Mesothelioma Health Blog

State cracks down on asbestos rule Enforcement expected to add to cost of remodeling

2006-11-03T14:59:00.000-06:00

"This thing is hitting the little contractors," said Ron Heebner,a remodeling contractor in Johnson City. "All it does is force up the price of doing work on single-family homes."

By Brian Liberatore
Press & Sun-Bulletin

A call from the state for stricter enforcement of long-ignored asbestos inspection regulations could add thousands of dollars to the cost of home repairs for many across the region.

While the state says the regulations protect workers and residents from potential asbestos exposure, many contractors view them as an unnecessary burden on homeowners, who must pay for the inspections...(Read More)

A Fight for Life: Author Describes Family's Asbestos Tragedy

2006-11-03T14:55:00.000-06:00

The future does not allow this for long. Edward begins to have a mysterious fluid buildup around his right lung.

Posted on : Fri, 03 Nov 2006 18:11:00 GMT | Author : AuthorHouse
News Category : PressRelease

WEST POINT, Ga., Nov. 3 /PRNewswire/ -- Romantics will enjoy the love story and bittersweet conclusion of "A Story Worth Telling: An Asbestos Tragedy" (now available through AuthorHouse), a new book by Rebecca Albarado. However, the book is so much more. It is the shocking account of a man diagnosed with mesothelioma, cancer caused by asbestos exposure, at the age of 50.Edward Albarado is a healthy, happy man who is very content with this time in his life. He is in love with his wife, has a beautiful home in the country, is retired from the Navy and loves his present job. He has finally reached a comfortable financial status where it is not a struggle to pay his bills. He can actually enjoy some things in this world. He and his wife, Becky, enjoy their families, riding ATVs, making their home more comfortable, traveling and finding as many adventures as they can in this world. They laugh about being in their second childhood...(Read More)

Oklahoma mesothelioma victim files suit in Madison County

2006-10-30T16:52:00.000-06:00

Stone claims the defendants included asbestos in their products when they knew asbestos fibers would have a highly deleterious effect on the health of people absorbing them

Monday, October 23, 2006

By Steve Gonzalez - Edwardsville Bureau

The estate of Randy Stone filed an asbestos suit against 30 defendant corporations in Madison County Circuit Court Oct. 20, claiming he was exposed to asbestos while employed as a laborer, pipe-maker, machinist and quality control manager from 1950-2005.

According to the complaint, Stone was a resident of Oklahoma. He worked in Illinois at some point in his career, but the suit does not specify when or where.

The estate is represented by Harold Stone, Randy's son. The suit claims his exposure to asbestos fibers was completely foreseeable and could or should have been anticipated by the defendants.

It also claims the defendants failed to exercise ordinary care and caution for Randy's safety by including asbestos in their products even though it was completely foreseeable that people working with and around asbestos would inhale, ingest or otherwise absorb great amounts of asbestos... (Read More)

EPA studying gravel pits near the Killdeer Mountains

2006-10-25T09:16:00.000-05:00

"We'll come up with results from the EPA to try and determine the level, or any risk," said Scott Radig, director of the Health Department's division of waste management

KILLDEER (AP) - Environmental Protection Agency workers have been raking softball fields and parking lots containing gravel from an area near the Killdeer Mountains to test for erionite, a mineral similar to asbestos. The state Health Department collected samples last spring, and EPA sampling began this week.

"We'll come up with results from the EPA to try and determine the level, or any risk," said Scott Radig, director of the Health Department's division of waste management.

"The hope is for no high-level risk," Radig said. "I would be glad if it turned out to be worry over nothing."

Erionite was discovered in the Killdeer Mountains in the 1980s, and the state was considering mining it, Radig said. There were no known health risks then, he said.

State geologist Ed Murphy later found out about a study of a village in Turkey that found possible links to lung cancer and mesothelioma from high exposures of erionite, Radig said. Murphy contacted the state Health Department last spring to look into the matter further, he said... (Read More)

Lilly begins new trial on cancer drug Alimta

2006-10-25T09:08:00.000-05:00

Lilly will test its cancer drug Alimta in combination with carboplatin in the end-phase trial that will enroll 1,820 patients.

