Federal Court convicts San Diego Utility Employees on Asbestos Criminal Charges

The Federal Court convicted San Diego Gas & Electric Company and two of its employees on July 13 for violating safety standards during an asbestos removal project at a property in Lemon Grove. This decision was taken against the criminal offence committed by the company and its workers after asbestos is publicly declared to be a fatal carcinogen causing mesothelioma cancer. The utility sold the land to a developer and soon afterwards began removing the nine mile pipe in 2000. During this removal, the company is accused of using cheap machines to scrap off coating from the pipe that contained asbestos.

The charges of criminal offense on the utility stem from improper money saving methods that the company employed to remove asbestos from the pipe at the Encanto Gas Holder Facility in Lemon Grove, CA. Upon enquiries the company was found guilty of removing asbestos improperly and making false statements to misguide others. The two workers of the company were also convicted on the same charges for violating the standards for safety and endangering lives.

The San Diego Gas & Electric Company along with its two workers is facing a fine of up to $2 million while the workers face a minimum prison statement for 5 years and a fine of about $250,000 per conviction.

Asbestos Test of New York Air after Steam Pipe Explodes

The air and street surfaces and the vicinity areas of Manhattan, New York were checked for asbestos after a steam pipe ruptured near Manhattan’s Grand Central Station on Wednesday. For this purpose, technicians of Consolidated Edison were called who checked the area for any traces of asbestos that might have spread with the explosion of steam pipe. The blast blew a 25 foot wide hole through the 41st street just before 6 in the evening, killing one and injuring 30 other people. The victims of steam pipe include 3 firefighters too.

The main reason behind conducting this asbestos test was the fear that the 82 year old steam pipe might have been insulated with asbestos materials. Asbestos inhalation can lead to mesothelioma, a rare but deadly cancer.

For the fear of asbestos inhalation, the Health Department officials are urging people to stay indoors and keep their widows and doors closed to avoid any possibility of contact with asbestos. People have also been asked to switch their air conditioning to re-circulate to avoid any air-borne asbestos.

People who were exposed to explosion of steam pipe are also urged to wash with soap and water and store their clothes in plastic bags until the asbestos threat has been fully evaluated.

The Con Edison Steam Business Unit involved in the blast is the largest district steam system in the world. It heats 1,800 buildings in Manhattan with help of a network of underground pipes in New York only.

Demand for Asbestos Ban by Canadian Cancer Society

The Canadian Cancer Society has called for a ban on the use and export of deadly carcinogen asbestos that is mined in Quebec, a Canadian province. According to the CEO of Canadian Cancer Society, Barbara Whylie,

The society believes that exposure to asbestos must stop so that asbestos-related diseases can be eliminated.

The society has not set a deadline for the ban yet. They have recommended a just and fair transitional plan for the people who will be affected by eliminating the use of asbestos. A former asbestos mine worker and now a NDP MP, Pat Martin says that he is very happy about it and termed asbestos as “the greatest industrial killer” that has ever been discovered. Mr. Martin praised the cancer society for its efforts and rejected the policy of the federal governments for the fear of offending Quebec as it is the only place in Canada where asbestos is mined and exported to under developed countries of the world.

However, the Natural Resources Minister Gary Lunn has defended the Quebec government’s mining and export of asbestos with the statement that the only kind of asbestos mined in Quebec is chrysotile that is safe when properly used. He also confirmed the report that the government had opposed the listing of chrysotile asbestos in International List of Toxic Substances. He further said that it was time that Canadian Cancer Society debunked the myth that chrysolite asbestos is safer than other types of asbestos and is safe when used properly.

A 2006 report by the Centre for the Study of Living standards said 30% of workplace mortalities in 2004 were related to asbestos. It also said the mortality rate from asbestos had risen to 1.8 per 100,000 workers in 2004 from 0.4 in 1996.

In its statement, the Canadian Cancer Society made no special case or reference to chrysotile asbestos. It was only mentioned that chrysotile was the most commonly used form of asbestos in the world, a substance that has been linked to lung cancer, asbestosis and a numerous other diseases.

Other party leaders have also denounced the governments attempt to block the ban on asbestos. According to the Green Party leader, Elizabeth May, Canada’s efforts to block ban on asbestos are a disgrace and smear on the country’s reputation.

source : Health Magazine

Demand to Fire Minnesota Health Commissioner by Legislators

In a letter from the entire Iron Range Delegation along with the Senator John Marty, DFL – Roseville, it was demanded from the governor Tim Pawlenty that Diane Mandernach, Minnesota Health Commissioner should be fired. This letter was written after a report of deliberate negligence of the health department was made public that stated the failure of the department to release mesothelioma cancer date in Iron Range asbestos cases.

