Mesothelioma Pages

Representative Betty McCollum and Senator Patty Murray have introduced a motion to establish September 26th as “National Mesothelioma Awareness Day,” a day committed to rallying support for the disease’s victims.

Mesothelioma, a rare and aggressive cancer of the soft tissue which encases the body’s vital organs, claims some ninety to one-hundred thousand lives each year worldwide. The disease has been positively linked with exposure to asbestos, a substance used frequently as an insulator and sealant, and as an additive in many industrial compounds.

While knowledge of the adverse effects of asbestos was established in the early twentieth century, many governments have been slow to adopt laws that could curb exposure to the dangerous substance. Around fifty-two nations around the globe, including the vast majority of the European Union as well as Australia and New Zealand, have completely banned asbestos from the industrial market. America, Britain, Russia, China and Canada, however, have thus far failed to implement a total ban but instead have introduced strict regulations and restrictions.

In the United States, a total ban on asbestos was attempted in the late 1980′s. The law, proposed by the Environmental Protection Agency, was overturned just a few years later by asbestos industry corporations seeking to protect their profits.

The recognition of National Mesothelioma Awareness Day hasn’t been passed into law yet. The bill, also known as H. 771, is mired in the house’s Committee on Oversight and Government Reform, which is chaired by Representative Edolphus Towns.

The search for a mesothelioma cure, however, and the effort to increase the public’s awareness of the disease, are gaining more support today than any time in the past. Florida, for example, passed a bill last year instating the twenty-sixth of September as the state’s own Mesothelioma Awareness Day. It will be recognized for the first time this year.

The Mesothelioma Applied Research Foundation, commonly referred to as the Meso Foundation, is playing a huge role in championing the cause. The organization is ramping up its efforts year after year, hosting marathons, conferences and other events to raise money, increase popular support, and call the medical community as well as the government to action.

The Meso Foundation has high hopes for the coming year. With the possibility of a National Mesothelioma Awareness Day taking place for the first time in 2010, they’re hoping to coordinate their efforts to maximize their campaign’s efficacy. Representatives of the Meso Foundation will be in New York on September 26th for the taping of the Today Show, and they will be placing awareness ads in the high profile 10 Rockefeller display window during the week surrounding the 26th.

Meanwhile, asbestos exposure continues to affect hundreds of thousands of lives each year. With the possible recognition of an annual Mesothelioma Awareness day starting in 2010, however, the disease’s ugly history may be breaching the beginning of the end.

The Sierra Fund (TSF) has released the surprising results of a new study called the The Gold Country Recreational Trails and Abandoned Mines Assessment, which indicates that several areas in the Sierra Nevada Foothills are still dangerously contaminated with mining related toxins. The study investigates the long term ramifications of the Gold Rush era, and has found that arsenic, lead and asbestos persist in dangerous levels in several areas frequented by outdoor enthusiasts.

Elizabeth Martin, the CEO of the Sierra Fund, says: “More than 100 years after the end of the Gold Rush era, the environmental, cultural and health impacts of that time have still not been assessed or addressed. Our study documents that these abandoned mines pose a toxic health threat on public lands that are widely used for recreational activities. The time has come for a serious assessment of abandoned mines, and the public needs to be informed about potential exposure to toxic heavy metals and asbestos in areas with abandoned mines.”

The study sites the analyses of soil samples taken from hiking trails and other public areas around abandoned mines, waste rock piles, and mine tailings in Downieville, Nevada City, and Foresthill. Almost half of the soil tested contained dangerous amounts of asbestos dust, and lead was often present at eighteen times the concentration considered safe by state and federal regulations.

The dangerous chemicals are relics from the mining methods employed during the gold mining craze of yesteryear, while the asbestos dust comes from serpentine – a rock that’s abundant throughout California – which has been crushed into powder during mining operations. Exposure to asbestos has been positively linked with the development of mesothelioma, an aggressive and terminal cancer. According to the United States Food and Drug Administration there is no safe level of exposure to asbestos.

A spokesman for the Central California division of the Bureau of Land Management says that decontaminating the area is virtually impossible because the pollutants are so abundant and so thoroughly blended with the surrounding terrain. The Sierra Fund is advocating the placement of warning signs in the area, and the restriction of public access to specifically dangerous areas.

