US Surgeon General Alerts Americans to the Hazards of Asbestos Disease

The US Surgeon General issued an alert to Americans as to the hazards of asbestos disease, Dr. Regina Benjamin, on the occasion of National Asbestos Awareness Week 2013, has issued a statement alerting Americans to hazards of asbestos exposure.

US Lawmakers Urged EPA to Investigate Talc Products

Oregon’s Senator Jeff Merkley and Congresswoman Suzanne Bonamici today pressed the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) for answers following an alarming new Reuters report revealing that some everyday consumer products, including baby powders, may contain asbestos—a highly toxic chemical.

A Complete Ban of Asbestos Urged

The following comment was submitted by Linda Reinstein, President/CEO, Asbestos Disease Awareness Organization (ADAO) in response to the US EPA Proposed Rule to permit further use of asbestos in the US. EPA is developing a significant new use rule (SNUR) under section 5(a)(2) of the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) for certain uses of asbestos that are no longer in use in the United States. Persons subject to the SNUR would be required to notify the EPA at least 90 days before commencing such manufacture or processing. The required notifications would initiate EPA's evaluation of the intended use within the applicable review period. Manufacture and processing for the significant new use would be unable to commence until EPA has conducted a review of the notice, made an appropriate determination on the notice, and taken such actions as are required in association with that determination.

Ban Asbestos: Rotterdam Conference Highjacked by "The Dirty 7"

Civil society groups attending the Rotterdam Convention conference in Geneva are expressing grave alarm that the Convention has been hijacked by the asbestos industry, which is determined to prevent the environmental and health protections of the Convention from being implemented.

US Bans Asbestos

Today, March 18, 2024, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced a final rule to prohibit ongoing uses of chrysotile asbestos, the only known form of asbestos currently used in or imported to the United States. The ban on ongoing uses of asbestos is the first rule to be finalized under the 2016 amendments to the nation’s chemical safety law, the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA), which received near-unanimous support in both the U.S. House of Representatives and the Senate. The action marks a major milestone for chemical safety after more than three decades of inadequate protections and serious delays during the previous administration to implement the 2016 amendments.

US Senators Introduce Bill to Ban Asbestos and Protect Public Health

Oregon’s Senator Jeff Merkley, along with Senators Cory Booker (D-NJ), Dianne Feinstein (D-CA), Dick Durbin (D-IL), Bernie Sanders (I-VT), Jon Tester (D-MT), Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI), and Edward J. Markey (D-MA) today introduced the Alan Reinstein Ban Asbestos Now Act of 2017, legislation to eliminate human or environmental exposure to asbestos, a known carcinogen.

EPA Seeks Reporting of Asbestos Fibers

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced a final rule to require comprehensive reporting on all six fiber types of asbestos as the agency continues its work to address exposure to this known carcinogen and strengthen the evidence that will be used to protect people from this dangerous chemical further. Historically asbestos, a known carcinogen, has been present in workplaces causing significant occupational exposures to workers, sometimes fatal, and has generated a long wave of workers’ compensation claims.

Across Two Separate Settlements, EPA Commits to Expedite and Strengthen Asbestos Risk Reevaluation Under TSCA

The Asbestos Disease Awareness Organization (ADAO), an independent nonprofit dedicated to preventing asbestos exposure, announced it had reached two landmark legal settlements with the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) that strengthen and broaden its work to evaluate the health risks of asbestos under the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA). 

National Asbestos Awareness Week - April 1 to 7 2012

Image via Wikipedia

US Senator Max Baucus (MT)

The US Senate has passed a resolution designating April 1- 7, 2012 as National Asbestos Awareness Week. Introduced by US Senator Max Baucus (MT), the mesure received US Senate approval the same day.

