Nearly two decades on from traumatic incident of 9/11, lower Manhattan residents and employees are experiencing a shocking increase in respiratory illnesses and cancer.
Many of these deaths have been connected to the release of asbestos and other such materials that had been used in the construction of the Twin Towers.
One of the victims, John Mormando, was working in nearby proximity to the Twin Towers and was diagnosed with breast cancer. This form of cancer is incredibly rare in men, even more so as there was no family history of the disease. Prior......
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In March 2019, following years of discussions, Canada has introduced a ban on use, sale, import and export of asbestos.
Calls for the elimination of asbestos products within the domestic market have been supported by Canadian federal health and environment departments, citing mounting health-care costs for the treatments of asbestos related illnesses such as mesothelioma.
Estimating that exposure to asbestos fibres caused approximately 1,900 lung cancer cases and 430 mesothelioma cases in the country in 2011.
For more than 30 years, asbestos fibres have been recognised as hazardous to human health and well-being (World Health......
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Major lack of standards and regulations put students and teachers in danger of asbestos exposure.
According to The Joint Union Asbestos Committee (JUAC) almost 90% of schools contain asbestos, amplifying death rates for those working in these environments. The evidence shows that on a yearly basis 17 school employees die due to mesothelioma cancer.
Furthermore, the JUAC reveals that 1,863 academies in the UK contain asbestos. The dangerous substance is being continually uncovered, often found under the carpet, in ceilings and pipes – of these academies only 54 had been reported as of early......
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In April this year, The Asbestos Disease Awareness Organization (ADAO) released new findings from research conducted by President of the International Commission of Occupational Health (ICOH), Jukka Takala.
According to Dr. Takala’s research, asbestos-related diseases caused 39,275 deaths in the US annually—more than double the previous estimates of 15,000 per year. Specifically, asbestos leads to 34,270 lung cancer deaths, 3,161 mesothelioma deaths, 787 ovarian cancer deaths, 443 larynx cancer deaths, and 613 chronic asbestosis deaths.
The Global Asbestos Disaster findings, unveiled at the 14th Annual Asbestos Disease Awareness Conference in Washington, DC, reports a......
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In the final part of our series on mesothelioma in Canada we're taking a look on how the disease is treated.
The large number of mesothelioma cases in Canada demands a medical system offering good treatment options for mesothelioma. Canada has a socialised medical insurance system, and it is generally believed that it is easier to get better care for rare diseases like mesothelioma in the United States than it is in Canada. In both countries, however, the treatment for the disease is the same.
Canadians generally explore one or a combination of three options......
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In the 1930s, a study conducted by the Department of Industrial Hygiene at McGill University discovered that, of 200 men who participated, 42 developed asbestosis. The department had been formed by The Metropolitan Life Insurance Company, due to its suspicions that asbestos was sickening workers and causing some sort of “dust disease” of the lungs. However, the findings were never published and lawyers for asbestos manufacturers in Canada and the U.S. suggested to company executives that asbestosis receive “minimum publicity.” Continue Reading
In June this year, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) released proposed regulations related to asbestos. In the agency’s press release, it describes “a significant new use rule (SNUR) proposal enabling the Agency to prevent new uses of asbestos–the first such action on asbestos ever proposed.”
Only recently have environmental critics started to voice their disapproval and mainstream media have picked up on the story. An article suggesting asbestos rules would be weakened under the EPA proposal appeared in Fast Company in June. The Architect’s Newspaper in early August reported, “EPA is now allowing asbestos back into......
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After climbing steadily over the past two decades, Canada's mesothelioma cancer rate is now one of the highest in the world. Few in the medical community are surprised: Canada's dedication to the mining of chrysotile asbestos and the Canadian government's track record for permitting its production and use in thousands of products laid the groundwork for exposing citizens to the toxic mineral. The most significant increases occurred in the shipbuilding areas around Vancouver, and in Quebec, home to many of Canada's early asbestos mines.
About 2.1 of every 100,000 Canadians are diagnosed annually......
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Exposure to any form of asbestos presents a real risk to the health of those affected. With as many as 125 million people (as of 2013) thought to have been exposed to asbestos while in the workplace, it is obvious that many will experience an asbestos-related illness as a result. One of the worst types of asbestos-related illnesses is Mesothelioma. This cancer affects tens of thousands of people each year across the globe, with four in five cases of mesothelioma occuring as a result of exposure to asbestos.
The most despicable cancer you can......
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