As of January 12, 2009, a new rule governing asbestos training and equipment for safety will take affect according to OSHA. This new rule comes in light of so many companies putting workers and the public in danger of asbestos exposure by not being properly trained for asbestos removal or not being given the proper safety equipment.

Why did OSHA have to add the rule and make it a standard condition? Here is the reason.

Erik Ho, a Texas businessman, was cited for multiple violations of the construction asbestos standard’s respirator and training provisions. Ho’s conduct was particularly flagrant. He hired eleven undocumented Mexican employees to remove asbestos from a vacant building without providing any of them with appropriate protective equipment, including respirators, and without training them on the hazards of asbestos. Ho persisted in exposing the unprotected, untrained employees to asbestos even after a city building inspector shut down the worksite, at which point Ho began operating secretly at night behind locked gates.

The citations charged Ho with separate violations for each of the eleven employees not provided a respirator. …Ho was also charged with separate violations for each of the eleven employees not trained… …A divided OSH Review Commission vacated all but one of the respirator and one of the training violations. According to the majority, the requirement to provide respirators and ensure their use involved the single act of providing respirators to the employees in the group performing the specified asbestos work. 17 O.S.H. Cas. (BNA) at 1372. Thus, the majority concluded, ‘the plain language of the standard addresses employees in the aggregate, not individually.’ The majority reached this conclusion despite acknowledging that various subparagraphs immediately following the cited provision required particularly employee-specific actions, such as fit-testing individual employees. The majority adopted an equally narrow interpretation of the [training] requirement.

Anyone that feels they may be affected by this new rule can contact OSHA for more information. The asbestos abatement must be done correctly to protect everyone.

Tweet This

Travelers Companies are once again in the news as a Supreme Court is thinking about reinstating a settlement of about 500 million dollars against them. The settlement if reinstated would also prevent any other lawsuits from being started against the company. This could be great for the people that have a lawsuit now, but it is not good for those who have yet to file a lawsuit against the company.

Travelers is in legal litigation because it is said that they tried to hide the affects of asbestos on ones health. However, Travelers Company reports that claims should be paid from a trust that was made by Johns Manville Company, which Travelers was associated with. This trust was made during a bankruptcy hearing and it came from many insurers.

The Travelers Company agreed to a settlement with some plaintiffs if the court would also make it clear that they would not face any other lawsuits. The Bankruptcy judge agreed and it was settled. However, a higher court has said that a bankruptcy judge does not have that authority to make that deal.

Asbestos legal advice is the only way to know what is legal and what is not. Anyone that is exposed to asbestos or worked for the John Manville Company should seek advice from an asbestos attorney.

Tweet This

Studies are showing that people living in the area of the Vermont asbestos mine are showing signs of health related issues including lung cancer. Although the mine is not in operation anymore, the asbestos dust can escape and travel as far as the wind will take it. Residents nearby have been asking for tests to be performed on the mine, but on December 11, 2008, a meeting about the asbestos mine was canceled due to weather conditions.

Many people living in the area have become sick and have poor health. Many have developed mesothelioma cancer and others have other respiratory disease. Although people seem to have health related issues, more researchers have said the people within a ten-mile radius of the mine do not show any more symptoms than the rest of the towns in Vermont. Remarkably, residents are more concerned about their property values plunging more so than they are about health concerns.

Either way, the deserted asbestos mine in Vermont does need to have some type of action taken to ensure the safety of the residents. It is unknown what exactly the meeting will decide, but whatever it is, it is something that will have to be done soon.

Tweet This

A roofing company, Certified Residential Roofing and Siding and Bruce LaPierre are asked to pay $46,412.50 for violations to the state Department of Environmental Protection because they violated asbestos regulations for the state according to Shrewsbury, MA newspaper.

Apparently, inspectors found that work was done on a property that contained asbestos and the DEP was never notified of the asbestos and the asbestos removal was not done according to regulations. LaPierre said that he only became involved after the work was already started. He claims that when the DEP arrived, he was the only one at the property so he is being blamed.

The state DEP said that the material must asbestos abatement must be done by a certified company. It must be removed wet and in proper containment. Now that the work was done by unqualified workers, anyone in the general area and workers have been exposed to asbestos fibers that more than likely became airborne.

The states that have asbestos removal regulations do so to protect the environment and the public. When companies go in and do the work without following regulations, it not only puts them in danger, it puts everyone nearby in danger. Companies need to be aware of the regulations and so does the general public. If any work must be done on any property older than the 1980’s must be checked for asbestos.

Tweet This

The courts are looking at all the asbestos lawsuits that have been coming into the courts. With so many cases, the courts are looking at the way they handle the cases. In some cases, states have changed the statute of limitation for those bring lawsuits to the courts. This would take some pressure off the courts that are becoming overwhelmed with asbestos related cases.

This should never have a set limitation for filing because it can take so many years for the asbestos exposure to develop into mesothelioma cancer. Family members bring lawsuits for the lost of a loved one should also not have a statute of limitations because grief affects everyone differently. In addition, most people years ago did not know you could file a lawsuit on the behalf of a loved one that died because of asbestos exposure.