Senator John Tester introduced a new measure this week that could introduce a more effective medical staff to Libby, Montana, where thousands may face complicated medical problems.

Libby was the home of one of the United State’s largest vermiculite mines for nearly one hundred years. Vermiculite, a natural mineral that’s useful for a variety of purposes, contains substantial amounts of deadly asbestos fibers. W.R. Grace and Co., the company that owned the mine since its opening in 1919, was indicted in 2005 for knowingly endangering the residents of Libby. The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) claimed that W.R. Grace and Co. had been intentionally suppressing findings about the ill effects of asbestos containing vermiculite since the 1970′s.

Today, some 1,200 Libby residents have suffered from asbestos related illnesses, including the aggressive and terminal cancer mesothelioma. Libby hospitals are having a difficult time dealing with additional stress on their medical systems, and some fear that their lack of specialists could pose a potential threat to those affected by asbestos exposure.

Tester’s proposal could change all that.

The National Health Service Corps, a federal program that’s been in place since the 1970′s, was put into place to recruit doctors to under served, rural markets. The program offers benefits such as medical school scholarships and loan repayment for general practitioners who are willing to re-locate.

Tester’s plan is to amend the program to allow specialists to participate as well as general practitioners, granted they’re willing to work in an area designated as a “public health emergency.” Just last year on June 17, after evaluating the results of various asbestos contamination tests in the area, the EPA declared Libby, Montana as the very first public health emergency.

“This is going to really open some doors,” said the Senator Monday, while he was describing his plan.

Tester believes that obtaining proper health care in an area like Libby is very difficult without special provisions. In addition to being in a rural, far from densely populated area, Libby’s asbestos contamination itself constitutes a deterrent to many doctors and specialists.

“It is increasingly difficult,” reads Tester’s bill, “for the health care facilities in [areas like Libby] to recruit the specialists necessary.”

If passed, the bill could help to create incentives for specialized practice in Libby, Montana, and alleviate the pressure on an over-strained medical staff.

This year the provincial government of Quebec plans to finance the expansion of the Jeffrey Mine located in the small northern town of Asbestos, named after its most valuable and abundant resource. This decision has incited an aggravated global awareness which has protesters all over the world voicing their concerns about investment into the asbestos industry. Prolonged asbestos exposure can cause extreme health problems including mesothelioma, a form of lung cancer which is almost always fatal.

With the provincial government’s funding approval, the new mining operation would generate close to 200,000 tons of asbestos each year. The majority of this asbestos would then be shipped to developing countries all over the world which often lack the safe handling laws that protect workers from asbestos related illnesses. South Korea, Belgium, Hong Kong and an assortment of North American cities have organized peaceful protests in an attempt to stress the severity of asbestos related diseases.

In Hong Kong, protesters gathered outside the Canadian consulate, calling for a ban on asbestos exports between the two countries. According to the Asia Monitor Resource Center, Hong Kong is in the midst of an asbestos disease epidemic, with more and more workers dying each year on account of lung cancer and mesothelioma. Even if asbestos exports cease immediately, mesothelioma’s tendency to lie dormant means citizens could potentially experience symptoms for another 30 years.

Since the beginning of the 19th century, medical records have shown how potentially dangerous asbestos can be. Mesothelioma, scarring of the lung tissue, and asbestos warts caused by sharp fibers being lodged in the skin can all be triggered from asbestos contamination. While employers, manufacturers and property owners have been aware of these problems for several years, many have failed to take the actions necessary to safeguard their employees and consumers. These types of behavior have resulted in unnecessary deaths as well as thousands of asbestos lawsuits.

In past years, lawyers have had great success in mesothelioma cases, often ending in multi-million dollar settlements. However, the medical advances concerning asbestos diseases are not so encouraging, with nearly 3,000 Americans being diagnosed each year with the potentially fatal disease.

Despite global disapproval many Canadians see things differently. Many locals are excited for the mine’s expansion, hoping that it will alleviate suffering in the local economy. Some local companies have even banned together to raise an additional two million dollars to help fund the massive project.