Co-Sponsors were:
Sen Boxer, Barbara [CA] - 3/6/2012 
Sen Durbin, Richard [IL] - 3/6/2012 
Sen Feinstein, Dianne [CA] - 3/6/2012 
Sen Isakson, Johnny [GA] - 3/6/2012 
Sen Murray, Patty [WA] - 3/6/2012 
Sen Reid, Harry [NV] - 3/6/2012 
Sen Tester, Jon [MT] - 3/6/2012

   A resolution (S. Res. 389) designating the first week of April 2012 as ``National Asbestos Awareness Week.''

   There being no objection, the Senate proceeded to consider the resolution.

   Mr. DURBIN. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the resolution be agreed to, the preamble be agreed to, the motions to reconsider be laid upon the table, with no intervening action or debate, and any statements be printed in the Record.

   The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.

   The resolution (S. Res. 389) was agreed to.

   The preamble was agreed to.

   The resolution, with its preamble, reads as follows:

   S. Res. 389

   Whereas dangerous asbestos fibers are invisible and cannot be smelled or tasted;

   Whereas the inhalation of airborne asbestos fibers can cause significant damage;

   Whereas asbestos fibers can cause cancer such as mesothelioma, asbestosis, and other health problems;

   Whereas asbestos-related diseases can take 10 to 50 years to present themselves;

   Whereas the expected survival time for those diagnosed with mesothelioma is between 6 and 24 months;

   Whereas, generally, little is known about late-stage treatment of asbestos-related diseases, and there is no cure for such diseases;

   Whereas early detection of asbestos-related diseases may give some patients increased treatment options and might improve their prognoses;

   Whereas the United States has substantially reduced its consumption of asbestos, yet continues to consume almost 1,100 metric tons of the fibrous mineral for use in certain products throughout the United States;

   Whereas asbestos-related diseases have killed thousands of people in the United States;

   Whereas exposure to asbestos continues, but safety and prevention of asbestos exposure already has significantly reduced the incidence of asbestos-related diseases and can further reduce the incidence of such diseases;

   Whereas asbestos has been a cause of occupational cancer;

   Whereas thousands of workers in the United States face significant asbestos exposure;

   Whereas thousands of people in the United States die from asbestos-related diseases every year;

   Whereas a significant percentage of all asbestos-related disease victims were exposed to asbestos on naval ships and in shipyards;

   Whereas asbestos was used in the construction of a significant number of office buildings and public facilities built before 1975;

   Whereas people in the small community of Libby, Montana suffer from asbestos-related diseases, including mesothelioma, at a significantly higher rate than people in the United States as a whole; and

   Whereas the establishment of a ``National Asbestos Awareness Week'' will raise public awareness about the prevalence of asbestos-related diseases and the dangers of asbestos exposure: Now, therefore, be it

    Resolved, That the Senate--

    (1) designates the first week of April 2012 as ``National Asbestos Awareness Week'';

    (2) urges the Surgeon General to warn and educate people about the public health issue of asbestos exposure, which may be hazardous to their health; and

    (3) respectfully requests that the Secretary of the Senate transmit a copy of this resolution to the Office of the Surgeon General.

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For over 3 decades the Law Offices of Jon L. Gelman  1.973.696.7900  jon@gelmans.com have been representing injured workers and their families who have suffered occupational accidents and illnesses. 

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$2 Million Verdict to Plastic Compounder Suffering Mesothelioma - Call For Asbestos Ban

This week a New York state jury awarded $2 Million dolars to a former plastic compounder who was exposed to asbestos fiber and was subsequently diagnosed with mesothelioma. The employee worked in a plastic factory in 1966 and poured raw asbestos fibers to make molds. Some of the asbestos fiber was supplied by Hedman Resources Ltd., a Canadian asbestos mining company.

Mesothelioma is a rare and fatal cancer caused by exposure to asbestos fiber. Hundreds of thousands of lawsuits have been filed against the asbestos manufacturers and producers since the early 1970's in the US seeking benefits. Despite the continuing epidemic of asbestos related disease and massive weight of scientific evidence of the deadly carcinogenic qualities of asbestos, Canada continues to mine asbestos fiber and sell it worldwide. It is estimated that that 107,000 workers die annually from asbestos-related diseases.

