J & J Must Stop Claiming Plaintiff Support of $8.9B Talc Settlement
A federal bankruptcy judge ordered a lawyer for Johnson & Johnson to stop making unsubstantiated claims about support for an $8.9 billion settlement for talc victims without being able to back them up.
The order came during a multiday court hearing in late June in Trenton, New Jersey. Plaintiffs’ attorneys investigated Johnson & Johnson’s public statements that claimed the company had “secured commitments from over 60,000 current claimants” in support of the settlement.
Many plaintiffs claim Johnson’s Baby Powder and other products that contained toxic asbestos in their talcum powder caused ov...
Source: Asbestos and Mesothelioma News - July 10, 2023 Category: Environmental Health Authors: Walter Pacheco Tags: Asbestos Exposure Legal Source Type: news
Phase 3 Keytruda, Chemotherapy Mesothelioma Trial Shows Promising Results
Pharmaceutical company Merck says use of its immunotherapy drug Keytruda in conjunction with chemotherapy increases the survival rate for people with advanced pleural mesothelioma, according to the latest results of a phase 3 clinical trial.
The results were announced in June at the annual meeting of the American Society of Clinical Oncology. They showed Merck’s use of the anti-PD-1 treatment combined with chemotherapy reduced the patient’s risk of death by 21%.
Clinical trial results of the multimodal treatment using immunotherapy and chemo also showed a median overall survival of 17.3 months in comparison...
Source: Asbestos and Mesothelioma News - June 26, 2023 Category: Environmental Health Authors: Fran Mannino Tags: Clinical Trials/Research/Emerging Treatments Mesothelioma Source Type: news
UK Parliament, Riddled With Asbestos, Faces Restoration Delays
Lawmakers say that Britain’s Palace of Westminster is at risk of demolition because the iconic and historic structure needs several costly repairs, including asbestos removal.
Nearly 120 workers and other people inside the palace were potentially exposed to asbestos during a 2022 renovation in the speaker’s residential space. In addition to asbestos and its cancer risks, the building is rife with leaks and is crumbling in areas.
Some are worried the entire structure, in which both houses of Parliament meet, is at risk in the event of a catastrophic incident. A report from the House of Commons Public Accounts Comm...
Source: Asbestos and Mesothelioma News - May 25, 2023 Category: Environmental Health Authors: Fran Mannino Tags: Asbestos Exposure Mesothelioma Source Type: news
Canadian Government Creates New Asbestos Abatement Rules
Beginning in January 2024, the Canadian province of British Columbia will be the first in that country to require asbestos abatement companies to have government-issued licenses to work.
Canadian workers’ compensation statutory agency WorkSafeBC is developing requirements companies must meet to become fully licensed in the safe removal of asbestos.
Canada banned asbestos in 2018, but many of its older buildings erected before the 1980s may still contain the toxic mineral. Unions have been pushing for strict in-person training instruction for abatement workers. The new qualifications are likely to set the bar and m...
Source: Asbestos and Mesothelioma News - May 25, 2023 Category: Environmental Health Authors: Fran Mannino Tags: Asbestos Exposure Mesothelioma Source Type: news
CARD Clinic in Libby Designated as Center of Excellence
Lawmakers in Montana have declared the Center for Asbestos Related Diseases, also known as the CARD Clinic, as a Center of Excellence.
The Montana House of Representatives passed a resolution in May 2023 recognizing the clinic’s importance. Lawmakers say the clinic based in Libby, Montana, played a significant role in an asbestos contamination Superfund that began receiving national attention in 1999.
CARD Clinic, which opened its doors in 2000, includes a staff of asbestos disease specialists such as researchers, nurses, doctors and respiratory therapists. It is dedicated to the diagnosis and long-term care of Lib...
Source: Asbestos and Mesothelioma News - May 18, 2023 Category: Environmental Health Authors: Amy Edel Tags: Asbestos Exposure Mesothelioma Treatment Source Type: news
Australian Asbestos Ghost Town Cemetery Raises Questions
Western Australia’s most notorious ghost town known for widespread asbestos contamination and mesothelioma has been razed. But loved ones wonder how they can visit family and friends buried in the town’s cemetery.
Demolition of the abandoned town of Wittenoom had begun in May after a brush fire in late 2022 destroyed the town’s few remaining structures. Prior to its demolition, authorities had blocked off roads and other access routes to keep curious onlookers from visiting the toxic town.
Despite Wittenoom being wiped off the map, officials said the town’s cemetery wouldn’t be touched. But they haven’t e...
Source: Asbestos and Mesothelioma News - May 17, 2023 Category: Environmental Health Authors: Fran Mannino Tags: Asbestos Exposure Mesothelioma Source Type: news
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
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
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
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
