9/11 Death Toll Rises 6 Years Later

In an article put out by The Associated Press last week poses a new question for 9/11 survivors - how many will they be added to the list of victims?

Family members of ground zero workers who died after breathing in toxic dust from the collapsed World Trade Center say they want their relatives officially recognized as victims of the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001.

The official list of victims increased by one, nearly 6 years after the 9/11 terrorists attacks. A New York attorney, Felicia Dunn-Jones, who died of lung disease months after the attack, probed her family members to find out what distinguished her death from the scores of others attributed to the aftermath.

According to the article, the city medical examiner's office said that her death was the only Sept. 11-related fatality it has been asked to review and definitively link to the twin towers' collapse. In the future, the medical examiner will review any case if a family makes such a request.

This raise in death-toll, to 2,750, nearly 6 years later poses questions in the minds of family members who have since lost someone who could possibly be added to this ever-increasing list. It's up to Chief Medical Examiner Charles Hirsch to decide whether to reclassify any deaths.

Family members want their loved one to be honored as an official 9/11 victim and at least two families are seeking re-examination. These cases include a police detective who became sick and died in 2006 of respiratory diseases and Deborah Reeve who also died last year of an asbestos-related cancer from the toxic dust at ground zero.

Since Dunn-Jones fled the collapsing towers from her office a block away and her death is being added to the official list of victims, another question is posed against the city, will there be lawsuits accusing the city of negligence for failing to protect workers and residents from toxic air at the site.

Are you or a family member a possible victim of 9/11? Get representation by New York and New Jersey asbestos attorneys, Levy Phillips & Konigsberg LLP.

Submit your case for review.

How to find a Mesothelioma Law Firm on the Internet

If you search the terms mesothelioma, mesothelioma lawyer, mesothelioma attorney, etc. you will be bombarded with websites promising free consultations from "mesothelioma lawyers". Be careful. You only have one opportunity to get the compensation that you and your family deserve.

The first thing you should ask yourself is: who owns this website and exactly who is going to be calling me about a free consultation. First of all, you want to know whether the law firm has experience in mesothelioma lawsuits. How long have they been handling mesothelioma lawsuits? Have they ever taken a mesothelioma case to trial. If so, what were the results? Where does the law firm have offices?

Believe it or not, many people masquerading as "mesothelioma lawyers" on the Internet, have never even handled a mesothelioma case. A good comparison would be a company that signs you up for a mortgage for your home and just ships the loan to another company.

The lawyers at my law firm, Levy Phillips & Konigsberg LLP, directly handle mesothelioma cases in New York and New Jersey. My partner Stanley J. Levy was one of the first lawyers in the country to file a mesothelioma case. He blazed a trail about thirty years ago that has been followed by the attorneys at our firm. The best way to review a firm's track record is to review their website. If the you can't find a website for a law firm, that is a good sign that the are not a legitimate mesothelioma law firm. Check out our law firm website at www.lpklaw.com and our firm's mesothelioma information website at www.nynjmesothelioma.com.

Posted by Jerome H. Block, Esq.

Asbestos Lurks on CSUN Campus

At California State University, Northridge, 21 buildings have been identified to have asbestos contained materials within them.

Twenty-one buildings on campus have asbestos in their tile floor, thermal pipe insulators, or other forms of pipes. Notices have been sent out to faculty members and notification letters have been placed by the entrances each of the buildings. Areas with asbestos-contaminated pipes have stickers or placards on them to identify the asbestos.

If a person comes into contact with asbestos fibers, it can be brought home with them, by remaining in their shoes, clothes, skin and hair, according to the National Cancer Institute. However, it could take 10 to 40 years or more for an asbestos-related problem to pop up.

The Environmental Health and Safety Department has no plans to remove the minerals any time soon. In its current condition, the asbestos-containing material, supposedly does not pose any health risk. The asbestos poses a serious health risk when it is deteriorating, disturbed, or damaged.

Have you been exposed to asbestos in the workplace and want more information? Read more on asbestos exposure.

The Search For Better Asbestos Removal Technology

Earlier this week, the Environmental Protection Agency released a Project Summary for the Alternative Asbestos Control Method. In this draft report, alternatives for the demolition process for buildings containing asbestos are evaluated. Two years ago, scientists and engineers from EPA’s National Risk Management Research Laboratory and the Dallas regional office compared the current process of demolishing a dilapidated, asbestos-containing structure with a new method called the Alternative Asbestos Control Method (AACM).

The pilot cleanup project was successfully completed in May 2006 at a secure location at Fort Chaffee, Arkansas. The location offered scientific side-by-side testing of the current asbestos removal procedures and the Alternative Asbestos Control Method (AACM).

Last month, EPA’s Office of Research and Development released for public and peer review a 205-page draft report titled “Comparison of the Alternative Asbestos Control Method and the National Emissions Standard for Hazardous Air Pollutants Method for Asbestos-Containing Buildings”.

Preliminary findings show the AACM procedures to be protective for clean up of many asbestos-containing buildings.

Read the Project Summary for the Alternative Asbestos Control Method Demonstration Project #1 at Fort Chaffee Redevelopment Authority, Fort Smith, Arkansas.

According to NYNjMesothelioma.com, in the United States, asbestos is the only confirmed cause of mesothelioma. Read more about asbestos exposure.

Hospital Fined Over $10k for Asbestos Violations

According to Statesman Journal of Oregon, Oregon State Hospital has been slapped with civil fines totaling $10,200 for asbestos violations. The penalties stem from in an incident in which hazardous amosite asbestos fibers may have been released into the air.

The Hospital hired a contractor to install a new water line dug into an old, asbestos-insulated pipeline at the Salem psychiatric facility in January, according to the state Department of Environmental Quality. A 1990 survey documented where asbestos is hidden at the 144-acre hospital campus, the pipeline being one of the places. The hospital failed to tell the contractor, Emery & Sons Construction, about the presence of asbestos.

The Department of Environmental Quality found asbestos insulation in a pile of dirt and debris next to the excavated pit. Insulation materials are considered "friable," which means they are likely to release fibers into the air when disturbed.

There is no safe level of exposure to asbestos, experts say. Inhaled fibers can lodge deep in lung tissue, increasing the risk of lung diseases, including cancer. Amosite asbestos, one of two types of asbestos found in the pipe insulation, is considered particularly hazardous.

Oregon State Hospital has until Aug. 18 to appeal regulatory fines totaling $10,200 for asbestos violations. Emery & Sons Construction has until Aug. 17 to appeal a $3,600 fine for conducting asbestos-abatement work without a license.

For more information, see the article on StatesmanJournal.com, Hospital fined for asbestos violations.

Asbestos exposure in the New York New Jersey area provided by NYNJMesothelioma.com