A new Australian television production is in the works that will tell the story of mesothelioma victim Bernie Banton. When doctors diagnosed Banton with mesothelioma in 1999, he became an advocate for mesothelioma victims throughout the country. The miniseries will show the legacy left by Banton in his struggle for the rights of mesothelioma victims. Australia’s ABC network will produce the series, entitled “The Devil’s Dust.” ABC is basing the miniseries on a book written by journalist Matt Peacock called “Killer Company,” which exposed James Hardie’s prior knowledge of the dangers of its working environment. James Hardie was an Australian manufacturer of fiber cement building products. The company added asbestos to its cement to increase its strength and durability. Peacock describes how James Hardie continuously exposed workers to the deadly mineral with full knowledge of the link between asbestos and mesothelioma. According to the book, workers ate their lunches near…
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Asbestos Exposure and Mesothelioma Attorneys
Australian Miniseries Shows the Tragedy of Mesothelioma
March 26th, 2012Gene Therapy Combinations Work Best in Combating Mesothelioma
March 21st, 2012The concept behind gene therapy is a simple one: find faulty genes responsible for disease and replace them with genes that will not malfunction. Simple concepts are not always easy to implement, though, as researchers are discovering in their efforts to treat cancers like mesothelioma. Many gene flaws are responsible for the development of cancer, making gene therapy treatment difficult. Currently, researchers are achieving the best results by combining gene therapy with more traditional cancer treatments, such as chemotherapy. The three most effective gene therapy combinations in use to combat mesothelioma are: Introduce genes susceptible to the effects of anti-cancer medications. Known as “suicide” gene therapy, it renders cancer genes’ defense mechanisms useless. Introduce genes to stop the growth of certain blood cells. Cancers need blood flow to grow. Stopping the blood flow starves the cancer cells, stopping its spread. Replace the genes that allow the cancer cells to multiply….
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Town Could Become Responsible for Asbestos Cleanup
March 16th, 2012The town of Wilton, Maine is hoping to avoid foreclosure on an asbestos-contaminated demolition site due to the potential costs of cleanup. Automatic tax foreclosure looms over an old manufacturing site, but the town of Wilton is doing what it can to stall the process. The factories that sit along Depot Street in Wilton have already been the subject of asbestos-related controversies. OSHA levied more than $150,000 in fines against Downeast Construction Corporation – the company responsible for demolition of the buildings – for workplace safety violations. OSHA claims construction workers and emergency responders may have been exposed to dangerously high levels of asbestos because of the violations. Asbestos was removed from the debris scattered amongst the piles of partially demolished buildings last fall, but large amounts of the material remain in the buildings that still stand. If the city takes over responsibility for the property, it will be responsible…
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9/11 Responders Face “Significant” Increase in Some Cancers
March 12th, 2012An advisory board set up by Congress is close to recommending which cancers should be included in the James Zadroga 9/11 Health and Compensation Act and its $2.8 million Victim Compensation Fund. The Zadroga Act, which passed last year, provides “medical monitoring and treatment of 9/11 related health conditions for emergency personnel, rescue, and clean-up workers who responded to the September 11, 2001 terrorist attack at the World Trade Center, Pentagon and Shanksville, P.A.” Researchers are finding evidence that 9/11 responders are experiencing increased rates of cancer, including “significant” increases in prostate, thyroid and some blood cancers. This information comes from a study of 20,000 police officers, firefighters, sanitation workers, construction workers and others who worked at Ground Zero. Several discussion held by the advisory board demonstrate how toxic the situation faced by responders truly was. A police uniform worn during the recovery efforts was brought forward. Sealed in a…
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