To this day there is no asbestos ban in effect in the US. The Canadian asbestos industry still exports asbestos fiber used in the US and other parts of the world. On Thursday, The Asbestos Disease Awareness Organization (ADAO) which combines education, advocacy, and community to provide a unified voice for asbestos victims, today announced with the Canadian Voices of Asbestos Victims the release of the North American Declaration to Eliminate Asbestos-Related Diseases.

The Declaration initiates an enhanced collaboration between the U.S. and Canadian asbestos disease victims and their families, public health organizations, environmental non-governmental organizations, occupational safety and health (OSH) specialists, and politicians. While ADAO has been individually partnering with Canadian counterparts for education, advocacy, and community initiatives for several years now, the North American Declaration for the Elimination of Asbestos-Related Diseases unifies the demands voiced by American and Canadian asbestos victims to eliminate asbestos-caused diseases.

To read more about the verdict click here:  Jury awards $2 million to Falls man in suit filed over asbestos exposure

To sign the petition to ban asbestos fiber click here: Petition to Ban Asbestos Fiber 

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For over 3 decades the Law Offices of Jon L. Gelman  1.973.696.7900  jon@gelmans.com have been representing injured workers and their families who have suffered occupational accidents and illnesses. 

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WHO Reports Widespread Asbestos Exposure Continues In Europe

WHO (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

The WHO (UN World Health Organization) reports that 1 in every 3 Europeans are still exposed to asbestos.

About one third of the 900 million people in the WHO European Region live in countries that have not yet banned the use of all forms of asbestos, and this potentially exposes them at work and in the environment. In countries where asbestos is banned, exposure persists from past use. Exposure to asbestos can cause cancer of the lungs, ovaries and larynx; mesothelioma; and asbestosis and the most efficient way to eliminate these diseases is to stop the use of all types of asbestos. At its closure, the high-level meeting on environment and health in Haifa, Israel, urgently calls upon all European countries to eliminate asbestos-related diseases.

"We cannot afford losing almost 15 000 lives a year in Europe, especially workers, from diseases caused by exposure to asbestos. Every death from asbestos-related diseases is avoidable," says Dr Zsuzsanna Jakab, WHO Regional Director for Europe. "We urge all countries to leave the Haifa meeting to fulfil their 2010 commitment and develop policies by the end of this year that will eliminate asbestos-related diseases from the face of Europe. There is very little time left for that."

Elimination of asbestos-related diseases was one of the major issues discussed at the Haifa meeting. Over 200 representatives of European countries and international and nongovernmental organizations attended the meeting to evaluate overall progress on environment and health in Europe.
An "eye-opener" report: progress toward the elimination of asbestos-related diseases

The report Progress toward the elimination of asbestos-related diseases, presented at the meeting, indicates that asbestos, a group of natural fibrous minerals, is responsible for about half of all deaths from cancers developed at work. According to new estimates, deaths from mesothelioma in 15 European countries cost society more than 1.5 billion euros annually (see table in Annex).

While 37 of the 53 Member States in the Region have banned the use of all forms of asbestos, the remaining 16 countries still use asbestos, especially for building materials, and some continue to produce and export it. Even after its use has ceased, asbestos lingers in the environment, so it needs to be safely removed and disposed without delay.

"Asbestos is known as a silent killer as health disorders from exposure to it usually appear after several decades. This means that many more people are expected to fall sick and die in the coming years throughout Europe", says Dr Guénaël Rodier, Director, Division of Communicable Diseases, Health Security and Environment. "This new report assesses how far European countries have got in eliminating asbestos-related diseases and provides recommendations for the future."

In one week, the Chemical Review Committee of the Rotterdam Convention will consider listing chrysotile or white asbestos, the most common form of asbestos, among the substances for which importing countries have to give their consent to the exporting party for the trade to occur.

