Posts Tagged ‘ libby montana ’

Asbestos News Roundup: 1.19.12

January 20th, 2012. By LucyC

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.

Asbestos Settlements

Manitoba, Canada: Several Manitoba property owners received class action settlement monies this week totalling nearly $5 million. The payments are part of a legal settlement between Pinchin Environmental Ltd. and asbestos manufacturer Federal Mogul that was more than eight years long.

According to the Winnipeg Free Press, the plaintiffs owned buildings that contained a type of asbestos fireproofing material called Limpet. Limpet was used extensively in Canadian buildings in the latter half of the last century. The largest award – $700,000 – went to Winnipeg Airports Authority, which is in the process of demolishing an old terminal. The Canadian Wheat Board was another large award recipient, getting $198,000 as compensation. Its Main Street head offices underwent extensive renovation over the past decade, including expensive asbestos abatement, the Winnipeg Free Press writes. The WFP also states “The Canadian involvement in the U.S. settlement is unique in a few ways. Pinchin officials say the legal claims would likely have failed had they been presented in Canadian court. The Canadian participation was not instigated by the property owners, but by Pinchin’s own efforts. About 70 percent of the $32-million eventual settlement will go to Canadian building owners. And of that Canadian component, about 25 percent will be distributed to Manitoba claimants.” (Winnipegfreepress.com)

Asbestos Hot Spots

Former Workers at the Silico and Southwest Vermiculite Co Plants at Risk for Asbestos-related Diseases.

Albuquerque, NM: Federal contractors began removing asbestos-contaminated soil at two sites in Albuquerque this week, where fireproof insulation was manufactured for decades. Dressed in protective suits and using heavy equipment, the men are scraping up the contaminated soil. The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) must remove some 5,000 cubic yards of contaminated soil from the former Silico Inc. plant located at 5119 Edith NE. Soil removal is also underway at a smaller site located at 1822 First NE. The site was used by the Southwest Vermiculite Co. The popular fireproof insulation was sold under the brand names Zonalite and Texas Vermiculite, and was distributed across New Mexico to insulate attics and walls.

But along with the soil removal come questions about the health of former employees at the plants, as well as the location of some 68,000 tons of asbestos-tainted vermiculite imported to New Mexico from 1967 to 1988 for use in making the insulation.

The vermiculite came from the W.R. Grace mine in Libby, Montana, which shipped tons of asbestos-contaminated vermiculite by rail to plants across the country. The mine closed in 1990. The employees who worked in the plants and loaded and unloaded the vermiculite ore would have been at greatest risk for asbestos exposure, said Mike McAteer, the EPA’s on-site coordinator. “I have no doubt there would have been fiber getting kicked up during this loading operation,” McAteer said. He recommended anyone who believes he or she may have been exposed to asbestos to contact a health provider.

According to the report in the Albuquerque Journal, Bernalillo County environmental health officials plan to identify employees who worked at the plants and notify them about potential health risks, Kitty Richards, an agency program manager, said at a public meeting Tuesday. (Albuquerquejournal.com)

Tags: Asbestos, asbestos lawsuit, Asbestos Settlement, asbestosis, asbestos_mesothelioma, libby montana, mesothelioma, WR Grace
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Asbestos News Roundup: 5.6.11

May 6th, 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: Leroy Brown, from Jefferson County, has filed an asbestos suit naming 23 companies as defendants. In his suit, Brown alleges that during his working life he was regularly in contact with a variety of asbestos-containing products manufactured by these companies, and as a result he has developed a malignant asbestos-related disease. Leroy Brown’s wife, Marjorie Brown, is also a plaintiff.

According to his complaint, Brown maintains he was exposed to the asbestos products during his career as a laborer, helper, iron worker, boilermaker and supervisor at Texaco from October 1969 until his retirement in 2007. He and his wife further allege the defendant companies caused Brown’s disease because they failed to adequately test their products and failed to warn of the dangers of asbestos exposure.

The defending companies named in the complaint are: Able Supply Co., AMF, B&B Engineering and Supply Co., Chevron, Cleaver Brooks, Crown Cork and Seal Co., Deltak, Flint Hills Resources, Flint Hills Resources LLC, Foster Wheeler Energy Corp., Guardline Inc., Huntsman LLC, Huntsman Petrochemical Corp., Koch Industries, Met Life Group, Minnesota Mining and Manufacturing Co., Motiva Co., Motiva Enterprises, Riley Power, Texaco, Triplex, Weil-McClain Boilers and Zurn Industries. (SETexasrecord.com)

Asbestos Settlements

Buffalo, NY: A retired Buffalo City police officer could receive a settlement of $1.7 million from the city as compensation for his medical condition—he is suffering from a rare type of asbestos-related cancer.

This settlement, if finalized, would not only be the largest personal injury claim against the city in recent years, but could represent the tip of the iceberg in terms of asbestos-related lawsuits and settlements against the city.

“With the age of the buildings in the municipality and the potential exposure to these types Read the rest of this entry »

Tags: Asbestos, Asbestos Mesothelioma, libby montana
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