Biden Administration Finalizes Chrysotile Asbestos Ban
Joining 50 other countries that have already banned asbestos, the United States is now banning chrysotile asbestos. The Biden administration has officially finalized the ban that follows decades of calls from survivors of asbestos-related diseases, medical professionals, veterans and first responders. Chrysotile asbestos, also known as white asbestos, continues to be imported into the U.S., particularly for use in the chloralkali industry. Anticipating a ban, imports of asbestos rose dramatically in 2022 from 100 metric tons in all of 2021 to 114 metric tons in just the first 3 months of 2022, according to the U.S. Inte...
Source: Asbestos and Mesothelioma News - March 18, 2024 Category: Environmental Health Authors: Travis Rodgers Tags: Asbestos (general) Asbestos Exposure Companies Legal Support/Support Groups/Organizations Source Type: news

Companies Fined $825K for Improper Asbestos Handling
Massachusetts Attorney General Andrea Joy Campbell is imposing fines totaling $825,000 against several companies for improper handling, disposal and removal of materials containing asbestos. Since 2016, the AG’s Office has imposed more than $7.7 million in civil penalties. Among those included in recent consent judgments are the Pilgrim Nuclear Power Station in Plymouth, a redevelopment site in Lowell and a residential development project in the Mission Hill neighborhood of the City of Boston. The Worcester County Sheriff’s Office also found itself the subject of an AGO case over requiring employees to demolish asbe...
Source: Asbestos and Mesothelioma News - March 15, 2024 Category: Environmental Health Authors: Travis Rodgers Tags: Asbestos (general) Asbestos Exposure Companies Legal Mesothelioma Product Source Type: news

VA Benefits Now Available to Millions of Veterans
VA health care benefits are now available to millions more veterans in one of the largest expansions of coverage in the U.S. The inclusion of significantly more veterans compared to past bills comes at the direction of President Joe Biden. Veterans Who Now Qualify Veterans of the Vietnam War, the Gulf War, Iraq, Afghanistan, the Global War on Terror or any other combat zone after 9/11. Service members who were exposed to any toxins or other hazards during service at home or abroad. Those who were never deployed but were exposed while training or on active duty in the U.S. Benefits cover exposure to asbesto...
Source: Asbestos and Mesothelioma News - March 13, 2024 Category: Environmental Health Authors: Travis Rodgers Tags: Asbestos (general) Asbestos Exposure Cancer Center Doctors/Specialists Treatment Veterans Source Type: news

FL Jury Fails to Agree on J & J Talc Verdict
Bob Sugarman sued Johnson & Johnson, claiming the company’s talc products caused the death of his wife, Marilyn Seskin, MD. The case has ended in a mistrial after the jury was unable to agree on a verdict.  The jury note the judge read aloud in court stated: “We are hopelessly deadlocked with absolutely, positively no way to resolve it.”  The closely watched trial was held in Florida’s Circuit Court for the 11th Judicial Circuit in Miami-Dade County. It was the first talc powder trial against J&J in 3 years after litigation had been paused during the company’s failed bankruptcy proceedings...
Source: Asbestos and Mesothelioma News - March 11, 2024 Category: Environmental Health Authors: Travis Rodgers Tags: Asbestos Exposure Companies johnson Lawsuit Legal talc Talcum Powder Verdict Source Type: news

FL Senate Approves Bill Requiring Form for Asbestos Lawsuits
The Florida Senate voted to approve Republican Senator Travis Hutson’s proposed SB 720 requiring courts to dismiss asbestos claims without a completed information form. The bill’s next stop is the Florida House of Representatives. If the House approves the measure, it would then go before the governor. If signed into law, those with asbestos-related diseases will have to provide more extensive information when filing a lawsuit. SB 720 has the backing of businesses. Lobbying groups including the U.S. Chamber of Commerce and the Florida Insurance Council also support the measure.  However, veterans groups a...
Source: Asbestos and Mesothelioma News - March 11, 2024 Category: Environmental Health Authors: Travis Rodgers Tags: Asbestos (general) Asbestos Exposure Asbestosis Cancer (Non-Meso) Florida Legal Lawsuit Mesothelioma Source Type: news

