Regulations Loosened for Asbestos Demolition

The Sun Herald, a publication in South Mississippi, annouced in an article entitled, Asbestos demolition rules loosened for Coast, that a federal extension granted by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) late last week will allow twelve hundred more hurricane-destroyed houses in South Mississippi will be torn down under looser asbestos-handling requirements.

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) approved No Action Assurance to run until September 30, 2007. The extension applies to hurricane-destroyed houses in Hancock, Harrison, Jackson and Pearl River counties of South Mississippi.

The Mississippi Department of Environmental Quality (MDEQ), which sets regulations for air emissions of asbestos from building demolition and renovations for the state, estimated that at the end of the extension, 4,200 houses will have been torn down.

So what do these losser regulations mean? They mean county and city governments do not need to examine each structure (house) they allow to be demolished for asbestos if the structure appears to be unstable.

What can exposure to asbestos cause? In the United States, asbestos is the only confirmed cause of mesothelioma but not all asbestos exposures are the same. One breath of asbestos taken over a lifetime will not likely cause a disease. On the other hand, it is not necessary to be an “asbestos worker” in order to develop mesothelioma clinical symptoms. Read more on asbestos exposure.

Makers of Potential Mesothelioma Treatment Seeks Orphan Drug Status (Part 2)

Back in December we posted news about Biopharmaceutical company Alfacell Corp. asking the Food and Drug Administration to grant its lead drug candidate, Onconase, orphan drug status in the post - Makers of Potential Mesothelioma Treatment Seeks Orphan Drug Status (Part 1)

On January 30th, the Food and Drug Administration granted U.S. orphan drug designation for ONCONASE(R) for treatment of malignant mesothelioma. The generic name for Onconase(R) is Ranprinase.

Use the following links for orphan products:

• List of Orphan Products Designated January thru February 2007
• Cumulative List of All Orphan Designated Year to Date 2007
  

For more information on malignant mesothelioma and Onconase, please visit:

• Onconase: Potential Malignant Mesothelioma Treatment
• Asbestos Mesothelioma Resource for New York and New Jersey Residents

Ban Asbestos in America Act of 2007

On March 1st, the Mesothelioma Applied Research Foundation offered the endorsement of Senator Patty Murray's legislation, "Ban Asbestos in America Act of 2007."

Dr. Harvey Pass, Chairman of the Foundation's Science Advisory Board, testified before a Senate panel responsible for overseeing workplace safety. Pass praised the legislation Senator Murray introduced today for placing a high priority on federal funding for mesothelioma research and mandating a collaborative effort be made among the National Institutes of Health, the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health and the Department of Veterans Affairs to find the disease in its early stages so that newer therapies can prolong patients' lives.

The Mesothelioma Applied Research Foundation is a non-profit organization, devoted to eradicating mesothelioma as a life-ending disease.

Use the links below to find more information about Mesothelioma:

• What is Mesothelioma?
• Where could I get asbestos exposure?
• Asbestos Mesothelioma Resource Center
  
• Mesothelioma Asbestos Attorneys in New York & New Jersey

Celebrities Gather for Mesothelioma Benefit

More than 350 guests gathered for a benefit in Los Angeles on February 10th to hear Grammy award winning trumpeter Chris Bottie and Jordan Zevon (Warren Zevon’s son), see Barbara McQueen as she promoted her latest book "Steve McQueen: The Last Mile", and listen to 2006 Tour de France winner Floyd Landis make a plea to raise awareness for the devastating disease. The Pacific Heart, Lung & Blood Institute raised $250,000 for asbestos cancer research.

The Institute feels that this fundraiser proved to be an enormous breakthrough for the cancer research they feel it does not receive the attention or funding that other types of cancer receive.

Dr. Robert Cameron, chief of thoracic surgery at UCLA's David Geffen School of Medicine and one of PHLBI's Scientific Advisors unveiled the latest research currently underway at the Institute. He said, "This event shows what can happen when people pull together for mesothelioma research. We have promising projects underway that may lead to more effective management of this disease for this and future generations."

Some donors included the International Association of Heat and Frost Insulators and Asbestos Workers Union, the estate of David “Punch” Worthington, PHLBI Directors John Markovich and Roger Worthington, and asbestos manufacturer Owens-Illinois, among many others. Proceeds from the benefit’s auction also brought in an additional $9,000.

PHLBI will also be conducting a clinical study over the next few months on union workers who were former heavy smokers and also exposed to asbestos for a free clinical trial using Celebrex. Testing is to determine whether or not Celebrex is effective as a preventive treatment for lung cancer for those who might be at risk.

For more information on asbestos-related mesothelioma, or to get in touch with a lawyer, please visit LPK Law.

New Study Brings Hope to Mesothelioma Patients

In a recent NYU study, doctors may now be able to better monitor patients with mesothelioma. The MESOMARK test by Fujirebio Diagnostics effectively measures proteins in the blood that indicate changes in the disease. The MESOMARK Assay is the first – and only – in vitro test for mesothelioma.