The states that are changing the laws of limitation, will allow many others to file when they are fit to file. It can be a hard thing to deal with when a loved one is diagnosed with mesothelioma cancer. Although the courts are doing to ease the overwhelmed system and make it easier for the sickest of mesothelioma sufferers to get into court sooner, they are in fact helping everyone.

Tweet This

The Fort Bragg barracks may have been contaminated when a heating system could have possibly spread asbestos fibers throughout the barracks. One father of a soldier speaks out saying that he feels that everyone that lived in the barracks should be monitored for mesothelioma cancer. Evon Colchiski said that his son Jason and other soldiers removed floor tiles in the building at Gruber Road.

The storeroom of the barracks is being remodeled, but when the floor tiles were raised, it released asbestos fibers into the air. The men working on the floor had no protective gear while doing the project. The soldiers are being tested to see if they indeed have any health problems. Unfortunately, mesothelioma cancer can take years before anyone shows any signs of asbestos exposure.

Accounts of the asbestos exposure detail the Commander telling the soldiers to be careful because the tiles contained asbestos. The soldiers will be monitored for five years, but the father of Jason feels they should be monitored for longer. The only way to solve this sad story is to seek asbestos legal advice and talk to the asbestos lawyers to see if the military can be forced to keep monitoring the soldiers longer.

There should also be some type of legality considering the Commander knew there was asbestos in the tiles.

Tweet This

Whether you have been exposed to asbestos or if you have been diagnosed with mesothelioma cancer, you need to talk to asbestos lawyers to find out your rights. If you were exposed and the company knew about the risk and the fact that you were going to be exposed, they are at fault. It is important to know what your legal rights are and the only way to do this is by seeking asbestos legal advice.

Asbestos removal is never going to solve the mesothelioma cancer problem because the cancer can take up to fifty years to appear. It could be decades before mesothelioma cancer is taken off the list of cancers. If you have been exposed to asbestos fibers, you do need to take precautions and seek medical advice to have a screening done to monitor your health.

Always take your health seriously and if you are exposed to asbestos, seek asbestos legal advice and medical attention. These are the two most important steps to remember. You want to have your exposure documented for future use if something would happen such as developing mesothelioma cancer or other related health issues. Your health is nothing to risk for anyone or anything.

Tweet This

If your home is older than thirty years, you need to be careful before doing any remodeling work, especially around floors, pipes and even between the walls. Asbestos, the hidden killer can be anywhere in the home and you probably do not even know it. You could innocently disturb the asbestos and endanger your family and yourself. Make no mistake about it, if your home has not been completely gutted, it probably has some asbestos lurking somewhere.

Asbestos abatement companies can come to your home and test he areas you plan to remodel for asbestos. This is the only way to be safe. If they find asbestos, you should seriously consider the company for asbestos removal. You are not certified to do asbestos removal yourself. It is a very involved job for safety reasons. If you do not have the equipment or the know-how to do it safely, you are at risk.

People that come into your home could seek asbestos legal advice against you if you knowingly exposed them to asbestos fibers. It is better not to take any chances and do the job safely. Asbestos attorneys can help you if you have any question about exposing others unintentionally.

Tweet This

Asbestos exposure has been linked to mesothelioma cancer as far back as 1906. This is the time when researchers first started seeing signs of lung cancer in high amounts for people that lived in or near mining towns. This could mean that asbestos risks and dangers where more than likely a concern sooner than the 1970’s when asbestos was banned from being used.

However, asbestos was still used for engine parts, car parts, wrapping pipes and lining boilers. It was used in buildings and on ships. The result for many people that came into contact with the asbestos fibers was death due to mesothelioma cancer. This all could have been avoided if the dangers of asbestos were reported back in 1906 when researchers suspected asbestos as the health issue it is today.

Although, asbestos is banned today, asbestos removal is continuing so that people will not be exposed to the fibers that can be inhaled or swallowed. People do not know if they are exposed in many cases, and do not show any signs of exposure until many years later. This is where many seek asbestos legal advice to see what if anything they can do.

Once diagnosed with mesothelioma cancer, the outcome is not good. Early detection is needed. People need to know if they have been exposed to asbestos directly or indirectly.

Tweet This

A family of a woman that died from mesothelioma cancer wants the laws changed in the UK so that second hand suffers of asbestos exposure can file and win lawsuits. Apparently, this woman, Maureen Gardiner, was diagnosed with mesothelioma cancer in 2006 and died from this cancer in 2007. It is said that even though she had never worked with asbestos directly, she was exposed to asbestos fibers when she would wash her husband’s clothes. Her husband’s career was in the 50’s and 60’s.

The law now reads that her death was accidental and not industrial. Therefore, the family cannot file a lawsuit. If the law were changed to include second hand exposure to asbestos, then her family could file a lawsuit. Even if you were not directly exposed to asbestos, you need to seek asbestos legal advice to see what can be done to help you. Never let any laws discourage you from talking with asbestos attorneys.

Until all asbestos removal is done in the world, people are going to be exposed to asbestos in one way or another. It is important that anyone exposed seek legal advice. It does not cost anything to ask questions and get answers. You can find out some answers and then know where you stand legally if you are exposed to asbestos directly or indirectly.

Tweet This