Report: Majority of Federal Buildings Miss Asbestos Inspections
The Government Accountability Office reports 66.7% of all U.S. federal buildings miss their routine 5-year asbestos inspections and 52% haven’t been inspected in more than 10 years. The General Services Administration requires all federal buildings built before 1998 be inspected for asbestos at least once every 5 years.  GSA blames a lack of funding, staff shortages, database limitations and incomplete records for the lack of recent asbestos checks. The agency is requesting $500,000 for the fiscal year 2024 to fund inspections. It’s also considering changing the inspection rule from every 5 years to every 10 ye...
Source: Asbestos and Mesothelioma News - March 10, 2024 Category: Environmental Health Authors: Amy Edel Tags: Asbestos (general) Source Type: news

School District Fined Over Staff Working Amid Asbestos
An Iowa school district is facing thousands of dollars in fines for having employees work inside an asbestos-contaminated building. Newly released state records show the Iowa Occupational Safety and Health Administration fined the North Linn Community School District $70,000. The Iowa Department of Natural Resources also fined the district an additional $6,000. The records show the incident happened during renovations at a middle and high school complex in August 2022 near Coggon Iowa, about 30 miles north of Cedar Rapids. A worker found asbestos under the floor tile when preparing to install new carpeting. Instead of h...
Source: Asbestos and Mesothelioma News - March 4, 2024 Category: Environmental Health Authors: Travis Rodgers Tags: Asbestos (general) Asbestos Exposure Companies Mesothelioma Source Type: news

Cyprus Mines and Ex-J & J Talc Supplier Imerys Create $862M Trust
Imerys Talc America, Inc. and the company’s former owner, Cyprus Mines Corporation, will create a collective $862 million dollar trust. The goal is for the trust to settle personal injury claims alleging their asbestos-contaminated talc caused plaintiffs’ cancer.  This comes after both groups filed reorganization plans and disclosure statements on January 31, 2024 in The U.S. District Court for the District of Delaware. Both companies filed for bankruptcy protection in hopes of continuing business through a reorganization plan. Facing more than 14,600 lawsuits, Imerys filed for bankruptcy in 2019. The majori...
Source: Asbestos and Mesothelioma News - February 28, 2024 Category: Environmental Health Authors: Travis Rodgers Tags: Legal Litigation talc Talcum Powder Source Type: news

Renowned Thoracic Surgeon Enhances Mesothelioma Care in FL
Dr. Rodney Landreneau is joining the renowned Thoracic Surgical Program at Tampa General Hospital. He spent decades caring for patients with pleural mesothelioma and lung cancer patients in Western Pennsylvania at the University of Pittsburgh and Penn Highlands Healthcare. He’s now moved more than 1,000 miles to help augment Tampa General Hospital Cancer Institute’s successful patient care. Landreneau has nearly 40 years of experience treating malignant pleural mesothelioma and lung cancer, as well as benign and malignant diseases of the esophagus. An internationally recognized scientific investigator in the treatme...
Source: Asbestos and Mesothelioma News - February 26, 2024 Category: Environmental Health Authors: Travis Rodgers Tags: Cancer Center Doctors/Specialists Mesothelioma Treatment Source Type: news

New Drug to Treat Mesothelioma Hailed as a Major Breakthrough
ADI-PEG20 or pegargiminase is being hailed as the first drug of its kind to be incorporated successfully with chemotherapy in 20 years. Researchers say this new drug could bring hope to thousands of mesothelioma survivors and their families.  The drug blocks the cancer’s food supply, ensuring the disease can’t spread. It prevents cancer cells from absorbing the amino acid arginine from the bloodstream. Arginine helps the body build protein.  Mesothelioma cells are deficient in a protein called ASS1, which allows cells to create their own arginine. If the cancer cells can’t get arginine from blood, the...
Source: Asbestos and Mesothelioma News - February 21, 2024 Category: Environmental Health Authors: Travis Rodgers Tags: Clinical Trials/Research/Emerging Treatments Mesothelioma Source Type: news