INDIANAPOLIS -- Eli Lilly and Co. said Monday it has begun the largest patient trial to treat small-cell lung cancer. Lilly will test its cancer drug Alimta in combination with carboplatin in the end-phase trial that will enroll 1,820 patients. Alimta is approved to treat another form of lung cancer, mesothelioma... (Read More)

No Double Dipping

2006-10-18T12:17:00.000-05:00

Some $30 billion in trust funds will start being distributed to asbestos victims over the next 18 months--a staggering windfall that could be tempting in the wrong hands.

Daniel Fisher, 10.17.06, 12:00 PM ET

Owens-Illinois has asked an Ohio court overseeing thousands of asbestos lawsuits to require plaintiffs to disclose how much they've gotten from trusts established by bankrupt asbestos manufacturers. The goal is to prevent double-dipping by claimants and their attorneys.

Some $30 billion in trust funds will start being distributed to asbestos victims over the next 18 months--a staggering windfall that could be tempting in the wrong hands. So Owens-Illinois (nyse: OI - news - people ), which quit making asbestos insulation in 1958 but still faces thousands of lawsuits, has asked the Cuyahoga County Court of Common Pleas in Cleveland to halt trials against solvent companies, including Owens-Illinois, until plaintiffs have resolved their claims against the trusts.

If the court doesn't do that, the company warns that lawyers could "game the system" by hiding or delaying their filings with bankruptcy trusts so courts won't offset any judgments by the amount they recovered elsewhere. According to a 2002 Rand Institute study, the typical asbestos claimant sues 60 to 70 defendants, including both solvent and bankrupt companies...(Read More)

Woman settles asbestos claim

2006-10-18T12:14:00.000-05:00

Bodkin filed suit in Fulton County State Court in 2005 against several companies that made roofing, siding, joint compounds and insulation products used by her father and brother, who had a small home-building business in Mississippi.

Tue Oct 17, 2:50 PM ET

ATLANTA - A Mississippi woman who said she developed cancer after years of washing clothes covered with asbestos dust has won a settlement from four companies that she blamed for her illness.

Asbestos exposure suits of that nature are unusual, lawyers said.

"It's more common to see asbestos claims from the person who works hands-on with it at work," said Atlanta attorney David Marshall, who represented one of the defendants...(Read More)

Drug company gets $40M in venture funds

2006-10-13T16:55:00.000-05:00

The company's Morab-009 compound is in early stage testing at Fox Chase Cancer Center in Philadelphia, Johns Hopkins in Baltimore and the National Cancer Institute in patients with pancreatic, mesothelioma, non-small cell lung and ovarian cancer.

October 12, 2006 01:51 PM ET

Morphotek Inc. said Thursday it raised $40 million through a private stock sale to a group of venture capital firms.

The proceeds will be used by the Exton, Pa., biopharmaceutical company to advance its lead therapeutic antibodies, Morab-003 and Morab-009, and its own experimental compounds which are all being studied as potential treatments of oncology, inflammatory and infectious diseases.

Morphotek's lead antibody, Morab-003, targets a surface receptor on cancer cells known as folate receptor alpha that are found on ovarian, breast, colorectal, lung and renal tumors.

Libby’s dark secret

2006-10-11T11:41:00.000-05:00

For decades, mine dust has been killing people in Libby, Montana. Why didn’t anyone do anything about it?

FEATURE ARTICLE - March 13, 2000
Libby’s dark secret
by Mark Matthews

LIBBY, Mont. - For years, this mountain town in northwest Montana held a dark secret close to its breast. Tucked away near the Idaho border, 70 miles from the Canadian line, Libby is a utilitarian town. Four busy lanes of Highway 2, the main thoroughfare from Spokane to Glacier National Park and to the ski resort at Big Mountain, cut through its center. Libby was founded to accommodate the Great Northern Railroad, and its streets run perpendicular to the depot. Beyond the railroad tracks, the wild Kootenai River marks the town’s northern border.

An occasional logging truck still rumbles down Main Street on its way to mills in Whitefish and Columbia Falls... (Read More)

Firm Must Pay Asbestos Costs Of $54.5 million

2006-10-11T11:31:00.000-05:00

The high court upholds the EPA's claim that W.R. Grace must clean up a Montana mine site.

By Sam Howe Verhovek, Times Staff Writer
October 11, 2006

SEATTLE — The Supreme Court on Tuesday let stand lower court rulings that require W.R. Grace & Co. to pay a $54.5-million federal bill for asbestos cleanup in a Montana mining town described by federal regulators as one of the nation's most contaminated Superfund sites.

