Asbestos Exposure

Asbestos is a mineral that can occur naturally in the environment, and is also used by man in a range of products. This material was once widely used in many places, but as the dangers of exposure to asbestos began to come to light, this all changed. However, for many people it was too late, as the damage had already been done. This is because asbestos is responsible for a number of side effects, which can cause anything from discomfort to death. Asbestosis and pleural plaques can result from exposure to asbestos, and more notably so can mesothelioma, a deadly cancer that can take many decades to develop but only a matter of months from the onset of symptoms to kill.

Mesothelioma is caused by ingesting or breathing in loose asbestos fibres, which can then cause scarring and ultimately can lead to this cancer. The cancer can affect the lung, chest, or abdominal cavities, but it also has a very long latency period, which means that it could be thirty years or more before the person even realizes that they have contracted the cancer because this is how long it can take to manifest. The onset of symptoms can take up to fifty years or more in some cases, but once the symptoms have manifested the lifespan of the person can be as short as several months.

Between the 1950s and the 1980s, many people – mainly men – worked in industries where they were exposed to asbestos on a daily basis and for long periods of time. This mineral was so widely used because it was cheap and because of its fire resistant properties. Because the effects of the mineral were largely unknown except for in certain circles at the time, workers did not question the lack of protection or concern displayed with regards to working so closely with asbestos.

However, it is thought that many companies and manufacturers were aware of the deadly effects of this mineral from as early as the 1920s. However, their failure to provide oblivious employees with protection against the effects of asbestos resulted in many people contracting this cancer, and only realizing thirty to fifty years down the line just as they were settling down to enjoy their retirement.

Some of the workers mostly likely to come across asbestos on a day to day basis and therefore most at risk included as insulators, plasterers, electricians, mechanics, bricklayers, carpenters, and other tradesmen. This is because these professionals worked closely with materials and products that contained asbestos. Also at risk were the families of these workers, as they could often ingest or breathe in asbestos fibres from the clothes, skin, or hair of the worker, and this could lead to the same effects.

Millions of workers have been exposed to asbestos over the years, and the unlucky ones have discovered several decades later just what an impact their work had on their health. Many of the cases of mesothelioma coming to light today are in men, as it was mainly men that worked with asbestos several decades ago. These workers are now finding out that they have this cancer and other asbestos related disorders, as the symptoms finally manifest.

The dangers of asbestos exposure have now been far more widely recognised. However, millions of people worldwide have been exposed to this mineral. For these people, living life can be like living on borrowed time, and each year, thousands of new cases of mesothelioma and other asbestos-related cancers are diagnosed.

This figure is likely to increase over the next ten years or so, and many more middle-aged and elderly people could find that they have been harbouring this deadly cancer for the past few decades.

Although it is now known that asbestos exposure is responsible for malignant mesothelioma and other forms of cancer, asbestosis, pleural plaques, and other respiratory and health problems, this mineral can still be found in insulation materials in many places worldwide, and therefore continues to hold its deadly reign over mankind.

Asbestos Fears Results In Closure Of Room In Police Station

A room at the police station in Leominster had to be closed off late last week after concerns were raised with regards to some tiles that were being replaced by a contractor. It was thought that the tiles mesothelioma that were being replaced by the maintenance worker might contain asbestos, and therefore the closure was arranged as a precaution.

Asbestos is a material that was once widely used in many applications, and is a known carcinogenic that can result in a range of health problems, including mesothelioma, which is an asbestos related cancer. However, according to the mayor the concerns about asbestos were only suspicions. “We don’t even know if it was asbestos,” he stated.

The tiles were being replaced in the room where police officers usually write up their incident reports. The tile replacement mesothelioma was part of an overall refurbishment that was taking place in the police station. After concerns were expressed the rooms was closed off and the Department of Environmental Protection was called.

The Mayor stated that all necessary mesothelioma steps to protect people in the station were taken. Health Director Christopher Knuth stated: "We don't even know if there is a problem, and if there is anything that needs to be removed, it will be removed immediately."

Owens Corning to Pay $5.2 Billion to Asbestos Victims

Owens Corning, the world's largest maker of insulation products, said it will pay $5.2 billion to asbestos victims and $2.5 billion to creditors in a settlement that would let the company exit bankruptcy this year.

The settlement, if approved by a U.S. bankruptcy judge, would create a company worth about $5.9 billion when it emerges from bankruptcy, including about $3.9 billion in new equity and $1.8 billion of new debt financing. The current stock will be cancelled. The payment to the victims would resolve more than $10 billion in asbestos-related claims.

"The path to justice for victims of asbestos cancer and asbestos poisoning by Owens Corning has been a long and difficult one," said John D. Cooney, of the Chicago law firm of Cooney & Conway, who represented asbestos victims. "Although nothing can ever repair the loss of lives, today's settlement represents a fair resolution for both the victims and Owens Corning."

The agreement requires that Owens Corning pay $4.29 billion in cash into an asbestos victims' trust plus 28.6 million shares in the company once it emerges from bankruptcy, Cooney said.

