Asbestos hazards

Via the blog Confined Space, I see that a New York City police detective at the site of the World Trade Center attack died of respiratory failure recently. The medical examiner said: reasonable degree of medical certainty that the cause of death in this case was directly related to the 9/11 incident.” This may be […]

Story out of Britain this week, a Norwich man worked for years at a heating firm back in the 1940s and was exposed to asbestos dust and fibers. He now has mesothelioma. This type of delayed onset it typical of mesothelioma and makes it all the more painful a tragedy – the past coming back

The Hill says the tunnels beneath the capital building have asbestos “lying so thick on the ground that it can be scooped up in handfuls.” It’s posing a hazard to workers, and the Capitol Police aren’t even allowing their officers to patrol the tunnels because of the risk. Maybe having asbestos so close to home will

Writing in The New Republic blog, Michael Crowley says asbestos is not mind-numbingly boring. Its good to know some political reporters appreciate this issue, although as Crowley points out, the media has largely ignored it, probably because it is so complicated. Sen. Harry Reid was quoted as saying he “can’t stand this legislation”. The bill

The public health blog Effect Measure has a post on the difference in asbestos use between the developed countries and the developing countries. Apparently, in the 1980s the Canadian government actively sought new markets for asbestos in the face of declining use in the US and Europe. Of course, the reason for the declining use

From spiked-online: “According to a 2005 report by the French Senate, there were 35,000 deaths as result to asbestos exposure between 1965 and 1995. Because of the long-effects, the deaths are expected to rise to 60,000-100,000 in the next 20-25 years.”

The federal government’s Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry conducted a review of vermiculite from the now notorious Libby Montana mine. This review, which they called the National Asbestos Exposure Review, is available on the web here: http://www.atsdr.cdc.gov/asbestos/sites/national_map/ Vermiculite is a mineral which was used for many things, and most vermiculite does not pose

I read an interview with Fernanda Giannasi, a Brazilian leader of the movement to ban asbestos. Brazil is the world’s fourth largest asbestos producer. It exports 35 percent of its annual production – around 200,000 tons – to more than 25 countries, including India, Japan, Thailand, Indonesia, United Arab Emirates, Nigeria, Mexico, Colombia and Ecuador.