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EPA Helps Oklahoma Monitor Asbestos in Schools and State Buildings

By on Friday, October 12th, 2012 | No Comments

In order to help reduce asbestos exposure in schools and state buildings throughout Oklahoma, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has awarded nearly a quarter-million dollars in funds to the Oklahoma Department of Labor to assist them in carrying out asbestos-related inspections. According to a Fox 23 News story, the funds will be used by the Dept. of Labor to complete numerous audit inspections in local schools throughout the upcoming school year. The department believes that asbestos inspections are an excellent way to urge school districts to comply with the EPA’s Asbestos in Schools rules, which includes monitoring the presence of asbestos materials and their condition in schools throughout the state. The EPA promotes “in place” management of asbestos-containing materials at schools and other public buildings around the country. That means that while asbestos doesn’t necessarily need to be removed from theses facilities, there should always be a written report filed on site concerning the location of asbestos materials and there should be a trained individual in each facility who can recognize asbestos and can respond properly to any asbestos-related emergencies that could result in asbestos exposure if not handled in a safe manner. Part of the Oklahoma Department of Labor funds will also be used to insure that asbestos removal workers are properly trained to do their job and licensed by the state to carry out abatement projects. Removal not performed by a trained professional could result in improper handling of toxic materials and the spread of dangerous asbestos fibers. Asbestos has long been a known carcinogen and anyone who inhales these toxic fibers could be a candidate for developing such diseases as pleural mesothelioma , a cancer that attacks the lining of the lungs. It is very difficult to treat and many victims die within a year of diagnosis .

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Work Continues at BoRit Asbestos Site

By on Tuesday, August 14th, 2012 | No Comments

A suburban Philadelphia Superfund site where asbestos from a nearby plant was dumped for decades is entering another phase of clean-up, according to an article in the Montgomery News. The location known as the BoRit asbestos site is located in Ambler Borough, Upper Dublin, and Whitpain Township, just outside the border with Philadelphia . According to the EPA, the site “was used to dispose of asbestos-containing material from the early 1900s to the late 1960s that came from a nearby asbestos-manufacturing plant.” The EPA explains that the site is divided into three parcels: an asbestos waste pile, a reservoir owned by Wissahickon Waterfowl Preserve, and a former park and playground owned by Whitpain Township. This week, crews began to stabilize to stabilize the stream bank and reservoir, which EPA authorities say were extremely contaminated. Stabilization was accomplished by installing concrete mats along the creek bed at Rose Valley Creek, the article explains. The next step, officials say, is to cover the former park area with a fabric liner, two feet of clean fill, six inches of top soil, grass, and straw mats that will control erosion. The cover is designed to protect human health and to prevent any further asbestos exposure , which can cause asbestosis and mesotheli oma cancer . The EPA hopes the cover will be complete by January or February 2013. Local residents have long been worried about what remains at the site and have kept close ties with the EPA to determine the dangers that lurk at BoRit. The agency has done significant testing in the past. “Activity based sampling of the soil, air, groundwater, surface water and sediment was collected between 2009 and 2011 along private properties adjacent to the BoRit site, and the results of those samples are being quality checked and compiled to prepare for upcoming risk assessments,” confirmed Ruth Wuenschel, Superfund community involvement coordinator for the EPA. When all the data analysis is complete, she added, the EPA will complete additional risk assessments to determine the potential human and ecological risks of asbestos exposure at the BoRit site.

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Could infection contribute to a possible leukemia cluster in Fallon?

By on Wednesday, June 27th, 2012 | No Comments

Dr. STEPHEN S. FRANCIS, of the Center for Integrative Research on Childhood Leukemia and the Environment at the University of California Berkeley, discusses whether infectious agents may have contributed to a possible cluster of childhood leukemia cases in Fallon Nevada. A role for an infectious agent, in this case a virus, is suggested because there was a spike in cases of childhood leukemia in US military dependent populations at around the same time; Fallon had a naval air station that brought military personnel into the town; and the locations where children with the disease lived tended to be in areas where transmission by mosquitoes might occur. This was part of a symposium organized by the Office of Environmental Health Hazard Assessment oehha.ca.gov the Pediatric Environmental Health Specialty Unit at UCSF coeh.berkeley.edu and the Center for Integrative Research on Childhood Leukemia and the Environment at the University of California Berkeley circle.berkeley.edu. Research funding is from the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences and US EPA. Views expressed are not those of these agencies.