Toledo, Ohio-based Owens Corning is one of more than 70 U.S. public companies that have sought bankruptcy protection since the early 1980s to deal with asbestos suits. Asbestos, a heat-resistant material used in insulation, auto parts and construction products, causes respiratory illness. Prolonged exposure to the fibrous mineral has been linked to a rare form of cancer.

Shares Rise

The settlement is structured so that, if the current Congress passes legislation to bail out former asbestos makers from liability, Owens Corning may not have to make all of the payments, the company said in a statement.

Owens Corning stock rose 81 cents, or 87 percent, to $1.74 in over-the-counter trading at 2:36 p.m. New York time.

The company's 7.5 percent notes due in 2018 soared 14 cents on the dollar to 115 cents, the yield falling 162 basis points to 5.56 percent, according to Trace, the price reporting service of the NASD. The bond was the second most heavily traded issue among institutional investors with 65 trades of more than $1 million at 1:45 p.m. in New York.

Owens Corning's income from operations rose to $452 million in 2004 from $300 million in 2002, the company said in bankruptcy reorganization papers filed on Dec. 31, 2005. Owens Corning reported May 2 that it had net income of $63 million in the first quarter of 2006, compared with a $4.2 billion loss in the same period in 2005.

Debt Holders

Under the reorganization plan, holders of about $1.5 billion in debt will get as much as $2.27 billion, including interest, the company said in a statement.

Current Owens Corning stock holders will receive warrants to buy 5 percent of the fully diluted shares of the reorganized company, at an exercise price of $45.25 per share, the company said. The warrants can be exercised within seven years of the effective date, the company said.

U.S. Bankruptcy Judge Judith K. Fitzgerald scheduled a hearing for July 10 to review a disclosure statement that outlines the plan, the company said.

"Reaching this important agreement with our key creditors will enable Owens Corning to move toward emergence from Chapter 11 in a timely manner,'' said Michael H. Thaman, chairman of the board and chief financial officer, in a statement.

Owens Corning had record sales in 2005 of $6.32 billion, up 11 percent from the previous year.

Compensation Costs

The head of the Congressional Budget Office told lawmakers Nov. 17 that the total costs of compensating asbestos victims may reach $150 billion. Senators are pushing for the creation of a fund to pay asbestos claimants and free companies from future liability on such claims.

Along with Owens Corning, companies such as W.R. Grace & Co., Federal Mogul Corp, USG Corp. and Armstrong World Industries Inc. filed for Chapter 11 protection in Delaware since 2000 to set up plans to wipe out their asbestos liabilities.

USG, the No. 1 maker of gypsum wallboard, agreed on Jan. 30 to pay as much as $3.95 billion to settle asbestos liability claims and emerge from 4 1/2 years of bankruptcy.

Before USG and Owens Corning settled, the biggest payment to asbestos victims was the $3.15 billion paid by Johns-Manville in 1987, said Stephen J. Carroll of the Rand Corp., which published a report on the issue in 2005.

W.R. Grace spokesman Greg Euston said the company is still in settlement discussions with asbestos victims. Federal Mogul spokeswoman Marie Remboulis and Armstrong spokeswoman Dorothy Brown Smith didn't immediately return phone calls.

Settlements Happening

"The fact that this has settled and it's so big and so complex has sent a signal to everybody that settlements are going to happen more quickly," said Charles Tatelbaum, a lawyer with Ft. Lauderdale, Florida's Adorno & Yoss. Tatelbaum, a former vice president of research for the American Bankruptcy Institute, has represented creditors in asbestos-related cases in the past. "The view is now that Congress isn't going to do anything, so they're settling," Tatelbaum said about the federal bill proposing an asbestos fund.

Ad Campaign

Owens-Corning, formed as a joint venture in the 1930s by Corning Glass Works and Owens-Illinois Glass, was spun off in 1949 in the aftermath of an antitrust suit filed by the U.S. government.

The company is best-known for its advertising campaign featuring the Pink Panther cartoon character pushing its line of home insulation.

"Although we are pleased with the outcome of this settlement, it is an appropriate time to remember that countless lives were lost or destroyed as a result of the needless use of asbestos containing products," Cooney said in his statement.

The case is: No. 00-3837, U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Wilmington, Delaware.

To contact the reporters on this story:

Bob Van Voris in New York at rvanvoris@bloomberg.net

Mesothelioma and Asbestos

The cause of a number of ailments and diseases, including the deadly cancer mesothelioma, asbestos has actually been in use for centuries. The name asbestos was given to this mineral by the Ancient Greeks, and the word literally means inextinguishable. The Greeks gave it this name because of its amazing fireproof qualities, although they also noted the harmful effects that asbestos had upon workers.

Asbestos is a soft and flexible, which has been widely used for many years for a variety of things. The modern use for this mineral is for insulation, and it has been used in a wide range of items and structures, from ceilings and walls to toasters and hairdryers. This mineral became popular during the industrial revolution as an effective and safe form of insulation – safe in that it was fireproof, but certainly not safe in any other sense. Although the risks involved in using and working with asbestos had been observed several hundred years earlier, these risks were not taken into account when asbestos became widely used for insulation.

