The objective is to present historical asbestos airborne concentrations associated with activities involving presumably asbestos-containing materials in steel mills. A total of 138 historical industrial hygiene air samples collected in three US steel mills from 1972 to 1982 were analyzed. The majority of samples were collected during relining of … [Read more...]
Powder Keg: FDA bowed to industry for decades as alarms were sounded over talc
At an invitation-only gathering late last year, U.S. regulators and their guests huddled at a hotel near Washington, D.C., to discuss the best way to detect cancer-causing asbestos in talc powders and cosmetics. The “Asbestos in Talc Symposium,” sponsored by the Food and Drug Administration [ and intended to investigate asbestos in talc powders … [Read more...]
Cancer in the classroom
[Lea DiRusso was exposed to asbestos while teaching at schools for nearly 30 years, then this teacher is diagnosed with mesothelioma.] Every week during the school year, teacher Lea DiRusso climbed on a chair and hung her students’ best work on a clothesline strung between two old heating pipes. As she tugged the line down to clip on artwork or … [Read more...]
Recall: FDA Sees Trace Asbestos in J&J Baby Powder
A shipment of baby powder has been recalled by Johnson & Johnson after U.S. authorities found asbestos in it. The recall comes after months of denial from the company about the presence of the cancer-causing substance in its talc-based products, The New York Times reported [October 19, 2019]. But the U.S. Food and Drug Administration … [Read more...]
More than 200 teachers died from asbestos – and kids are at risk in classroom
More than 200 teachers have died in the past 10 years from the effects of being exposed to asbestos. And for each teacher fatality, nine ex-pupils can also be expected to fall victim to the silent killer, a study claims – an average of almost 200 per year. Breathing in asbestos fibres can lead to mesothelioma, a cancer that develops in the … [Read more...]
Association between mesothelioma and non-occupational asbestos exposure: systematic review and meta-analysis
Background: The risk of mesothelioma has been shown to be associated with exposure to asbestos fibers. Most of the existing literature focuses on occupational exposure; however, non-occupational asbestos exposure has also been identified as an important risk factor. Objective: To estimate the association between mesothelioma and … [Read more...]
Johnson & Johnson knew for decades that asbestos lurked in its Baby Powder
[ Darlene Coker ] knew that her [ mesothelioma cancer ] arose in the delicate membrane surrounding her lungs and other organs. She knew it was as rare as it was deadly, a signature of exposure to asbestos. And she knew it afflicted mostly men who inhaled asbestos dust in mines and industries such as shipbuilding that used the carcinogen before its … [Read more...]
EPA sits back while North Carolinians are “forced to breath” asbestos for seven months
What a month. In September, the Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) Office of Inspector General (OIG) issued two reports. On Monday, the EPA OIB issued the report revealing that“Asbestos in Schools Not a Top Priority for EPA.” The next day, the EPA OIG published the second report revealing that it took seven months for North Carolina officials … [Read more...]
Appellate court requires Reynolds to disclose lists linked to asbestos lawsuit
A three-judge appellate court panel in Pennsylvania ruled Thursday that R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Co. must release lists of smokers and employees who sued Lorillard Inc. related to cigarette filters that contained asbestos. Reynolds inherited the legal liability as part of its $29.25 billion purchase of Lorillard in July 2015. Reynolds could not be … [Read more...]
It’s time for the EPA to ban asbestos once and for all
Nearly 40,000 Americans die from preventable asbestos-caused diseases every year, yet the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) still hasn’t banned this toxic substance. Asbestos was once marketed as a “miracle mineral” for its flame-resistance, strength and flexibility to use in construction, but has since been revealed for what it truly is: a … [Read more...]