in Paducah, KY, the lawsuit alleged.
After just two weeks, the jury found the railroad had knowledge of the hazards of asbestos and failed to warn Lilienthal, who is survived by his wife. (pantagraph.com)
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.
A $7.5 million asbestos lawsuit settlement was recently awarded to construction worker who developed a highly aggressive cancer after his exposure to asbestos. The plaintiff, who was not named, brought the lawsuit against several of the companies that manufactured the materials.
But construction workers aren’t the only people at high risk for asbestos disease. According to information posted by the Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry (ATSDR), workers in the following areas can be exposed to asbestos:
• Brake repair mechanic
• Carpenter
• Demolition worker
• Dry wall finisher
• Electrician
• Insulation installer
• Miner
• Pipe or steam fitter
• Plumber
• Roofer
• Shipyard worker
• Vermiculite processing plant worker
• Welder
The ATSDR also states that outdoor workers, such as construction workers, landscapers, and excavators might be exposed to naturally occurring asbestos found above the ground through activities that crush asbestos-containing rock or stir up dust in soils that contain asbestos.
Gretna, LA: Julie Lavigne, the ex-wife of the late Michael Kenneth Lavigne, has filed an asbestos lawsuit against Shell Oil Company, Shell Chemical, Shell Chemical Company, Kellogg Brown & Root Inc., Brown & Root Inc., Lenny’s Plumbing Inc. and American Do All Corporation. The lawsuit contends that the companies exposed her ex-husband to asbestos through the course of his work for them, and as a result, she was secondarily exposed to asbestos, which resulted in her diagnosis of lung cancer. On August 6, 2012, Julie Lavigne was diagnosed with mesothelioma, a type of lung cancer caused by asbestos exposure.
According to the lawsuit, Lavigne shared a home with Michael Kenneth Lavigne from 1990 until 2008. During that time he worked for Kellog Brown & Root Inc., Shell Oil Company and Shell Chemical that included removing pipes and insulation, repairing old pipes that were insulated with asbestos and the handling and removal of the asbestos insulation itself.
The defendants are accused of failing to warn employees regarding the health hazards associated with asbestos exposure, failing to warn their employees against bringing asbestos-contaminated clothes home for laundering, failing to provide special work clothes which could be removed at the end of the work day, and not require home laundering, failing to provide showers at the workplace to enable employees to clean off asbestos dust and fibers before returning home, failing to advise employees that asbestos was an extremely dangerous substance, failing to implement adequate engineering controls to eliminate or substantially reduce their employee’s exposure to asbestos, failing to use asbestos-free insulation and other building products and failing to totally isolate and work activity to prevent asbestos exposure.
An unspecified amount in damages is sought for physical pain and suffering, mental pain and suffering, emotional distress, fear of dying, loss of enjoyment of life, medical expenses, disfigurement, embarrassment, physical impairment, loss of wage compensation, loss of fringe benefits, lost earning capacity, physical disability, mental disability, emotional and psychological anguish and distress, expert expenses, litigation costs, medical costs, loss of society, wrongful death and survival. (louisianarecord.com)
Charleston, WV: The Newsomes, from Jackson, Ohio, are suing 42 companies they allege responsible for a lung injury diagnosis. Ronald Newsome was diagnosed with asbestosis and pleural plaques on September 10, 2012.
According to their lawsuit, Mr. Newsome was exposed to asbestos and/or asbestos-containing products during his employment as a mixer, laborer and other various trades from 1958 until 1992.
The defendants are being sued based on theories of negligence, contaminated buildings, breach of expressed/implied warranty, strict liability, intentional tort, conspiracy, misrepresentation and post-sale duty to warn, according to the suit.
Certain defendants are also being sued as premises owners and as Ronald Newsome’s employers for deliberate intent/intentional tort, according to the lawsuit.
The 42 defendants include 3M Company; A.W. Chesterton Company; Brand Insulations Inc.; CBS Corporation; Certainteed Corporation; Cleaver Brooks Company Inc.; Columbus McKinnon Corporation; Copes-Vulcan Inc.; Crane Company; and Crown, Cork & Seal USA Inc.(wvrecord.com)
Jefferson County, TX: The children of the late Barney Tarver have settled their suit against Chevron USA and Union Oil of California, which alleged the companies negligently exposed their father to asbestos throughout his career. No details of the settlement have been made public.