Protesters all over the world disagree, stating that the mine’s expansion will increase needless asbestos contamination and lead to further disease.

According to research recently published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, new steps are being taken toward a more complete understanding of mesothelioma.

One of the more confusing aspects of the disease lies in the fact that asbestos exposure seems to both kill cells and cause the growth of malignant tumors – reactions that appear mutually exclusive seeing as dead cells can’t multiply. A group of scientists and researchers at the University of Hawaii believe they’ve uncovered some important details about this phenomena, details that could lead to new treatments with more research and development.

Mesothelioma is an aggressive cancer caused almost exclusively by exposure to asbestos fibers. One of the curiosities of the disease is what’s referred to as its “latency period”, that is, the long amount of time that passes between exposure to asbestos fibers and the development of malignant tumors. In many cases this latency period can be as long as thirty to even fifty years.

Mesothelioma’s latency period has been a source of particular frustration and difficulty for a variety of reasons. In addition to obscuring the connection between the mineral and the disease, a phenomena which allowed asbestos companies to contaminate workplaces unchecked for decades, the latency period also complicates diagnosis. Many patients don’t associate mesothelioma’s general ailment, flu like symptoms with workplace asbestos exposure which took place decades in their past.

The research team in Hawaii has uncovered a connection between two of mesothelioma’s odd traits: the fact that it somehow kills cells and encourages tumor growth simultaneously, and the fact that it takes decades to present malignant growths.

Their research has shown that asbestos kills cells through a process known as programmed cell necrosis, a process which leads to the release of a particular protein called HMGB1. The released HMGB1 protein causes an inflammatory reaction in surrounding tissues, which in turn releases mutagens that eventually leads to tumor growth. The researchers believe that if the release of HMGB1 and the resulting tissue inflammation could be controlled or prevented, the release of mutagens would not be triggered and malignant tumors may never develop.

A clinical trial will be conducted in Cappadocia, Turkey, an area highly affected by asbestos exposure, to gain more insight on their findings and further develop their approach. If the results of the trial are encouraging, further tests and additional time could lead to the development of new treatment methods for mesothelioma.

Marco Island, Florida has reached an agreement with the Environmental Protection Agency after a four year ordeal that unfolded after an infrastructure re-engineering project was conducted improperly by one of the city’s contractors. Quality Enterprises, the contractor chosen to widen sewer lines and improve a highway several years ago, came under investigation after an anonymous tip accused them of incorrectly handling asbestos waste. The allegations claimed that asbestos laden pipes were broken up and disposed without the special regard required for such materials by state and federal regulations.

All in all, six violations of the Clean Air Act were reported. The accusations included: the improper inspection of an area containing asbestos, failure to have an asbestos hazard trained staff member on site, failure to remove asbestos before aggravating the material, and failure to dispose of asbestos as soon as practically possible. Quality Enterprises was also accused of not handling the materials properly even though they were aware that it was a dangerous health hazard.

Regulations and restrictions surrounding asbestos materials were put in place to protect the health of both construction and demolition workers as well as the general public. While asbestos has been used in a variety of different ways in the construction and engineering industries for more than a century, its toxicity has moved closer and closer to center stage over the past twenty-five years.

Asbestos causes several serious and fatal diseases such as asbestosis, lung cancer, mesothelioma and various respiratory ailments. The EPA attempted to ban the material from use in the 1980′s, but was overpowered by a powerful, threatened asbestos industry fueled by both heavy industry and national defense contracts. Nowadays, the material is legal throughout the United States but its use is heavily restricted. Special licenses and careful procedures are required when handling asbestos containing construction materials.

The settlement reached between Marco Island, Quality Enterprises and the EPA will hold Quality Enterprises financially responsible for the asbestos hazard without requiring either party to admit guilt to the Clean Air Act infractions. The penalties for the six infractions are just $82,772, a fairly small price to pay after four years of deliberation.

Frank Recker, the chairman of the Marco Island City Council, felt that holding the contractors technically responsible instead of the city that agreed to hire them was an important victory for Marco Island.

“It was Dr. [interim City Manager Jim] Riviere’s and my mission,” said Recker, “to get the world to understand we didn’t think the city was financially responsible for anything.”