The court rejected Grace's appeal of a decision in favor of the Environmental Protection Agency, which sued Grace five years ago to recover the cleanup costs at a vermiculite mine in the town of Libby. The government is also pursuing a criminal case involving several former executives or managers of the mining company for allegedly concealing health risks at the mine.

That trial will not begin until next year at the earliest.

The asbestos-laden vermiculite, laced into the mountains around Libby, was used as insulation in hundreds of thousands of homes and office buildings...(Read More)

5 charter schools fined for asbestos violations

2006-10-06T16:12:00.000-05:00

Each of the Phoenix Schools was fined $11,700 but was allowed to subtract the costs of complying with the regulation from the fine, EPA officials said.
Mel Meléndez
The Arizona Republic
Oct. 6, 2006 12:00 AM PHOENIX - Five Phoenix high schools have been slapped with asbestos violations, as the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency cracks down on the state's public charter schools.

"Arizona has more than 500 charter schools and many hold classes in older buildings, which tend to have more asbestos," said Ron Tsuchiya, asbestos coordinator for the EPA's Southwest region. "Of the charter schools that we've done spot checks on, none were in compliance." ...(Read More)

$5.1 Billion Owens Corning Asbestos Settlement to Help Thousands of Puget Sound Workers

2006-10-03T09:29:00.000-05:00

Asbestos was used for decades in the shipbuilding, aluminum and wood products industries," explains Bergman.

Copyright:	PR Newswire
Source:	PR Newswire
Wordcount:	663

SEATTLE, Sept. 21 /PRNewswire/ -- For 53-old widow Diane Petty, an obscure news story earlier this week announcing a settlement between creditors and Owens Corning has special meaning. After a five-year battle, she will finally receive compensation for the death of her husband, Robert, caused by years of exposure to asbestos while he worked as a rigger at the Puget Sound Naval Shipyard in Bremerton.

Petty is not alone in the Puget Sound region. According to Seattle attorney Matthew Bergman, who helped hammer out the settlement agreement, Petty is one of thousands of residents throughout Washington who will receive compensation from a trust established as part of an Owens Corning's Chapter 11 reorganization plan... (Read More)

California mesothelioma victim files asbestos suit in Madison County

2006-10-03T09:18:00.000-05:00

As a result of the alleged negligence, Beyersdorf claims he was exposed to fibers containing asbestos.

Madison County Record

Tuesday, September 26, 2006

By Steve Gonzalez - Edwardsville Bureau

A California man suffering from mesothelioma filed an asbestos suit in Madison County Circuit Court Sept. 21, claiming his disease was wrongfully caused.

Allen Beyersdorf claims he was employed from 1964-2006 as a maintenance worker and factory worker in various locations including Illinois.

According to the complaint, Beyersdorf also was a pastor at various locations.

Beyersdorf claims that during the course of his employment and during home and automotive repairs he was exposed to and inhaled, ingested or otherwise absorbed asbestos fibers emanating from certain products he was working with and around.

He names 90 defendant corporations that include Dow Chemical, Ford Motor Company, General Electric, General Motors, Honeywell International, John Crane, Owens-Illinois, Sears and Viacom.

"The plaintiff's exposure and inhalation, ingestion or absorption of the asbestos fibers was completely foreseeable and could or should have been anticipated by the defendants," the complaint states.

Beyersdorf claims the defendants knew or should have known that the asbestos fibers contained in their products had a toxic, poisonous and highly deleterious effect upon the health of people.

According to Beyersdorf, he first became aware that he suffered from mesothelioma in February of 2003.

Beyersdorf alleges that the defendants included asbestos in their products even when adequate substitutes were available and failed to provide any or adequate instructions concerning the safe methods of working with and around asbestos.

He also claims that the defendants failed to require and advise employees of hygiene practices designed to reduce or prevent carrying asbestos fibers home.

As a result of the alleged negligence, Beyersdorf claims he was exposed to fibers containing asbestos. He developed a disease caused only by asbestos which has disabled and disfigured him, the complaint states.

He seeks damages to help pay for the cost of her treatment.

Beyersdorf also suffers "great physical pain and mental anguish, and also will be hindered and prevented from pursuing his normal course of employment, thereby losing large sums of money," the complaint states.

He is seeking at least $250,000 in damages for negligence, willful and wanton acts, conspiracy, and negligent spoliation of evidence among other allegations.

