By Janice Pennington on December 14, 2009
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency was recently forced to step in and clean up two thousand tons of asbestos waste from an old mill site in Sweet Home, Oregon. The $1.1 million price tag for the clean-up was paid with federal Superfund money, which is generated from taxes imposed on the chemical industry. At the center of the environmental disaster is Eugene businessman Dan Desler, who owns the contaminated mill site along with two other huge illegal industrial garbage dumps in and around Sweet Home. The EPA is hoping that Desler will eventually be required to reimburse the agency for the $1.1 million expenditure. (more…)
By Janice Pennington on November 30, 2009
Recovery1, a recycle center in Tacoma, Washington is devoted to processing every bit of the material generated from typical construction and demolition activities. Every bit that is non-hazardous, that is, explains Terry Gillis, Recovery1’s general manager. During the company’s sixteen year history, it has recycled an impressive 98 percent of the items accepted for processing. The materials include everything from wood construction debris to fiberglass insulation, carpet remnants and railroad ties, all which are remade into an assortment of finished products. (more…)
By Janice Pennington on November 23, 2009
Australian scientists have announced a breakthrough in the treatment of mesothelioma, an aggressive cancer caused by asbestos exposure. Around 700 Australians are diagnosed with mesothelioma each year. Doctors in Victoria at the Austin Health Centre have discovered an innovative radiation therapy that may offer hope of an improved life expectancy for those mesothelioma patients. (more…)
By Janice Pennington on November 16, 2009
Doctors who treat patients suffering with lung cancer sometimes find it difficult to distinguish between malignant mesothelioma and a completely different type of cancer, pulmonary adenocarcinoma. Those two diseases, and a third condition, benign mesothelioma, resemble one another in traditional testing. The problem is that doctors must identify their patient’s cancer type before they can begin the proper treatment or discover the cause of the disease. (more…)
By Janice Pennington on November 9, 2009
Asbestos exposure is virtually the only cause of mesothelioma, a cancer of the lining of the lungs for which the cure is not yet known. Many Americans have been exposed to asbestos in the workplace and at home, though this is particularly true for our nation’s veterans, many of whom served here in the Pacific Northwest. These veterans include Navy shipyard workers, machinists mates and repairmen, and sailors who worked in boiler rooms on board ships. When not working, sailors also were exposed to asbestos from the insulated pipes running throughout the ships, even on the pipes just inches from the bunks on which the servicemen slept. For veterans who eventually developed mesothelioma as a result of such asbestos exposure, the risk of harm from battle was not nearly so great as the harm from negligent manufacturers that chose not to warn about the risks of their dangerous products. (more…)
By Janice Pennington on November 2, 2009
Onsolis(TM) (Fentanyl Buccal Soluble Film), a new treatment for breakthrough cancer pain, has been launched by the drug manufacturer, Meda Pharmaceuticals Inc. The new treatment may be helpful for mesothelioma patients who currently are receiving and can tolerate opiate drugs, such as morphine or fentanyl, for chronic cancer pain.
“Breakthrough pain” occurs in people, such as cancer patients, who live with constant pain that is controlled by medication. When additional severe pain appears suddenly for a short length of time and cannot be diminished by the patients’ usual pain medication, it is referred to as breakthrough pain. Onsolis(TM) is designed to help alleviate such pain. Scientists estimate that of the half-million cancer patients in America who experience breakthrough pain, only about twenty thousand are given approved treatment for the condition. (more…)
By Janice Pennington on October 28, 2009
The Public Library in Salem, Oregon is in critical need of asbestos abatement to eliminate the risk to its users and employees of mesothelioma and other asbestos-related diseases.
According to the City, the asbestos materials to be removed are located mainly in areas used solely by employees and volunteers, rather than the public reader areas. For instance, the dangerous substance has been found in the Anderson Room kitchenette. Still, work to demolish and remove asbestos from ceilings in the building’s public Reading Hall will also be required. The lighting fixtures in that area are outdated and need to be replaced with new, energy efficient lighting. Before the lighting can be replaced, however, the ceilings, which are contaminated with encapsulated asbestos, must be rid of the toxic material. The Salem City Council has had to reallocate $165,000 just to cover the cost of the asbestos removal associated with replacement of the library’s lighting. (more…)