The disease, commonly contracted by exposure to asbestos, causes fluid to accumulate around the sac lining of the chest as well as the abdominal area. The test detects soluble mesothelin-related proteins (SMRP) which were previously elusive in laboratory tests.

Per Dr. Harvey Pass at the Department of Cardiothoracic Surgery, NYU School of Medicine, “we might finally be on our way towards improving survival rates and the quality of life for patients diagnosed with this aggressive and often fatal disease.”

Mesothelioma can often be difficult to diagnose as its symptoms can be related to many other causes. It can sometimes as long as seventy five years to develop, but once it does it’s aggressive and usually has about a 10 percent survival rate for patients three years after diagnosis. More than 100 million people worldwide have been exposed to asbestos in varying professions over many years. Most are completely unaware of the potential danger at the time of exposure or are unaware that they have been exposed. An estimated 10,000 new cases are diagnosed each year worldwide.

If you have asbestos-related mesothelioma, please visit LPK Law.

Man names 91 major corporations in asbestos suit

For 61 years, Rolland Bowan worked in a variety of jobs from a laborer and a mechanic, to a pest exterminator and factory worker. Bowan claims that he contracted mesothelioma as a result of inhaling, ingesting, or otherwise absorbing asbestos fibers emanating from certain products he was working with and around.

Bowan filed an asbestos suit in Madison County Circuit Court on January 25th claiming the disease was wrongfully caused. He names 91 corporations as part of the suit including the likes of Discount Auto Parts, Dow Chemical, Ford Motor Company, General Motors, Goodyear, Honeywell International, Ingersoll-Rand, John Crane, Owens-Illinois, Sears and U.S. Steel.

The suit states that "The plaintiff's exposure and inhalation, ingestion or absorption of the asbestos fibers was completely foreseeable and could or should have been anticipated by the defendants."

Bowan was diagnosed with the aggressive cancer in October, 2005. He maintains that the defendants knew or should have known that their asbestos-containing products would have a negative effect on people’s health. Bowen also alleges that the defendants used asbestos in their products when they could have eliminated using them in exchange for asbestos-free products.

Bowan seeks damages to cover the cost of his treatment. The suit seeks $250,000 in damages for negligence, willful and wanton acts, conspiracy, and negligent spoliation of evidence among other allegations.

Mesothelioma is an aggressive form of cancer that affects the linings of the body’s internal organs. Survival rates from time of diagnosis to death are from 4 to 18 months. Asbestos is the leading cause of mesothelioma although some unrelated cases also exist. Victims of mesothelioma can take legal action for compensation.

Well Known Mesothelioma activist dies

Those that work or have ties to the asbestos mesothelioma community are today grieving the loss of Les Skramstad. Skramstad passed away in his Libby, Montana, home of mesothelioma. He was 70.

Lee is best known as one of the first people to suspect a connection between working in mines and mesothelioma, an aggressive form of cancer. A former vermiculite miner from 1959 to 1962, Skramstad’s warnings were largely unheeded until 1999 ,when a Seattle newspaper published an expose. In it was documentation showing dangerous levels of asbestos plus proof that officials knew about it.

Mesothelioma has a latency period extending from 10 to 40 years and often acts as a time bomb for those who worked in the affected mines. When the EPA came in, they declared the Montana town a Superfund site and called the contamination “the most horrific environmental disaster in this country's history.”

Vermiculite is a lightweight mineral used in insulation and gardening soil. Years ago it was used in 35 million homes as well as New York’s World Trade Center. The Libby facilities emitted about 5,000 pounds of asbestos into the air each day, often spreading as far as 30 miles. It was eventually shut down in 1990.

For more information on mesothelioma, please visit NYNJMesothelioma.com

USG Makes Final Asbestos Trust Payment

USG Makes Final $3.05 Bln Payment to Asbestos Trust

USB made it's last payment to the USG Asbestos Trust, fulfilling the building materials maker's financial obligations under a settlement announced in January 2006. Asbestos Trust was organized to pay all valid asbestos personal injury claims for which USG has legal responsibility.

Additional Resources for USG asbestos victims:

• USG Asbestos Trust Distribution Procedures
• USG Asbestos Personal Injury Trust Agreement
• Mesothelioma Asbestos Attorneys in New York & New Jersey

Makers of Potential Mesothelioma Treatment Seeks Orphan Drug Status (Part 1)

Today, Biopharmaceutical company Alfacell Corp. is asking the Food and Drug Administration to grant its lead drug candidate, Onconase, orphan drug status. Onconase is aimed at treating malignant mesothelioma, a rare form of cancer where malignant cells are found in the chest, abdominal cavity lining or the lining around the heart. The drug is currently in its confirmatory phase 3b trial for the treatment of unresectable malignant mesothelioma.