"In addition to compensatory damages, an award of punitive damages is appropriate and necessary in order to punish the defendants for willful, wanton, intentional and reckless misconduct and to deter them and others from engaging in like misconduct in the future," the complaint states.

Beyersdorf is represented by Nicholas Angelides, John Barnerd and Perry Browder of SimmonsCooper in East Alton.

The case has been assigned to Circuit Court Judge Daniel Stack.

Video On Mesothelioma Settlement

2006-09-28T09:12:00.000-05:00

Topics include the Rep. Waxman study of food and drug law enforcement under the Bush administration, Guidant implantable heart device failures, Boston Scientific recall of pacemakers and defibrillators, corrections to to the Vioxx study, Merck lawsuits in New Jersey and California, a Texas mesothelioma case, and more...

Watch Video

Group To Assist All Victims Of Mesothelioma Or Asbestos Related Illnesses

2006-09-19T13:30:00.000-05:00

The Cancer Watchdog is also seeking pulmonologists, Pathologists, Oncologists and or Thoracic Surgeons who would like to be listed on the Cancer Watchdog.Com's free database provided to asbestos victims nationwide.
(PRWEB) September 18, 2006 -- The nationally renowned advocacy group Americas Watchdog has just launched a web site WWW.Cancerwatchdog.com in the hopes of assisting individuals who are victims, or who could become victims of mesothelioma or other asbestos exposure related diseases.Because there is currently no one stop resource center for victims and or their families, the Cancer Watchdog Group will assist mesothelioma victims, or their families with services ranging from getting social security/VA benefits, to obtaining the top legal advice and medical advice, or other issues that arise prior to and after a mesothelioma diagnosis. There currently is no service as comprehensive as this in the United States. Mesothelioma victims or their families are encouraged to call the Cancer Watchdog Group toll free at 1-866-714-6466. Representatives are standing by to provide help 24 hours a day to help victims.

The Cancer Watchdog is also seeking pulmonologists, Pathologists, Oncologists and or Thoracic Surgeons who would like to be listed on the Cancer Watchdog.Com's free database provided to asbestos victims nationwide. The purpose for this is to inform the public about this lethal disease and at the same time offer victims or potential victims the names of physicians in each state who can treat or assist in the diagnosis and treatment of mesothelioma. The physician listing is free and is intended to aid citizens in locating a medical professional in their state, who might be able to help or assist. For hospital administrators, or business development directors wishing to learn more, the Cancer Watchdog web site will also list hospitals and or medical practice groups that can provide assistance in testing, diagnosing and or treatment of mesothelioma or related asbestos conditions.

The group also hopes to work with local media in every state and with participating physicians, practice groups or hospitals to increase public awareness about this lethal form of cancer or other asbestos related illnesses. By creating a seamless pathway for mesothelioma victims or potential victims, many will be helped by the Cancer Watchdog organization. Medical doctors, practice group marketing professionals, or hospital business development officials are welcome to call 866-714-6466 anytime for additional information.

Again, because there is so little help for mesothelioma victims the Cancer Watchdog (www.CancerWatchdog.com ) will also work with victims or their families on Social Security benefits, VA benefits, as well as legal and medical issues.

According to M Thomas Martin of Americas Watchdog, "we created this site because there is no such thing as a seamless all encompassing service for mesothelioma victims, and their families in the United States. Most victims of mesothelioma served in the US Navy, US Military, Ship Yards, auto brake repair facilities, construction sites or related areas. Even firefighters and construction workers involved in the attack on New Yorks World trade Centers may be at risk. According to Martin, "mesothelioma is lethal, and there could be tens of thousands or hundreds of thousands of Americans who are at risk." ...(Read More)

San Jose pays $245,000 for asbestos cleanup in 2003

2006-09-15T14:46:00.000-05:00

The area was designated a South Bay Asbestos Superfund Site and has been on the national priorities list of hazardous waste sites since 1986, according to the EPA.

Bay City News Service

The city of San Jose has agreed to pay the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency $245,000 for costs associated with a 2003 cleanup of asbestos-contaminated soil at the Environmental Education Center, a popular school field trip destination, in San Jose's Alviso district, the EPA announced today.

The center is located on the Don Edwards San Francisco Bay National Wildlife Refuge next to wetlands along the San Francisco Bay and the New Chicago Marsh.