FDA Fast Tracks UV1 Vaccine Combo for Mesothelioma
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration granted fast-track designation to a new therapeutic cancer vaccine. The approval is for UV1 in combination with the immunotherapy drugs Opdivo (nivolumab) and Yervoy (ipilimumab) to manage malignant pleural mesothelioma that can’t be managed with surgery.  Therapeutic cancer vaccines, unlike preventive vaccines, treat existing cancers. Fast Track expedites the development of drug reviews for severe conditions. This way, the FDA can bring essential new drugs to patients earlier. With this designation, UV1 drug-maker Ultimovacs ASA will interact more frequently with the FDA dur...
Source: Asbestos and Mesothelioma News - February 21, 2024 Category: Environmental Health Authors: Travis Rodgers Tags: Clinical Trials/Research/Emerging Treatments Mesothelioma Source Type: news

Early Detection Tests for Mesothelioma Are in Development
Scientists in Australia are developing early detection tests for mesothelioma. The Asbestos and Dust Diseases Research Institute’s new test could potentially save lives. According to ADDRI’s academic and research director Dr. Anthony Linton, the tests will be similar to PCR tests already in use to detect COVID-19. These new tests can find small amounts of DNA that cause disease. The PCR method, used since the 1980s, allows DNA samples to be studied in a higher level of detail. PCR is the tech behind the beginning of the 1990 Human Genome Project to identify and map human DNA.  “We have identified a...
Source: Asbestos and Mesothelioma News - February 13, 2024 Category: Environmental Health Authors: Travis Rodgers Tags: Asbestos Exposure Clinical Trials/Research/Emerging Treatments Doctors/Specialists Mesothelioma Source Type: news

U.S. Nuclear Missile Bases Under Investigation for Cancer Risks
The U.S. Air Force is investigating nuclear missile bases for asbestos and other potentially cancer-causing materials. The Associated Press recently revealed that the issues date as far back as the late 1980s. Reports prove that the Air Force has been aware of toxic chemicals at nuclear launch silos for decades.  Air Force documents reveal details about several leaks and spills at missile bases across the country over the course of several years. Records describe repeated spills or leaks affecting service members working at the sites. The documents reveal internal reports of asbestos leaks at missile silos in 1989, as ...
Source: Asbestos and Mesothelioma News - February 9, 2024 Category: Environmental Health Authors: Amy Edel Tags: Air Force Asbestos (general) Asbestos Exposure Cancer (Non-Meso) Source Type: news

Nonprofit Teams With Firefighter Union for Asbestos Ban Campaign
The Asbestos Disease Awareness Organization is teaming with the International Association of Fire Fighters on a new anti-asbestos campaign. In a continued push toward a national ban of the toxic mineral, the organizations have created a 120 foot high and 84 foot wide billboard in New York City’s Times Square. A firefighter in full gear is the focal point of the advertisement. Written on the picture are the words: “Firefighters Face Risk.” Under that in large red letters it reads: “Ban Asbestos Now.”  The message is expected to make 1.5 million impressions a day and will be seen 4 times every hour for 1...
Source: Asbestos and Mesothelioma News - February 6, 2024 Category: Environmental Health Authors: Travis Rodgers Tags: Asbestos (general) Asbestos Exposure Awareness/Advocacy Mesothelioma Support/Support Groups/Organizations Source Type: news

Early Mesothelioma Vaccine Testing Shows Promise
Sellas Life Sciences reports its Phase I clinical trial showed improvement of overall survival in patients with pleural mesothelioma. The study focused on a new potential therapy called GPS (galinpepimut-S), an immunotherapy vaccine. The trial included 10 patients with relapsed or refractory mesothelioma, nine of whom received at least three doses of GPS. Researchers gave the third dose of GPS alongside the checkpoint inhibitor Opdivo (nivolumab).  President of Sellas, Angelos Stergiou, stated in a press release, “As we had hypothesized in the past, this increase in survival appears to be consistent with long-...
Source: Asbestos and Mesothelioma News - January 31, 2024 Category: Environmental Health Authors: Sean Marchese Tags: Clinical Trials/Research/Emerging Treatments Immunotherapy Mesothelioma Source Type: news