The Food and Drug Administration's orphan-drug designation is for drugs that treat diseases affecting fewer than 200,000 people in the United States. If granted, the designation will give Onconase seven years of market exclusivity as a malignant mesothelioma treatment

For more information on malignant mesothelioma and Onconase, please visit:

• Asbestos Mesothelioma Resource for New York and New Jersey Residents
• Onconase: Potential Malignant Mesothelioma Treatment

Nation’s First Talc/Asbestos Mesothelioma Verdict

On November 22nd, Levy Phillips & Konigsberg, LLP, Mesothelioma trial attorneys, announced the first-ever U.S. mesothelioma verdict connecting industrial talc with asbestos-related cancer. Industrial talc, an open-pit-mined mineral used in ceramic, paint, and paper manufacturing contains lethal, cancer-causing asbestos fibers responsible for a pottery artisan’s fatal mesothelioma.

R.T. Vanderbilt, Incorporated (“Vanderbilt”) claimed that talc from its New York State mines contained fibers that may have looked similar to but were not a lethal form of asbestos, a position that the company has maintained for decades. However, the Middlesex County Superior Court jury rejected the claims and award the New Jersey widow $3 million in compensatory damages. Hammill & Gillespie, Inc., which sold the industrial talc, was also found liable.

In the next phase of the trial, punitive damages will be sought against the defendants. It is scheduled to begin November 28th before the Hon. Ann G. McCormick, according to mesothelioma trail attorney Moshe Maimon, Esq., of Levy Phillips & Konigsberg, LLP who represents the estate of pottery artisan Peter Stanley Hirsch.

Early Symptoms of Mesothelioma

Early symptoms of mesothelioma can be general and non-specific, which is why many victims will have symptoms for mesothelioma 2 to 3 months before seeking assistance from healthcare professionals.

According to the American Cancer Society, symptoms of pleural mesothelioma (lining of the chest) may include:

• pain in the lower back or at the side of the chest
• shortness of breath
• trouble swallowing
• hoarseness
• cough
• fever
• sweating
• tiredness
• weight loss
• swelling of the face and arms
• muscle weakness

Symptoms of peritoneal mesothelioma (lining of the abdominal cavity) may include:

• belly pain
• weight loss
• nausea
• vomiting
• fluid or a lump in the abdomen

Keep in mind, these symptoms can also be attributed to other diseases. For many, the big factor is whether or not they've been exposed to asbestos in the past. If so, then the American Cancer Society recommends checking with your healthcare professional right away.

Are you a New York or New Jersey resident, have been diagnosed with mesothelioma and are wondering what to do next? Get the facts on Mesothelioma from NY NJ Mesothelioma.com by ordering your FREE information package on mesothelioma today.

Class Action Tobacco Lawsuit Validated by Lung Cancer Detection Findings

Class Action Lawsuit Validated by Finding that Scans Lead to over 90% Survival in Lung Cancer Patients Through Early Lung Cancer Detections – Levy Phillips & Konigsberg

A study released on October 26, 2006 by The New England Journal of Medicine regarding lung cancer detections further validates a significant class action tobacco lawsuit filed by New York City product liability lawyers, Levy Phillips & Konigsberg. The October 26th New England Journal of Medicine reports the results of a study demonstrating that annual low-dose CT screening offers early lung cancer detections (Stage 1) in 85% of the cases in which lung cancer is detected by this break-through technology. The 10-year survival rate in patients raises by 92% when lung cancer is detected early and promptly surgically removed.

The class action tobacco lawsuit asks Phillip Morris to accept tobacco corporate responsibility and provide annual low-dose CT Screening for a class of residents in New York State who are 50 years of age or older and have smoked a pack a day of Marlboro cigarettes for at least 20 years. These early lung cancer detections could significantly decreasing the number of deaths from lung cancer -- the No. 1 cause of cancer deaths.

“Lung cancer is the leading cause of cancer death in the United States and the State of New York. Over 160,000 people die annually in the U.S. from this awful disease,” said Jerome Block of Levy Phillips & Konigsberg. “Lung cancer deaths can be prevented since lung cancer is usually curable when diagnosed in its early stage. Philip Morris seeks to blame addicted smokers for what it calls ‘personal responsibility’. We are asking Phillip Morris to accept ‘tobacco corporate responsibility’ and save their customers’ lives by provide low-dose CT Screening of the chest for early detection of lung cancer,” says Mr. Block, one of the leading New York City product liability lawyers.

Mesothelioma Lawyers Sponsor NY NJ Mesothelioma.com

Levy Phillips & Konigsberg, LLP, mesothelioma lawyers with offices in New York and New Jersey, are sponsoring NY NJ Mesothelioma.com. NY NJ Mesothelioma.com provides asbestos mesothelioma information for New York and New Jersey residents. Visitors can get answers to their questions about asbestos mesothelioma:

• What is Mesothelioma?
• What physicians in New York and New Jersey area specialize in assisting asbestos mesothelioma victims?
• Where could I get asbestos exposure?
• What questions should I ask when choosing an asbestos mesothelioma law firm?

Additionally, NY NJ Mesothelioma.com offers a free information package on asbestos mesothelioma, which includes a comprehensive booklet entitled Asbestos in the Workplace, and an informative DVD.