The United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA) have started to move further down the path towards more stringent testing standardisations when looking at asbestos fibres in cosmetic products that contain talc This follows the discovery in recent years of asbestos traces in several products such as children’s toys, crayons and makeup based products.
This latest move comes after they released a 124-page document recently which was written by the Interagency Working Group on Asbestos in Consumer Products, which features eight different U.S federal agencies that were chosen by the FDA......
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As we pass the 20th anniversary of the 9/11 terrorist attack, a new report from the Fire Department of New York World Trade Center Health Program has highlighted the health effects that the firefighters who appeared on the scene following the tragedy are now facing.
It is estimated that approximately 410,000 first responders were at the site of the attack in the following days and weeks inhaling toxic materials as they assisted in saving lives. Nearly 3,000 people died on what many termed ‘America’s Darkest Day’ but in the succeeding 20 years a......
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In what has been a developing story throughout the last two years, there has been a new push against Johnson & Johnson and its talc-based powder products that have been alleged to contain asbestos materials by a mix of plaintiff attorneys and congressional leaders.
At the end of July, at the U.S District court in Delaware, group of attorneys filed a restraining order which they hope to put a stop to the J&J group’s plan to off load these liabilities from talc-related products onto a new subsidiary group who would then......
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The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) agreed in June to tighten its process for asbestos data collection after continued pressure from a coalition formed of multiple states, this now brings the country closer to a total ban on the deadly substance.
One of the main contributors to this decision was a ruling from United States District Judge Edward Chen back in December of last year who ruled that the EPA would need to improve this data collection around the amount of asbestos and asbestos related products are being brought into the......
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There are certain professions that have a higher risk of contracting mesothelioma or other asbestos related diseases through exposure at the workplace, one of these such professions in America is being a welder. The primary focus of a job like this is joining two metal parts this aspect requires a high amount of heat which leads to the possibility of damage to their main tool, the welding rod.
These rods use an asbestos coating to protect from the fire or heat destruction, which when attached to the rods doesn’t pose a......
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America - On 4th March, a petition with over 25,000 signatures was delivered to the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) calling on them to require a more precise method of testing for asbestos in talc. The petition was created by the Environmental Working Group (EWG) along with the National Women’s Health Network, the American Association for Justice and Unite for Reproductive & Gender Equity.
The petition comes after tests revealed products sold by popular retailers ‘Claire’s’ and ‘Justice’ contained traces of the deadly substance. On top of this, tests governed by......
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Despite asbestos being banned in more than 60 countries across the world, latest figures from 2018 have revealed its widespread and continued commercial use in the United states.
According to the recent Department of the Interior Geological Survey, the US imported 750 metric tonnes of asbestos in 2018 - more than double the 332 metric tonnes from 2017 and is the highest reported figure from the past five years.
In America companies can continue to import asbestos, as long as they have permission from the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).
This perceived lack of......
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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 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 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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