"Elimination of asbestos-related diseases is a priority for Israel. Already in 2011 we have passed a law prohibiting the use of new asbestos, requesting removal of existing friable asbestos and guiding disposal of asbestos cement,", says Mr David Leffler, Director-General, Ministry of Environmental Protection for Israel. "An asbestos waste removal project is conducted in Western Galilee where by December 2014, 80 thousand cubic meters of waste were cleaned in 221 sites. Databases on asbestos-related diseases are considered key to monitor asbestos' health effects and are regularly maintained."
Paving the way ahead for better environment and health in Europe

All European countries present at the meeting renewed their pledges to work towards meeting the time-bound targets they adopted in 2010. This includes concrete steps to:
strengthen or establish partnerships with different stakeholders and processes, and utilize already existing policy instruments and tools;

1. enhance the understanding and use of economic arguments to support action on environment and health; and 
2. harmonize with the forthcoming post-2015 sustainable development agenda.

They also agreed to address the environment and health challenges of the 21st century posed by:
complex risk factors: air, water, waste or chemicals;
complex systems of direct relevance to environment and health: food, energy or cities; and
matters of international environment and health security: disasters and climate change.

The conclusions of the high-level meeting in Haifa are an important milestone in the run up to the Sixth Ministerial Conference on Environment and Health planned for 2017.
The 16 countries that have not yet banned all forms of asbestos are: Albania, Andorra, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Georgia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Monaco, the Republic of Moldova, the Russian Federation, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, Ukraine and Uzbekistan.
The five time-bound targets adopted by countries in the European Region in 2010 are to: provide safe water and sanitation to all children by 2020; create healthy and safe environments for children in their daily life by 2020; make children's indoor environments free from tobacco smoke by 2015; safeguard children's environments from toxic chemicals by 2015; develop policies to eliminate asbestos-related diseases by 2015.

The seventh meeting of the Conference of the Parties to the Rotterdam Convention (RC COP-7) will be held from 4 to 15 May 2015, back-to-back with the twelfth meeting of the Conference of the Parties to the Basel Convention (BC COP-12) and the seventh meeting of the Conference of the Parties to the Stockholm Convention (SC COP-7).

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New EPA Rule Will Lighten the Burden of Proving an Asbestos-Related Disease Claim

In many occupational asbestos claims, it has been challenging to establish that asbestos fiber was used in the workplace. That will soon change under recently announced US Environmental Protection Agency [EPA] Rules.

Garlock reaches $480 Million settlement on asbestos claims

Garlock plans to emerge from bankruptcy and establish a trust in the amount of $480 Million to pay asbestos claimants and their families. Garlock a member of the EnPro Industries consortium had made asbestos gaskets.Asbestos is a known carcinogen and causally connected with lung cancer, mesothelioma and other malignancies as well as asbestosis.

EPA Proposes to Ban Ongoing Uses of Asbestos

In a historic step, the US Environmental Protection Administration [EPA] is moving to protect people from cancer risks and is moving to ban asbestos in the US. The EPA has proposed its first-ever risk management rule under the 2016 Lautenberg Chemical Safety Act.

National Asbestos Week, April 1-7, 2014

Statement from Acting Surgeon General Boris Lushniak about National Asbestos Week, April 1-7, 2014

National Asbestos Awareness Week, April 1 – 7, is an important opportunity to focus on the public health issues associated with asbestos exposure and related illnesses.

"Asbestos" is a commercial name for a collection of six highly durable fibrous minerals used for decades in thousands of commercial products, such as insulation and fireproofing materials, automotive brakes and textile products, cement and wallboard materials. Scientists have long understood that asbestos can cause mesothelioma, lung cancer, and other lung diseases when the fibers are inhaled. Because of concerns about health effects, exposures to asbestos and certain uses of asbestos have been regulated in the U.S. for over 30 years.

In general, the greater the exposure to asbestos, the greater the chance an individual has of developing harmful health effects. Asbestos fibers may be released into the air where they can be easily inhaled and contaminate the surrounding area during demolition work, building or home maintenance, repair, and remodeling.