Lindsey Wolf, public affairs manager for the city's Environmental Services Department, said today the city and EPA reached the agreement on May 23 and that the cost recovery settlement is now available for a 30-day public comment period... (Read More)

Remember the walking wounded

2006-09-11T14:10:00.000-05:00

Thousands of Ground Zero workers are suffering respiratory and other health problems that could last a lifetime or, in some cases, eventually kill them.

Remember the walking wounded

RUBÉN ROSARIO

2,749.

This is the official death toll of those who lost their lives in the terrorist attacks five years ago at the World Trade Center.

But the tally might rise by hundreds, if not thousands, by the time the last word is written on the worst terrorist attack on American soil.

I'll pause to pray and pay tribute to those who died in the attacks. But today, I'm writing about the residual victims of the attacks and building collapses in lower Manhattan.

They are the walking wounded of Sept. 11. Their plight is not well known outside New York City. Their names probably will never be etched on a plaque. Perhaps they should be someday.

I'm talking here about many of the 40,000 cops, firefighters, construction workers and others who braved toxic fumes and dust to sift through the 2 million tons of rubble at Ground Zero in search of survivors and, later, remains... (Read More)

$18.5 Million for Aerospace Plastics Molder

2006-09-11T14:05:00.000-05:00

Verdict of Over $18.5 Million for Aerospace Plastics Molder Suffering from Mesothelioma
Sat Sep 9, 8:00 AM ET

San Francisco, CA (PRWeb) September 9, 2006 -- On September 1, 2006, a jury ruled in favor of a former plastics molder suffering from mesothelioma, assessing over $18.5 million in damages against Union Carbide Corporation, a former asbestos mining and manufacturing company. Union Carbide was negligent and failed to provide warnings about its defective open asbestos fiber product RG-144, according to the jury. It assessed $3,223,450 in economic damages and $15,300,000 in non-economic damages...(Read More)

Large Study Of World Trade Center Responders Finds Persistent Health Problems In Many

2006-09-07T13:14:00.000-05:00

Almost 70 percent of World Trade Center responders had a new or worsened respiratory symptom that developed during or after their time working at the WTC

Source: Mount Sinai Medical Center
Date: 6 September 2006


	The Mount Sinai Medical Center has released the findings from the World Trade Center Worker and Volunteer Medical Screening Program, the largest multi-center clinical program providing medical screening examinations for the workers and volunteers who worked at Ground Zero and other sites following the attack on the World Trade Center on September 11...(Read More)

EPA Releases Guidance To Reduce Mechanics' Exposure to Asbestos

2006-09-01T12:25:00.000-05:00

The brochure includes work practices that may be used to avoid asbestos exposure. It also summarizes existing Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) regulatory requirements for professional automotive mechanics. When finalized, the brochure will supersede the existing Guidance for Preventing Asbestos Disease Among Auto Mechanics, known as the "Gold Book."

From Safetyonline
8/23/2006

The Environmental Protection Agency is updating its guidance to protect the health of auto mechanics with the release of a draft brochure entitled, Current Best Practices for Preventing Asbestos Exposure Among Brake and Clutch Repair Workers. The brochure contains information for both automotive professionals and home mechanics. EPA is providing the public 60 days to comment on the brochure.

Asbestos is the common name given to a number of naturally occurring mineral fibers that have been used in manufactured goods due to their high tensile strength, resistance to heat, and chemical stability. Because of these properties, asbestos fibers have been used in a number of products, including automobile clutch and brake parts...(Read More)

Californian brings mesothelioma case to Madison County

2006-09-01T12:18:00.000-05:00

"Dust created by working with and around asbestos and asbestos-containing products would permeate the person and clothing of the plaintiff's spouse," the complaint states. "This dust contained asbestos fiber."

Monday, August 28, 2006

By Steve Gonzalez - Edwardsville Bureau

Ripsime Darbinian of California claims exposure to airborne asbestos fibers from family members' clothing caused her to develop mesothelioma.

She filed suit against Bondex International, Garlock Incorporated, Georgia-Pacific, John Crane, Owens-Illinois, RPM International and Young Insulation Group in Madison County Circuit Court Aug. 23.

Though her home is thousands of miles away, she claims John Crane is an Illinois corporation, organized and existing pursuant to Illinois law and is doing business in Madison County.

