Mesothelioma and Asbestos Blog

The senate has announced that beginning this year, the first week of April will be dedicated to informing Americans about asbestos and the risks associated with the material.

They have decided to designate this time of the year as “National Asbestos Awareness Week.�

The week has been specifically set aside as a public health warning and the government hopes that people will become better educated on the dangers of asbestos and the risks that are associated with this carcinogenic substance.

ADAO Conference
The Asbestos Disease Awareness Organization (ADAO) is a nonprofit organization that focuses on aiding asbestos victims and their families.
The organization is going to be holding their fourth annual Asbestos Awareness Day Conference the first week of April.
At this conference, those who have become victims of asbestos exposure will be honored and attendees will be informed of the latest news and advances being made in terms of asbestos and diseases linked to asbestos.
Conference Details
At the conference, Lisa Reinstein, the co-founder of the organization, is going to be joined by world renowned experts on asbestos.
The conference is going to be at the Barbara Ann Karmanos Cancer Institute in Detroit, Michigan, and will take place at the beginning of Asbestos Awareness Week.

A settlement was recently reached in the case against W.R. Grace for the asbestos issues that have been plaguing the town of Libby, Montana.
The chemical company filed for bankruptcy in 2001 because of asbestos claims and has reportedly agreed to pay the government $250 million.
Highest Asbestos Settlement in History
The Department of Justice claims that the settlement is the highest in the Superfund programs history.
The money from the settlement is meant to reimburse the federal government accrued costs from the investigation and the cleanup that has been ongoing at the contaminated mining sites in Libby.
Community Faces Asbestos Problems
Since 2000, the DOJ has been working to remove soil is infested with asbestos in the small mining town.
According to reports, the federal government filed a suit against W.R. Grace in 2001 to help cover the cleanup costs under the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act (CERCLA).
In 2003, the district court gave the EPA over $54 million for the cleanup costs needed for that year.
During this time, the company went bankrupt and those costs never got paid.
As a result, officials hope that this week’s settlement will cover cleanup costs for the future of the contaminated schools, homes and businesses in the town.

Recent studies are exploring the cause of mesothelioma among Iron Range miners and more lawmakers are inquiring as to just how much financial backing should go to this research.

Earlier this week, officials from the University of Minnesota informed a House panel that they are planning to conduct four studies associated with mesothelioma cases.

High Rate of Mesothelioma in Workers

The studies are being conducted following the discovery of data indicating a high rate of this form of cancer, which is caused by asbestos exposure, amongst mine workers.

Lawmakers have reported that the completion of the multiyear research project regarding mesothelioma is important since the efforts to find the cause of the health effects on workers never reached a conclusion.

“What we’re trying to do is get to the bottom of this once and for all,� says Rep. Tom Rukavina.

Seeking Funding

Rukavina and Iron Range legislators are reportedly seeking $4.9 million for their research and the studies are being conducted by the university’s School of Public Health and Natural Resources Research Institute.

The growing number of mesothelioma cases in the Iron Range mine workers has been under investigation throughout the past few years and health officials, research teams and the families of these workers are eager to reach some conclusions.