The lawsuit, filed on behalf of Mr. Tarver’s estate on March 6, 2012, alleged that Barney Tarver was employed at the Gulf Oil Refinery in Jefferson County, where he was exposed to asbestos dust and fibers. As a result of his asbestos exposure, Tarver developed mesothelioma and died on January 27, 2012.
The lawsuit accused the defendants of negligently failing to warn workers of the dangers of asbestos. The plaintiffs were suing for punitive and exemplary damages. (setexasrecord.com)
Add energy drinks to the list of worries for parents sending kids off to college. Of course, energy drinks seem to pale when compared to sex, drugs, alcohol and all that comes with that trio of vices—from OD’ing, to date rape, to DUI’s. But that’s the thing—energy drinks seem…so…harmless, right? After all, they’re sold in convenience stores and vending machines right next to the bags of chips…
If the above news clip is any indication, energy drinks are quite popular on college campuses—and just as readily available as coffee. So why the fuss?
The fuss is due to a pending lawsuit against Monster Energy Drink that alleges that 14-year old Anais Fournier went into cardiac arrest and died after drinking two 24-ounce cans of Monster in less than 24 hours. (Check out our interview with attorney Kevin Goldberg of Goldberg, Finnegan & Mester–he’s one of the attorneys representing the Fournier’s).
And there’s also the lawsuit filed by San Francisco city attorney Dennis Herrera which claims the Monster caffeine levels can lead to elevated blood pressure, seizures and cardiac arrest. That’s all bad enough (if true) but the real fuss ought to be that Monster’s being marketed to kids. Your kids.
RELATED: SRSLY? ABA Rep Tries to Defend High Caffeine Energy Drinks #EpicFail
Let’s back up a moment. There was a time when college exam cram time meant coffee-infused study sessions, splashing your face with cold water and relying on whatever other natural means there were to stay awake and pull an all-nighter. Sure, some kids popped the occasional No-Doz (some still do)—not a good practice, but there’s a bit of a difference: when was the last time you saw No-Doz logos popping up all over black hoodies or on the “sponsor” list of latest batch of rad, gnarly, wicked or badass athletes?
Not remembering?
That would be because No-Doz doesn’t really market itself that way. It knows its place isn’t in the culture of cool. Monster Energy, however, does something different. By selling (allegedly) extreme caffeine in drink form rather than pill form, it’s tried to create a whole lifestyle around ramping things up a notch. Or two. Or three.
Here’s how the ‘guys’ at Monster talk about themselves (straight from their website):
In short, at Monster all our guys walk the walk in action sports, punk rock music, partying, hangin’ with the girls, and living life on the edge. Monster is way more than an energy drink. Led by our athletes, musicians, employees, distributors and fans, Monster is…
A lifestyle in a can
Right. “Lifestyle in a can”. Live life on that edge, dude.
See, somehow when you put it in drink form, wrap the can in cool graphics, and get extreme sports icons to promote it, downing super-charged soda somehow becomes cool. The sexed up version of caffeine pills. And the marketers at Monster know that. They know how impressionable kids, pre-teens, teens and even twenty-somethings can be. I don’t know about you, but I haven’t seen any banner ads for Monster over at AARP. Why? Because your average grown-up over the age of 40 knows a soft drink loaded with caffeine is bullshit.
Monster markets to a gullible crowd—and one that thinks it’s invincible.
Unfortunately, if the allegations surrounding the Anais Fournier case prove true, and if reports on the increase in energy drink-related emergency room visits* are any indication, the very folks Monster is marketing to are not invincible. They’re vulnerable—first mentally for buying into this marketing crap, and possibly physically for drinking it.
As parents, sometimes it’s the more innocent-looking influences—the wolf in sheep’s clothing—that are more insidious than the stuff we’re reminded to be wary about on a daily basis.
*In 2011, the US Drug Abuse Warning Network (DAWN) reported a tenfold spike in emergency room visits involving energy drinks. Approximately 70% of cases involving teens from ages 12 to 17 going to ER was due to energy drinks itself – without drugs or alcohol. Most hospitalizations are caused by dehydration, heat exhaustion and heart problems. A January 2013 update from DAWN indicates that from 2007 to 2011 the number of energy drink ER visits doubled, with 20,783 reported emergency room visits due to energy drink consumption in 2011.