Asbestos News Roundup: 1.27.11

January 27th, 2011. By LucyC

A roundup of recent asbestos-related news and information that you should be aware of. An ongoing list of asbestos hot spots from the Asbestos News Roundup archive appears on our asbestos map.

Asbestos Lawsuits

Charleston, WV: Richard Packer and his wife, Janet Packer have filed an asbestos complaint naming 91 defendant companies, alleging that those companies are responsible for exposing Mr. Packer to asbestos-containing products during the course of his employment.

The suit claims that the defendants knew or should have known that the products containing asbestos would cause serious lung diseases and cancer and failed to take responsible precautions to warn them of the dangers. Further, the defendants’ negligence caused Mr. Packer to develop asbestosis and/or other asbestos-related diseases and conditions.

The 91 defendants named in the suit are: Accent Bearings Co., Inc.; American Standard, Inc.; American Insulated Wire Co.; A.W. Chesterton Company; Aurora Pump Company; Baldor Electric Company; Belden Wire & Cable Co.; Borg-Warner Corporation; Brand Insulations, Inc.; 3M Company; Carrier Inc.; Carrier Corporation; Certaintced Corporation; Chicago Gasket Company; Cleaver-Brooks Company, Inc.; Columbus McKinnon Corporalion; Crane Co.; Crane Pumps & Systems, Inc.; Crown Cork & Seal USA; IMO Industries, Inc.; DeZurik Co.; DeZurik Water Controls; Dow Chemical Company; Durez Corporation; E.I. DuPont de Nemours & Co.; Elliott Turbomachinery Company, Inc.; Exxon Mobil Corporation; F.B. Wright Company; Fairmont Supply Company; Flowserve FSD Corporation, individually and as successor in interest to Durametallic Corporation; Flowserve US, Inc.; Ford Motor Company; Foster Wheeler Energy Corporation; Gardner Denver, Inc.; General Cable Corporation; General Electric Company; Georgia Pacific Corporation; Gordon Gasket & Packing Company; Goulds Pumps; Graybar Electric Company, Inc.; Grinnell Corporation; Honeywell International; IMO Industries, Inc.; Industrial Holdings Corporations; Industrial Supply Solutions; Ingersoll-Rand Company; ITT Corporation; I.U. North America, Inc.; J.H. France Refractories; John Crane, Inc.; Kentile Floors, Inc.; Lockheed Martin Corporation; Mallinckrodt Group, Inc.; McJunkin Corporation; Metropolitan Life Insurance Company; Milton Roy, Inc.; Mine Safety Appliances, Inc.; Monsanto Company; Nagle Pumps, Inc.; National Service Industries Ventures, Inc.; NAPA Auto Parts; Nitro Industrial Coverings, Inc.; Oakfabco, Inc.; Ohio Valley Insulating Company, Inc.; Pneumo Abex Corporation; Premiere Refractories, Inc.; Rapid American Corporation; Reliance Electrical Company; Riley Power, Inc.; Rockwell Automation, Inc.; Rockwell International Corporation; Sepco Corporation; Siemens Energy & Automation, Inc.; Schneider Electric USA, Inc.; State Electric Supply Company; Tasco Insulation; the Okonite Company; Thiem Corp.; UB West Virginia, Inc.; Union Carbide and Plastics Company, Inc.; Union Carbide Corporation; Uniroyal, Inc., individually and as successor-in-interest to United States Rubber Company; Uniroyal Holding, Inc.; United States Steel Corporation; Viacom, Inc.; Warren Pumps, LLC; Weil-McLain Company; Western Auto Parts; West Virginia Electric Supply Company; Yarway Corporation; and Zurn Industries, Inc. (WVRecord)

Charleston, WV: A couple from Parkersburg is suing 80 companies alleging that they are responsible for the husband’s lung cancer, he was diagnosed with the disease in September 2010, according to the suit.

Mr. Adkins claims he was employed by Columbia Gas from 1948 until 1990. The defendants are being sued upon theories of negligence, contaminated buildings, breach of expressed/implied warranty, strict liability, intentional tort, conspiracy, misrepresentation and post-sale duty to warn.