For workers or homeowners, avoiding activities involving the disturbance of materials or products containing asbestos is the surest means of avoiding asbestos exposure. However, if you need to undertake such activities, there is guidance available to help you protect yourself and others. While most individuals exposed to asbestos, whether in the home or workplace will not develop disease – there is no known safe level of asbestos exposure and precautions should be taken to protect your health. Apparent symptoms and disease may take many years to develop following exposure, and asbestos-related conditions can be difficult to identify. It’s important to note that tobacco smoke greatly increases your risk of lung cancer if you have already been exposed to asbestos. Anyone who believes he or she has been exposed to asbestos should contact their health care provider for additional advice.

To learn more about asbestos and asbestos-related diseases, please visit:
http://www2.epa.gov/asbestos
http://www.atsdr.cdc.gov/substances/toxsubstance.asp?toxid=4
http://www.atsdr.cdc.gov/asbestos/
http://www.cdc.gov/niosh/topics/asbestos/

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Jon L. Gelman of Wayne NJ is the author NJ Workers’ Compensation Law (West-Thompson) and co-author of the national treatise, Modern Workers’ Compensation Law (West-Thompson). For over 4 decades the Law Offices of Jon L Gelman  1.973.696.7900  jon@gelmans.com  have been representing injured workers and their families who have suffered occupational accidents and illnesses.

Efforts to Protect the Public From Asbestos Exposure

Massachusetts Attorney General Maura Healey today released a new report highlighting her office’s ongoing efforts to protect children, families, and workers from the health risks posed by exposure to asbestos.

Canadian Asbestos Register of Public Buildings Now On-Line

Deadly asbestos building materials remain in many structures

In an effort to protect workers and public from deadly asbetsos fiber, the Canadian Province of Saskatchewan has now mandated that builings containing asbestos fiber be publically listed and the list published to the Internet.

Asbestos is a naturally occurring fibrous mineral which was widely used in the manufacture of a variety of products beginning in the late nineteenth century. Although the majority of exposure to asbestos occurred between 1940 and 1980, in occupations such as construction, shipyards, railroads, insulation, sheet metal, automobile repair, and other related fields, exposure coninutes to this day. Asbestos fibers are inhaled by workers and remain in the lungs where they can cause disease, ie. asbestosis, lung cancer and mesothelioma.

Fibers are also inhalled by family members or any other person coming into contact with asbestos whereever it may be. We believe that the evidence shows that the companies which manufactured these products knew that their products would injure people, and that they actively conspired to hide this information in order to keep selling their products, and as a result they are now being held liable for the resulting injuries.

Required Notifications of High Risk Asbestos Processes

When a process is considered a “high-risk asbestos process,” employers, contractors or owners are required to notify the Occupational Health and Safety Division of the intention to begin the work, at least 14 days in advance.

Learn more about what a high-risk process is (see Table 5 on page 258 of the Occupational Health and Safety Regulations) and how to submit a notification.

Saskatchewan Asbestos Register of Public Buildings

The Saskatchewan Asbestos Register (SAR) has been created to share information about public buildings assessed for the presence of asbestos.  Provincial and municipal governments, regional health authorities, and school districts have been invited to list this information for government buildings, healthcare facilities, and schools.
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Jon L.Gelman of Wayne NJ, helping asbestos victims and their families for over 4 decades, is the author NJ Workers’ Compensation Law (West-Thompson) and co-author of the national treatise, Modern Workers’ Compensation Law (West-Thompson).  

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Workers' Compensation: Asbestos Exposure Occurs When Old Pipe ...

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Workers' Compensation: Deadly Asbestos Exposure Threat Left by ...

Nov 04, 2012

The path of destruction to buildings caused by hurricane Sandy has created a potential threat of deadly asbestos exposure. Many structures destroyed and damaged by the storm contained asbestos fiber and those were ...

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NJ Company Found Guilty of Dumping Asbestos into Wetlands in ...