Darbinian claims her husband Toros was employed as a truck driver, technician and repairman at various locations and would on many occasions work with and around asbestos and asbestos containing products...(Read More)

UN headquarters 'a firetrap'

2006-08-28T09:13:00.000-05:00

A potential towering inferno that could be as devastating for workers, staff and visitors as the terror attacks on the World Trade Centre's twin towers
28/08/2006 09:48 - (SA)
Calling the 39-story, glass-walled Secretariat building on the East River a "firetrap" that violates many sections of New York City's building code, Democratic Senator Charles Schumer of New York said UN Secretary General Kofi Annan and US ambassador John Bolton should "make it a priority" to force through a $1.6bn renovation programme.

He said the glass tower, the first "international style" skyscraper built in New York City, has no internal sprinkler system, is full of dangerous asbestos, and its driveway, above an underground garage, probably would collapse from the weight of fire trucks and other emergency equipment... (Read More)

Oregon State Hospital remains riddled with asbestos

2006-08-28T09:07:00.000-05:00

Asbestos was linked to cancer decades ago, but it remains embedded in dozens of outdated buildings on the 144-acre campus of the Oregon State Hospital.

8/27/2006, 2:00 p.m. PT
The Associated Press

SALEM, Ore. (AP) — Asbestos was linked to cancer decades ago, but it remains embedded in dozens of outdated buildings on the 144-acre campus of the Oregon State Hospital.

Ron Parker, a hospital baker who retired from there in 2003 after 28 years, is worried.

Parker, 59, fears he may have been exposed to it before the hospital took steps to contain it.

His concerns increased when he read a story in the Statesman Journal newspaper about the facility being fined for asbestos violations.

"It just got me to thinking, how much of that stuff was back there in the foodservice area that we weren't aware of." he said. "I don't think anybody realizes what the danger was."

The issue has sparked workplace-safety concerns, complicated remodeling projects and prompted officials to close parts of the West Coast's oldest psychiatric facility.

If the state heeds consultants' advice and levels the place, asbestos removal could cost millions of dollars.

So the hospital's 123-year-old J Building still stands, even though it has been deemed dangerous... (Read More)

BP workers exposed to asbestos

2006-08-25T09:55:00.000-05:00

Prudhoe Bay officials told them earlier this week that they may have been exposed to high levels of asbestos.

BP workers exposed to asbestos

By Andrea Gusty, CBS 11 News Reporter

BP and the Prudhoe Bay oil fields continue to dominate the headlines Thursday, as workers are told they may have been exposed to high levels of a deadly airborne toxin. According to a Prudhoe Bay worker, who wishes to remain anonymous, Prudhoe Bay officials told them earlier this week that they may have been exposed to high levels of asbestos.

This asbestos is said to have come from glue that adheres to the insulation surrounding BP's pipelines. BP workers have halted repairs of Prudhoe Bay's corroded pipelines until it is determined how dangerous those asbestos levels are.

"I'm very concerned. I think everybody is concerned," said BP spokesperson Daren Beaudo.

According to the Environmental Protection Agency, potentially dangerous levels of asbestos have been found in the glue used to hold insulation on to the pipeline on the west side of Prudhoe Bay... (Read More)

EPA releases guidance to reduce mechanics' exposure to asbestos

2006-08-25T09:47:00.000-05:00

EPA will release a draft brochure titled, Current Best Practices for Preventing Asbestos Exposure Among Brake and Clutch Repair Workers.

By Marconi Calindas
Reporter

Friday, August 25, 2006

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency recently updated its guide to protect the health of auto mechanics across the nation.

EPA will release a draft brochure titled, Current Best Practices for Preventing Asbestos Exposure Among Brake and Clutch Repair Workers. According to EPA the brochure will contain information for both automotive professionals and home mechanics. The public is invited to comment on the brochure in the next 60 days.

"The brochure includes work practices that may be used to avoid asbestos exposure. It also summarizes existing Occupational Safety and Health Administration regulatory requirements for professional automotive mechanics," said the EPA.

When finalized, the brochure would supersede the existing Guidance for Preventing Asbestos Disease Among Auto Mechanics, known as the "Gold Book."

Exposure to asbestos is potentially harmful to human health if microscopic asbestos fibers, released into the air when asbestos is disturbed or in poor condition, are inhaled into the lungs. Asbestos exposure has been associated with a number of serious health problems and diseases, including asbestosis, lung cancer, and mesothelioma... (Read More)

For more information on the draft brochure visit

Current Best Practices for Preventing Asbestos Exposure Among Brake and Clutch Repair Workers