New UMD Study Shows How Mesothelioma Can Spread
Researchers at the University of Maryland are getting a better idea of why mesothelioma takes decades to develop in the body.
In a 2023 paper published in the journal Environmental Research, a team of researchers at the University of Maryland found that understanding mesothelioma involves the way immune cells “sense” and interact with particles around them.
The study found the geometry of contaminant particles is more important than mineral composition. This means asbestos causes an immune response once the immune system is exposed to the right shape and size of the particle.
Hijacking the Immune System
Res...
Source: Asbestos and Mesothelioma News - May 17, 2023 Category: Environmental Health Authors: Fran Mannino Tags: Clinical Trials/Research/Emerging Treatments Mesothelioma Source Type: news
New FDA Guidelines in Place to Keep Asbestos Out of Cosmetics
The Modernization of Cosmetics Regulation Act of 2022, known as MoCRA, is the most significant measure taken in nearly 100 years to keep items most people use every day safe. Not since the Federal Food, Drug and Cosmetic Act was passed in 1938 has there been such a sweeping piece of legislation.
According to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, Americans use six to 12 cosmetics products daily. Ordinary items like shaving cream, makeup, nail polish and skincare products may contain talcum powder. Talc has the potential to be tainted with asbestos since the minerals form close together. Asbestos can cause mesothelioma, ...
Source: Asbestos and Mesothelioma News - May 11, 2023 Category: Environmental Health Authors: Fran Mannino Tags: Asbestos Exposure Legal Source Type: news
Former Talc Supplier Whittaker, Clark & Daniels Files for Bankruptcy
Whittaker, Clark & Daniels, a defunct talc supplier, is filing for Chapter 11 protection after a recent $29 million verdict in South Carolina and hundreds of lawsuits filed against the company.
The lawsuits claim the company’s products are contaminated with asbestos, which caused plaintiffs to develop mesothelioma and other asbestos-related conditions.
Reports show a Richland County, South Carolina, jury in March 2023 found Whittaker, Clark & Daniels liable for the plaintiff’s mesothelioma, a rare cancer caused by asbestos exposure. The plaintiff was identified as Sarah Plant.
Asbestos and talc n...
Source: Asbestos and Mesothelioma News - May 8, 2023 Category: Environmental Health Authors: Fran Mannino Tags: Asbestos Exposure Legal Source Type: news
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Lara Fahnlander blames Johnson and Johnson's baby powder for her mesothelioma. J&J says its now-discontinued talc product does not cause cancer. Watch "The Whole Story with Anderson Cooper" Sundays at 8 p.m. ET. (Source: CNN.com - Health)
Source: CNN.com - Health - May 5, 2023 Category: Consumer Health News Source Type: news
2 More Philadelphia Schools Close Because of Asbestos Contamination
Two schools in Philadelphia were abruptly closed last week because of asbestos contamination issues inside the aging buildings, bringing the total number of district school closures this year to six.
The School District of Philadelphia closed C.W. Henry Elementary School on April 24 after flaking asbestos was found in some plaster ceiling tiles. The closure forced pupils to shift to virtual learning through at least May 5.
Then, on April 28, the district shuttered Universal Vare Charter School, which uses a district-owned building, after asbestos was found during a three-year reinspection under the federal Asbestos H...
Source: Asbestos and Mesothelioma News - May 2, 2023 Category: Environmental Health Authors: Fran Mannino Tags: Asbestos Exposure Source Type: news
Asbestos-Contaminated Debris Found After Indiana Warehouse Fire
Debris contaminated with asbestos was found in school yards, playgrounds, day cares and private residences following a large fire at a former recycling plant in Indiana earlier this month.
The cancer-causing substance, once widely used in insulation material prior to the 1980s, rained down on some parts of Richmond, Indiana, and nearby Ohio during the blaze.
“Due to the weightless nature of the substance, these materials were lifted into the air as the smoke rose and fell back to the ground as debris,” according to the Environmental Protection Agency. “It is essential not to remove or disturb any debris bel...
Source: Asbestos and Mesothelioma News - April 26, 2023 Category: Environmental Health Authors: Fran Mannino Tags: Asbestos Exposure Source Type: news
Patients Needed for New Mesothelioma Clinical Trial
A new investigational drug for mesothelioma can now begin human trials after it was granted fast-track designation by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration last week. The novel treatment, SnyKIR-110, is a T-cell therapy designed to treat patients with mesothelioma, cholangiocarcinoma (bile duct cancer) and ovarian cancer.
“We are thrilled to receive fast-track designation from the FDA,” said Dr. Bryan Kim, co-founder and CEO of Verismo Therapeutics. “This designation is an important milestone in our efforts to bring this potentially life-saving drug to patients who are in need of new treatment option...
Source: Asbestos and Mesothelioma News - April 19, 2023 Category: Environmental Health Authors: Fran Mannino Tags: Clinical Trials/Research/Emerging Treatments Mesothelioma Source Type: news
Bill to Ban Asbestos Reintroduced by Oregon Legislators
Two Oregon legislators have reintroduced a bill to end the importation of asbestos, a known carcinogen banned in nearly 70 other countries. The bill would amend the Toxic Substances Control Act of 1976 and ban asbestos in the United States.
The Alan Reinstein Ban Asbestos Now Act of 2023, first introduced in 2019, was reintroduced March 30 by Sen. Jeff Merkley and U.S. Rep. Suzanne Bonamici. It would “prohibit the manufacture, processing, use and distribution in commerce of commercial asbestos and mixtures and articles containing commercial asbestos, and for other purposes,” according to the bill.
Rei...