Oct 18, 2012

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OSHA Cites Employers for Exposing Workers to Asbestos

Sep 14, 2012

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Banning Asbestos - WHO European Region Sets Plans

Today's post is shared from euro.who.int

Asbestos is one of the most severe and widespread environmental health hazards in the WHO European Region, and is responsible for half of fatal cancers linked to exposure at work. To discuss activities to put an end to asbestos-related diseases, representatives from 16 Member States in the WHO European Region and experts in occupational health and cancer registries met in Bonn, Germany, on 10–11 June 2014.

Photo Credit: WHO
Participants at a meeting on asbestos
elimination in Bonn, Germany, on 10-11 June 2014

They evaluated progress made since the 2010 Parma Declaration and emphasized the need for WHO support to develop national programmes on asbestos elimination. The Parma Declaration commits governments in the European Region to take action on a range of environmental issues affecting health. This includes commitments to act on the identified risks of exposure to carcinogens, including asbestos, and to develop national programmes for the elimination of asbestos-related diseases by 2015, in collaboration with WHO and the International Labour Organization (ILO).

Asbestos: a silent killer

More than 107 000 people worldwide die every year from asbestos exposure at work. This insidious killer generates fatal diseases such as lung cancer, mesothelioma and asbestosis several decades after exposure.

In the European Region 37 countries have banned the use of all forms of asbestos, following WHO and ILO recommendations. Nevertheless, an estimated 300 million people are still exposed to asbestos at work, as well as out of work. In some countries asbestos is still produced, traded and used.

The most efficient way to eliminate asbestos-related diseases is to stop the use of all forms of asbestos because:

• there is no safe level of asbestos exposure
• cancer risks are increased even with very low-level exposures
• all forms of asbestos are carcinogenic to humans
• asbestos can be substituted with safer materials.

Asbestos-free zone – the way forward

During the meeting participants highlighted the need to establish proper national registers on occupational diseases and on cancers, in order to:

• assess national situations
• promote action and take appropriate measures
• raise awareness on the issues among policy-makers and the general population.

Training for health care practitioners in detecting and reporting asbestos-related diseases should be introduced or strengthened to track the link between exposure and disease and to gather proper data.

Issues related to asbestos removal were also discussed; this led Member States to ask for support to develop waste management strategies and to identify asbestos substitutes.

The meeting was hosted by the WHO European Centre for Environment and Health and co-financed by the German Federal Ministry for the Environment, Nature Conservation, Building and Nuclear Safety (BMUB).

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Jon L. Gelman of Wayne NJ is the author of NJ Workers’ Compensation Law (West-Thompson-Reuters) and co-author of the national treatise, Modern Workers’ Compensation Law (West-Thompson-Reuters). For over 4 decades the Law Offices of Jon L Gelman  1.973.696.7900  jon@gelmans.com  have been representing injured workers and their families who have suffered occupational accidents and illnesses.

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Illinois Man Sentenced to 10 Years in Prison for Clean Air Act Violations Involving Asbestos

(Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Duane “Butch” O’Malley, 59, of Bourbonnais, Ill., who was convicted by a federal jury on September 26, 2011, for the illegal removal, handling and disposal of asbestos from a Kankakee building in August 2009, was sentenced to 10 years in prison by Federal District Court Judge Michael McCuskey. O’Malley was also ordered to pay restitution of $47,086 to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) related to the clean-up of illegally disposed asbestos and ordered to pay a fine of $15,000. Asbestos is a mineral fiber that has been used commonly in a variety of building construction materials. When asbestos-containing materials are damaged or disturbed by repair, remodeling or demolition activities, microscopic fibers become airborne and can be inhaled into the lungs, where they can cause serious health problems, including lung cancer and mesothelioma.

“Asbestos must be removed in a safe and legal way in order to protect people's health and reduce the risk of exposure,” said Cynthia Giles, assistant administrator for EPA’s Office of Enforcement and Compliance Assurance. “The defendant’s actions endangered the health of his workers and the surrounding community and the sentence shows that those who violate critical environmental safeguards will be prosecuted.”