People as well as legislators of the state of Minnesota are insistent that Diana Mandernach should be fired for deliberately hiding the data that was later revealed in a Minneapolis Star Tribute investigation; published a few weeks back. The paper reported that the department came to know about 35 additional mesothelioma cases among Iron Range miners in Minnesota in March 2006. This was almost double the number of miners who had already been diagnosed with mesothelioma cancer in 2003. However, these facts were not revealed and the people of the region were not informed about the grave danger they were exposed to in form of the taconite mines.

The Iron Range Legislators are very angry at deliberate hiding of these facts by the health department and say that the delay in the release of the cancer data is unacceptable. As stated by the legislators in their letter to Pawlenty, “We can think of no greater breach of the public trust, than for the Commissioner of Health to subvert, conceal, and fail to warn workers of grave health dangers.”

According to Tom Rukavina, DFL-Pike, if the health department had released this data on time, it could have saved hundreds of lives from getting affected by mesothelioma cancer. He believes that such kind of a blunder only deserves firing of health commissioner. He said that discovery of so many cases in a period of 3 years means that Minnesota will be having a large number of mesothelioma patients in future too.

However, Governor Tim Pawlenty is resisting these efforts by the legislators. Governor Pawlenty has acknowledged that the health commissioner Diane Mandernach indeed made a mistake. In his reply to the letter from legislators, he has admitted that the cases were not handled properly and the data should have been made [public. However, he says that termination is not the answer to the problem. He has promised to work with the department to take the right action and help people.

University Of Minnesota Probing the Causes for Increasing Number of Mesothelioma Cases in Iron Ranges Miners

It was announced by Rep. Tom Rukavina (DFL-Virginia) that the University of Minnesota will take over the research studies and continue the probe for determining the causes behind the increasing number of mesothelioma cases and other asbestos diseases among the Iron Range miners and residents in the state. It was announced at the joint legislative hearing in which the legislators and citizens of Minnesota expressed their anger and frustration at the Minnesota Health Department for hiding the facts from public.

The researchers aim to test the rocks and dust from the Iron Range taconite mines that are believed to be the major cause of mesothelioma cases in the region. It is believed that the taconite dust contains the asbestos fiber which is causing all these deadly diseases. Other diseases have also been reported because of the commercial use of asbestos products that have been used by the general public as well as the miners.

The Health Commissioner of Minnesota has assured the university researchers of full cooperation in this research. The dean of the university’s School of Public Health has promised that the school is willing to provide funds to support the research program till the Minnesota Legislator provides funds to carry out the research. It has been estimated that some of the research may take 3 to 5 years to complete and it may be a long time before the results are announced.

Apology from Minnesota Health Commissioner for Delay in the Release of Mesothelioma Data

The health commissioner of Minnesota has apologized for the delay in releasing news about additional mesothelioma cases among Iron Range workers of Minnesota. The health commission of Minnesota, Dianne Mandernach, apologized during a four hour public hearing that was held on Tuesday, 26th June 2007.

In this public hearing, some lawmakers debated if Minnesota’s governor was also involved in the decision that led to withholding of this important information of additional mesothelioma cases from the people of Minnesota.

Being a deadly form of cancer, mesothelioma has been attributed to asbestos exposure and to date, 58 cases of mesothelioma have been diagnosed in Iron Range miners, six of which came to light last week only.
The controversy that has led the health department of Minnesota to be looked upon in anger and feelings of resentment is the delayed release of mesothelioma data that involved 35 cases identified by the health department in March 2006 that was not released to public till March 2007.

According to the health commissioner, Dianne Mandernach, her department delayed the release as they were waiting for the federal funds to begin the research to find out if the taconite dust was the cause of rising mesothelioma cases, as suspected. An expert of Environmental Sciences from the University of Minnesota, who also attended the hearing, said that the state should focus its research on measuring the level of asbestos-like fibers in the taconite dust that is being considered as a major risk factor for mesothelioma and ask the mining companies to adopt practices to reduce dust and adopt safety measures. Despite the apology from the health department, people still harbor anger and bitterness against them for hiding facts and endangering lives of the residents to mesothelioma cancer.