The 80 defendants in the suit are: 3M Company; A.W. Chesterton Company; Aurora Pump Company; Borg-Warner Corporation; Buffalo Pumps, Inc.; BW IP, Inc.; Caterpillar, Inc.; Certainteed Corporation; Chevron U.S.A., Inc.; Chicago Pump Company; Clark Equipment Company; Cleaver-Brooks Company, Inc.; Columbia Gas of Pennsylvania, Inc.; Copes-Vulcan, Inc.; Crane Company; Crown, Cork & Seal USA, Inc.; DeZurik, Inc.; Eaton Electrical, Inc.; Elliott Company; ExxonMobil Oil Corporation; F.B. Wright Company; Fairmont Supply Company; Flowserve US Inc., a/k/a Nordstrom Valves; Flowserve US, Inc. f/k/a Durco International, Inc.; Flowserve US, Inc. f/k/a Flowserve FSD Corporation f/k/a Durametallic Corp.; FMC Corporation; Foster Wheeler Energy Corporation; G. V. Hamilton, Inc. a/k/a George V. Hamilton Company; General Electric Company, Inc.; Goulds Pumps, Inc.; Greene Tweed & Company; Henry Vogt Machine Company; Honeywell International f/k/a Allied Signal, Inc., f/k/a Allied Corporation; Honeywell International, Inc.; I.U. North America, Inc.; IMO Industries, Inc.; Industrial Holdings Corporation; Ingersoll-Rand Company; Invensys Systems, Inc.; ITT Corporation; John Crane, Inc.; Kelsey-Hayes Company; Lockheed Martin Corporation; McJunkin Corporation; McNally Industries; Met Pro Corporation; Metropolitan Life Insurance Company; Mountaineer Gas Company; Nacco Materials Handling Group, Inc.; Nagle Pumps; Nitro Industrial Coverings, Inc.; Ohio Valley Insulating Company, Inc.; Owens-Illinois, Inc.; Pneumo Abex Corp.; Rapid American Corporation; Riley Power, Inc.; Rockwell Automations, Inc.; Rust Engineering & Construction, Inc.; Rust Constructors, Inc.; Rust International, Inc.; Roper Pump Company; Schneider Electric USA, Inc.; Sterling Fluid Systems (USA) LLC; Stockham Valves & Fittings; Spirax Sarco, Inc.; Sundyne Corporation; Taco, Inc.; Tasco Insulations, Inc.; the William Powell Company; Tyco Flow Control Company, LLC; UB West Virginia, Inc.; Uniroyal, Inc.; Viacom, Inc.; Viking Pump Company; Vimasco Corporation; Warren Pumps, Inc.; Waukesha Pumps; Yale Materials Handling Corporation; and Zurn Industries, Inc. (WVRecord)

Asbestos Law

Boston, MA: The Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection has assessed a $45,412.50 penalty jointly to J.H. Lynch & Sons, Inc. of Cumberland, R.I. and Costello Dismantling Company, Inc. of Middleboro for violations of DEP’s asbestos regulations that occurred during work that the companies conducted in Worcester.

DEP personnel observed the violations during a November 2008 inspection of the work site located at 25 Tobias Boland Way. During the inspection, DEP asbestos program personnel observed significant quantities of concrete duct bank containing asbestos transite pipe that had been excavated, broken up, and stockpiled in an uncontained manner at the site. Upon discovery of the violations, DEP required that a Massachusetts Division of Occupational Safety licensed asbestos contractor be retained to properly remove, package and dispose of all the asbestos-containing waste being stored at the site.

In the consent order, the companies were cited for failing to notify DEP of a demolition/renovation operation involving asbestos-containing materials; for improper handling, packaging and storage of asbestos-containing waste materials; and for allowing asbestos-containing materials to be handled in a manner that caused or contributed to a condition of air pollution. Under the terms of the order, the companies agreed to remain in compliance with applicable regulations in the future, and pay the penalty.

“Contractors doing demolition and construction site work in Massachusetts must be fully aware of their responsibilities under the regulations to identify asbestos-containing materials which they encounter in the course of their work, and then take appropriate response actions,” said Martin Suuberg, director of DEP’s Central Regional Office in Worcester. “Failing to identify asbestos materials and immediately take measures to have them removed, handled, packaged and stored in accordance with the regulations is an extremely serious oversight that potentially exposes workers and the general public to a known carcinogen. Noncompliance inevitably results in significant penalty exposure, as well as escalated cleanup, decontamination, disposal and monitoring costs.” (mass.gov)

Asbestos Hot Spots

Barrington, IL: A redevelopment site on Hough Street in downtown Barrington is undergoing asbestos remediation, a step that must be taken before the village decides what to do with the property it owns.

High levels of asbestos were found in the building nearly a decade ago. The building had been occupied by ADCO Van & Storage. The asbestos didn’t post an immediate threat, unless it was going to be removed due to changes or modifications to the building.

A contract with Angel Abatement LLC to remove the asbestos at a cost of $25,800 was approved at a recent village board meeting. (Triblocal.com)

Asbestos News – Asbestos Cases Under-reported

New York, NY: According to data released by the Environmental Health Perspective (EHP), Mesothelioma cases are either minimally reported, or completely overlooked. It is estimated that as many as 20% of global mesothelioma cases are not reported.

The EHP is the first to pioneer such a study, which focused on 89 different nations, including The United States, Canada, Russia, Germany, Japan and Great Britain, which rank as world leaders in asbestos use.

The EHP studied the relationship between the level of asbestos use in each of the 89 countries between 1920 and 1970, and mesothelioma fatalities reported between 1994 and 2008. They found that cumulative asbestos use in the 89 countries equaled over 65 million metric tons between 1920 and 1970 alone. In developed countries, such as The United States and Germany, approximately 174,300 deaths were reported between 1994-2008. (Businesswire)

Tags: Asbestos, Asbestos Mesothelioma, asbestos_mesothelioma

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