“To increase his profits, a jury found that O’Malley knowingly disregarded federal environmental laws that require asbestos-containing materials be safely removed and properly disposed,” said U.S. Attorney Jim Lewis, Central District of Illinois. “This sentence is a consequence of the defendant’s flagrant disregard for his workers, the public, and the environment in exposing them to dangerous airborne asbestos fibers.”
During O’Malley’s trial, the government presented evidence that O’Malley, owner and operator of Origin Fire Protection, was hired by Michael J. Pinski in August 2009 to remove asbestos-containing insulation from pipes in a five-story building in Kankakee, Ill. that was owned by Pinski through his company, Dearborn Management, Inc. Evidence was presented that neither O’Malley nor his company was trained to perform the asbestos removal work and that O’Malley agreed to remove the asbestos insulation for an amount that was substantially less than a trained asbestos abatement contractor would have charged to perform the work. Further, O’Malley arranged for James A. Mikrut to recruit and oversee workers to remove the asbestos.

The government’s evidence showed that various provisions of the Clean Air Act (CAA) and EPA regulations were violated, including, failure to properly notify the EPA, failure to have trained on-site representatives present, failure to ensure the asbestos insulation was adequately wetted while it was being stripped and removed, failure to mark vehicles used to transport the asbestos containing waste material and failure to deposit the asbestos in a waste disposal site for asbestos. Instead, the asbestos insulation was stripped from the pipes while dry, and then placed in more than 100 large, unlabeled plastic garbage bags. The bags were then dumped in an open field in Hopkins Park, resulting in soil contamination and exposing the workers hired by O’Malley to dangerous asbestos-laden dust.

Under the CAA there are requirements to control the removal, handling and disposal of asbestos, a hazardous air pollutant. Any owner or operator of a renovation or demolition activity which involves removal of specified amounts of asbestos-containing material must comply with the EPA regulations.

O’Malley was charged in June 2010 with five felony violations of the CAA, along with Michael J. Pinski, 42, of Kankakee, Ill., and James A. Mikrut, 49, of Manteno, Ill. Pinski entered a plea of guilty on Aug. 19, 2011, to one count of violation of the Clean Air Act. Mikrut pleaded guilty on Aug. 24, 2011, to five counts of violation of the CAA. The sentencing hearings for Pinski and Mikrut will be scheduled at a future date.

The charges were investigated by EPA’s Criminal Investigation Division, with assistance from the Illinois Environmental Protection Agency and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s Superfund Division. Assistant United States Attorney Eugene L. Miller and Special Assistant U.S. Attorney James Cha are prosecuting the case.

More information about EPA’s criminal enforcement program: http://www.epa.gov/oecaerth/criminal/index.html

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For over 3 decades the Law Offices of Jon L. Gelman1.973.696.7900 jon@gelmans.com have been representing injured workers and their families who have suffered work related accident and injuries.

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National Asbestos Awareness Week - April 1 to 7 2012

Mar 19, 2012

Whereas the United States has substantially reduced its consumption of asbestos, yet continues to consume almost 1100 metric tons of the fibrous mineral for use in certain products throughout the United States;. Whereas ...

http://workers-compensation.blogspot.com/

Workers' Compensation: Heart Disease Linked to Asbestos Exposure

Apr 06, 2012

"Objectives Asbestos is an inflammatory agent, and there is evidence that inflammatory processes are involved in the development of cardiovascular disease. Whether asbestos is a risk factor for cardiovascular disease has ...

http://workers-compensation.blogspot.com/

The Great Asbestos Trial - The Call For More Criminal Prosecutions

Apr 04, 2012

Anti-asbestos campaigners have urged more criminal prosecutions against the global directors of asbestos corporations following the recent conviction of European industrialists Stephen Schmidheiny and Baron Cartier de ...

http://workers-compensation.blogspot.com/

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• Path to Federalization: A National Workers Compensation System--US Supreme Court Validates