It was not until the 1900s that the facts regarding the risks involved to workers began to re-emerge. An English physician carried out a post-mortem on a man who had worked with asbestos for many years, and he found traces of fibres and dust in the man’s lungs. The doctor stated that the man had died due to his exposure to this mineral. Over the next twenty or so years professionals in many countries began to notice the fact that disease, illness and death was uncommonly high amongst asbestos workers.

In the mid 1920s, an English doctor made the first diagnosis of asbestosis, and this was followed by a study which showed that 25% of English asbestos workers showed signs of a related lung disease. Laws were then stepped up in England to provide better ventilation and more protection to workers who were regularly exposed to asbestos. These steps were slowly followed by other countries over the next decade.

This protection was slow to be implemented and did not prove all that effective. Although asbestos manufacturers and companies that used the mineral were now aware of these studies and the risks involved to workers, they continued to use asbestos widely, exposing many workers to the hazards associated with it. These employees continued to work with asbestos, totally oblivious of the harm that it was capable of causing. Asbestos continued to be widely used until the mid-seventies, by which time many workers has been exposed and were already unknowingly affected by what we now know as mesothelioma.

Today, as the disease begins to take its toll on the asbestos workers of the 1950s, 1960s and 1970s, many new cases of the disease are being diagnosed each year. In fact, the number of cases is rising so quickly that many law firms have employed or trained lawyers to deal specifically with these types of cases. The irresponsible companies and manufacturers that were responsible for this exposure have been sued for billions of dollars, with many of them going bankrupt as a result of compensation payouts.
Although the effects of asbestos have been observed, tested and verified, this mineral is still used today in many places around the world. Although the laws and regulations regarding working with asbestos are far more stringent these days, this doesn’t change the fact that this mineral can cause more harm than good and has claimed many victims from all over the world in the form of the deadly disease mesothelioma

What is Mesothelioma?

Mesothelioma is a cancerous disease that is becoming more and more common. Affecting the mesothelial cells that make up the mesothelium – the outer lining that protects the body’s major organs such as the heart, stomach and lungs – this form of cancer is a direct result of regular and unprotected exposure to asbestos. The symptoms and the latency period of this disease mean that it is difficult to diagnose. Treatment for mesothelioma is still being investigated through clinical trials and research, but as a rule it responds poorly to the treatments that are currently used.

The people most at risk from being carriers of this cancer are those have worked with asbestos over the past thirty to fifty years. Because of this, the disease is most common in men between the ages of sixty and seventy as this is the group that commonly worked with asbestos during those years. Because of the lack of protection and regulations in those days, these workers were constantly exposed to the dust and fibres from the asbestos, which caused the cells of the mesothelium to become abnormal. However, because the disease takes decades to develop fully and manifest, many of them were oblivious to this until thirty to fifty years later. It is these men who are now lodging multi-million dollar lawsuits against the unscrupulous companies that exposed them to the dangers of asbestos, even though they were aware that it could cause harm to the employees.

There are also other people at risk from the disease; namely those who have had regular contact with a person who has worked with asbestos. Because these workers regularly carried dust and fibres on their clothes, skin and in their hair, they fibres and dust could be ingested by family members, who were then at risk of developing mesothelioma, respiratory problems or another asbestos related disease.

The organs most affected by mesothelioma are the lungs and the surrounding tissue. Pleural mesothelioma, which is the type affecting the lining of the lungs, is the most common variation of this cancer with symptoms which include breathing and swallowing difficulties, coughing, shortness of breath, fever and weight loss. The abdomen is another area affected by this cancer, and this variation is known as peritoneal mesothelioma. This type of mesothelioma is not as common as pleural mesothelioma. Symptoms of peritoneal mesothelioma can include nausea and vomiting, weight loss and loss of appetite, fever, bowel obstruction and pain or swelling of the stomach area. The last variation of the cancer is pericardial mesothelioma, which is where the cancer affects the heart and the tissue surrounding it. This variation is a rare one, and symptoms can include palpitations, breathing difficulties, and persistent coughing.

The symptoms of mesothelioma are very common to a number of other diseases which are more well-known in society. Therefore, it is not unusual for the patient to be misdiagnosed when he or she goes in displaying any or all of these symptoms. People who have worked with asbestos should always let their doctor know this so that the doctor is more aware and more conscious of the possibilities in the event that the symptoms do manifest. A speedy diagnosis is important to the effective treatment of mesothelioma, and without being aware of the facts your doctor may not be able to make the diagnosis as quickly as he would if he is aware of the situation.

Although there are treatments for mesothelioma, they do not have a high success rate particularly on patients in whom the cancer is in its later stages. The faster the mesothelioma is diagnosed and treated, the more chance of success, which is why it is important to get as fast a diagnosis as possible.

Current treatments for mesothelioma include surgery, radiation therapy, palliative therapy and chemotherapy. The National Institute of Cancer along with a variety of other organizations and sponsors are currently conducting research into mesothelioma and carrying out clinical trials to try and find a treatment that will not only be more effective but will enable the successful treatment of the disease even in its later stages.