According to the Mesothelioma Resource Center, a four-day fire in Gibson County left Emge meat packing plant burnt to the ground. Unfortunately, in the charred remains of the building asbestos was found, making the matter of one public health and safety. Exposure to asbestos, can cause mesothelioma and other respiratory diseases, including lung cancer.

The Courier Press report said that the property owner is refusing to pay for asbestos abatement, and conflict is emerging about the search for appropriate handling of the damage.

The EPA project manager Kevin Turner said that the agency has engaged the owner to clean up asbestos but that he refused. The EPA must follow a civil process and that the property owner can under the law say that he will or will not do it but that does not relieve him of any liability of financial responsibility.

The EPA has stepped in to handle safe asbestos cleanup of the area with an estimated $400,000 budget. Asbestos cleanup is not only necessary but a matter of public health safety. Inhaling asbestos fibers can start a mutative process in protective organ lining, which leads to development of tumors that spread through surrounding areas and cause mesothelioma. Mesothelioma is a deadly form of cancer that is difficult to treat and has a very high death rate.

Cappolino Dodd Krebs LLP. – Mesothelioma attorneys

According to Mesothelioma Help, a recent report released by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, and mandated by Congress, identifies substances, chemicals, metals, pesticides, drugs and compounds that are known to cause cancer in humans. The report lists 54 substances as known carcinogens and 186 substances that are suspected of causing cancer. In the report it states that asbestos mineral has been shown to cause respiratory-tract cancer, mesothelioma of the lung and abdominal cavity, and cancer at other tissue sites.

Asbestos is listed as a known carcinogen because there is a convincing body of scientific and medical evidence involving humans to show a cause-and-effect relationship between exposure and development of cancer. Asbestos has been listed as a known cause of cancer in the report since 1980, since the first publication of the report. Similar to asbestos fibers, glass wool fibers, used in building insulation and aircraft insulation has been shown to cause cancerous tumors in animals’ lungs. Much like asbestos, glass wool fibers remain in the lung and are associated with cancer. Asbestos had been formerly used in building materials to make insulation and insulation wrap. Older homes may still contain vermiculite insulation containing toxic asbestos, worrying health agencies that exposure to asbestos may continue to keep mesothelioma diagnosis numbers in the U.S. to rise.

Cappolino Dodd Krebs LLP. – Mesothelioma attorneys

According to Benzinga, a recent study from Thomas Jefferson Hospital’s Kimmel Cancer Center found that antioxidants may be a powerful weapon in the fight against mesothelioma. The study found that the loss of Caveolin-1, a tumor-suppressing protein, leads to the growth of tumors and can be used to predict cancer outcomes. Loss of Caveolin-1 leads to oxidative stress in the mesothelioma cells, which further promotes tumor growth.

The researchers at the Kimmel Cancer Center found that antioxidants fight the stress and cut the fuel supply for the tumor growth. As a result, antioxidant medications could stop mesothelioma tumor growth in patients. Antioxidants, found in dietary supplements and fruits such as blueberries and cranberries, combat oxidative stress at the cellular level. The Kimmel Cancer Center researchers believe that antioxidant-based drugs can suppress cancer such as mesothelioma, a cancer of the lining of the lings, chest and abdomen.

Mesothelioma is caused by exposure to asbestos, a toxic mineral that has been used in construction of buildings and automobiles.
Symptoms of mesothelioma can appear 10 to 60 years after exposure. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, about 2,700 people in the United States die each year from mesothelioma. Asbestos still can be found in many buildings and homes in floor tiles, ceilings, insulation, and piping.

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According to Asbestos Mesothelioma Center, a sudden rise of mesothelioma cases has been seen around Dunn County, North Dakota. The threat remains that mesothelioma cases in the area will continue to rise, despite a variety of precautions that have been taken in the last few years.

A study published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences details the risks still being posed by erionite, the fibrous mineral used in the western parts of North Dakota to produce gravel for roads. Erionite is very similar to asbestos, another toxin linked to mesothelioma, which attacks the lining of the lungs. Erionite fibers, just like asbestos, can become airborne, and have been linked to a high number of cases of mesothelioma in Asian countries where it is used in homes and roads.

The study published in PNAS found that North Dakota’s concentration of erionite was comparable, or even higher, than amounts found in those Asian countries. At least twelve Western states have erionite deposits, but the largest concentration of use has been in North Dakota. The study found an estimate 300 miles of roads and parking lots in North Dakota have been constructed using erionite in the past thirty years. The North Dakota Health Department and the EPA also did an 18-month study that ended in October of 2010, but it was inconclusive.

Cappolino Dodd Krebs LLP. – Mesothelioma attorneys