Asbestos News Roundup: 11.12.09
November 12th, 2009. By LucyC
A roundup of recent asbestos-related news, asbestos lawsuits and the latest asbestos hot spots-places where asbestos has been found-and that you should be aware of.
Asbestos Lawsuits
Boston, MA: Two veterans, Jeffrey Cox and James Garland, are suing KBR Inc. and Halliburton Co., claiming they “poisoned” them and at least 100,000 other soldiers and contractors in Iraq and Afghanistan by exposing them to toxic smoke and fumes.
KBR Inc. and Halliburton, both of Texas, were hired by the U.S. government to dispose of waste on bases and camps. The suit claims that both companies have ignored their contractual obligations by burning vast quantities of unsorted waste in open-air “burn pits” with no safety controls since 2003.
Toxic waste allegedly burned in the pits includes trucks, tires, lithium batteries, styrofoam, human corpses, medical supplies including those used in smallpox shots, paints, asbestos, animal carcasses and hundreds of thousands of plastic water bottles, according to the suit. (Boston Herald)
Asbestos Mesothelioma Settlements
Houston, TX: The widow of an engineer who died from asbestos mesothelioma has been awarded more than $1 million as settlement of her lawsuit. Her deceased husband is believed to have suffered asbestos exposure as a result of using lubricants used in drilling that are laden with asbestos additives. (BestSyndication.com )
Asbestos Hot Spots
Jackson-Madison County, FL: Asbestos or material that contains asbestos has been identified in 22 buildings owned by Jackson-Madison County schools.
Nineteen of those buildings are schools, as follows: Alexander Elementary; Andrew Jackson Intermediate; Beech Bluff Elementary; East Intermediate; Jackson Central-Merry High School east campus; Madison Academic Magnet High; Lincoln Elementary; Malesus Elementary; North Parkway Elementary; North Side High; Nova Elementary; Parkview Montessori; Pope Elementary; South Side High; Tigrett Middle, Washington Douglas; West Jackson; West Middle; and Whitehall Elementary. (JacksonSun.com)
Asbestos Fraud
San Francisco, CA: Rogelio Lowe, the owner and operator of E&D Environmental Safety Training Inc—a California-based safety consulting company that claims to provide occupational training in asbestos work, has been accused of issuing sham certificates to asbestos removal workers despite knowing that he had not provided them with the proper training. According to the indictment, starting at an unknown date, but no later than 2008, Lowe provided asbestos removal courses that did not comply with federal law. (U.S. Attorney’s Office, San Francisco: justice.govusao)
Asbestos and the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)
The EPA maintains 10 Regional Offices to implement federal environmental programs around the country. These Regional Offices cooperate with federal, state, interstate and local agencies, as well as with industry, academic institutions and other private groups, to ensure that their Region’s needs are addressed and that federal environmental laws are upheld. Within each Region, Regional Asbestos Coordinators and National Emission Standards for Hazardous Air Pollutants (NESHAP) Asbestos Coordinators oversee Asbestos efforts.