Source: Asbestos and Mesothelioma News - April 18, 2023 Category: Environmental Health Authors: Fran Mannino Tags: Asbestos Exposure Awareness/Advocacy Mesothelioma Source Type: news
Is Any Kind of Baby Powder Safe to Use?
Johnson & Johnson is willing to pay almost $9 billion to settle thousands of lawsuits alleging that its talcum powder caused cancers, the company announced Apr. 4.
The proposal is the latest chapter in a long-running saga related to the company’s use of talc—a naturally occurring mineral that has been linked to cancer—in its baby powder. Johnson & Johnson stopped selling baby powder containing talc in North America in 2020, and last year announced plans to discontinue global use of the mineral and sell only a cornstarch-based baby powder formula. At the time, Johnson & Johnson representatives ...
Source: TIME: Health - April 5, 2023 Category: Consumer Health News Authors: Jamie Ducharme Tags: Uncategorized Cancer healthscienceclimate Source Type: news
Johnson & Johnson Agrees to Pay $8.9 Billion to Settle Talc Lawsuits
Johnson & Johnson has announced it will pay $8.9 billion to settle tens of thousands of talcum powder lawsuits alleging the pharma giant’s talc products caused cancer.
This announcement comes days after the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 3rd Circuit denied the company’s request to delay a bankruptcy decision for its subsidiary, LTL Management, and ordered a U.S. bankruptcy judge to dismiss the case.
Late Tuesday, LTL Management filed for bankruptcy protection for a second time to seek approval for a reorganization plan that will “equitably and efficiently” resolve litigation, Johnson & Johnson wr...
Source: Asbestos and Mesothelioma News - April 5, 2023 Category: Environmental Health Authors: Fran Mannino Tags: Asbestos Exposure Legal Source Type: news
Johnson & Johnson Proposes Paying $8.9 Billion to Settle Talc Baby Powder Lawsuits
NEW BRUNSWICK, N.J. — Johnson & Johnson is earmarking nearly $9 billion to cover allegations that its baby power containing talc caused cancer, more than quadrupling the amount that the company had previously set aside to pay for its potential liability.
Under a proposal announced Tuesday, a J&J subsidiary will re-file for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection and seek court approval for a plan that would result in one of the largest product-liability settlements in U.S. history.
The $8.9 billion that J&J would transfer to the subsidiary, LTL Management, would be payable over the next 25 years. The amount is u...
Source: TIME: Health - April 5, 2023 Category: Consumer Health News Authors: Associated Press Tags: Uncategorized Cancer healthscienceclimate wire Source Type: news
Johnson & Johnson Subsidiary LTL Management LLC ( “LTL”) Re-Files for Voluntary Chapter 11 to Equitably Resolve All Current and Future Talc Claims
NEW BRUNSWICK, N.J., APRIL 4, 2023, - Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) (the Company) today announced that its subsidiary LTL Management LLC (LTL) has re-filed for voluntary Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection to obtain approval of a reorganization plan that will equitably and efficiently resolve all claims arising from cosmetic talc litigation against the Company and its affiliates in North America. To that end, the Company has agreed to contribute up to a present value of $8.9 billion, payable over 25 years, to resolve all the current and future talc claims, which is an increase of $6.9 billion over the $2 billion previously...
Source: Johnson and Johnson - April 4, 2023 Category: Pharmaceuticals Tags: Latest News Source Type: news
EPA Wants Public Feedback on Asbestos Ban Timeline
The Environmental Protection Agency is seeking public comment regarding the timeline of a proposed asbestos ban.
Asbestos, long known to cause deadly cancers and other serious illnesses, has been highly regulated in the United States for decades but is not yet banned. Public comment on the proposed ban will be accepted until April 17.
In 2022, the EPA proposed a ban on chrysotile, a type of asbestos known as white asbestos. The ban would force U.S. companies, like those in the chloralkali industry, to stop using asbestos within two years. The chloralkali industry sometimes utilizes asbestos to create chlorine that i...
Source: Asbestos and Mesothelioma News - April 3, 2023 Category: Environmental Health Authors: Fran Mannino Tags: Asbestos Exposure Source Type: news
Philadelphia City Council Threatens To Halt School Funding Over Asbestos
No plan, no more money. That’s the Philadelphia City Council’s message to its school district leadership following the recent closure of two schools because of asbestos issues.
Asbestos contamination is an ongoing and large-scale issue in Philadelphia’s aging school buildings.
“We’re not going to just give you funding if you’re not going to give us a plan,” Philadelphia Councilmember Anthony Phillips said at a recent news conference.
Council members put pressure on the district to provide a detailed and definitive plan to fix the toxic issues.
Philadelphia’s Education Committee Chair Isaiah Thom...
Source: Asbestos and Mesothelioma News - March 28, 2023 Category: Environmental Health Authors: Fran Mannino Tags: Asbestos Exposure Source Type: news
Global Mesothelioma Incidence Report Assesses Risk Factors
A new study published in the Journal of Thoracic Oncology has evaluated the global burden of mesothelioma. The report analyzes trends by age, sex and geographic location to assess risk factors on a population level.
Northern Europe, Australia and New Zealand reported the highest incidence rates, according to the study. The age-standardized rate of mesothelioma was 0.30 per 100,000 persons, with the incidence rate much higher in males than in females.
Asbestos exposure is the primary cause of mesothelioma and is historically linked to several occupational environments. This rare type of cancer is highl...
Source: Asbestos and Mesothelioma News - March 10, 2023 Category: Environmental Health Authors: Fran Mannino Tags: Asbestos Exposure Clinical Trials/Research/Emerging Treatments Source Type: news