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Asbestos Closes a Pennsylvania County Law Library…Again

By on Tuesday, June 12th, 2012 | No Comments

Last year, the Northampton County Courthouse Law Library in Easton closed due to concerns about the presence of toxic asbestos. It re-opened last week after the county spent more than $140,000 for abatement, but closed two days later when employees found that all the toxic dust hadn’t been removed. An article in the Express-Times reports that the library opened last Monday and Tuesday with director of administration Tom Harp announcing that the library only needed to be refurbished before it would once again be fully operational. However, on Friday, several workers found what was described as “a thin, two-foot-long strip of white dust” on a shelf after the items on top of it had been removed. Testing showed that the material was 15 percent asbestos . The library, situated in the county seat of Easton , was promptly closed once more. Now, the companies that performed the asbestos removal have been called in again to wipe down the library and – this time – make sure it is absolutely asbestos-free. “We live in an age where you have to take these things seriously,” said County Executive John Stoffa. He noted that he was confident that the issue would be under control shortly and added that he believes no one was put in danger during the two days the library was open. However, Monday and Tuesday were the first two days of what the article dubbed “criminal week”, the two busiest days of the month for the long-closed library. The library closed last year when Northampton County Controller Stephen Barron and a group of concerned employees talked to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) about what they believed to be hazardous working conditions. The employees said that the county was not taking the issue of air quality seriously. The EPA did indeed investigate, but no findings have been released. A county maintenance mechanic, Ted Harris, said he was disappointed that the county’s employee safety board was not in on the plans for the clean-up of the law library. He believes that with their input, the latest debacle may have been avoided. Harris and other county employees are concerned about asbestos exposure, which can lead to the development of mesothelioma cancer , and have had input on asbestos abatement projects elsewhere in Northampton County.

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Federal Court Reinstates EPA Whistleblower after 9/11 Asbestos Dust Warnings

By on Thursday, May 17th, 2012 | No Comments

Justice is served for a former EPA chemist who was wrongfully fired for exposing the government for withholding facts about the dangers of toxic dust from the World Trade Center buildings after the 9/11 Attacks. Cate Jenkins was reinstated recently as a federal court determined she deserved her job and back pay.

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EPA Chemist Who Exposed Toxic 9/11 Dust Reinstated

By on Saturday, May 12th, 2012 | No Comments

Yesterday Cate Jenkins was reinstated in her former position as a chemist with the United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) after blowing the whistle on the government for allegedly covering up how dangerous the dust at the 9/11 sites were to first responders. Jenkins was the first EPA official to issue warnings about the corrosive dust emanating from the downed Twin Towers . After 9/11, the corrosive dust was found to cause extensive lung damage to first responders, with some of the lung damage becoming permanent. At the time, many of the affected first responders – including police, fire and emergency workers – were not given proper or adequate protective gear that would have prevented extensive inhalation of the toxic dust. In the wake of 9/11, Christine Todd Whitman, the former administrator for the EPA, was warned by the Bush administration to not disclose the health risks from the corrosive dust. As a whistleblower, Jenkins called out the EPA for intentionally covering up the health dangers which included toxic amounts of cement particles , glass fibers, lead and airborne asbestos. Further, the dust rising from Ground Zero had an extremely high pH level which, when breathed in, would be akin to inhaling powdered chemicals. Essentially, the dust included toxins that would wreck havoc in the body from the brain to the lungs. Asbestos, a known human carcinogen, is the only cause of mesothelioma , a deadly form of cancer. Most commonly, mesothelioma affects the lining of the lungs, though it may also affect the linings of the heart and abdominal wall. Pleural mesothelioma , as this form is known, results from direct exposure to asbestos . Many 9/11 first responders have been diagnosed with mesothelioma, other lung conditions and different types of cancer because of the lack of protective gear and the Bush administration’s downplay of the imminent health dangers of the World Trade Center dust. In 2010, Jenkins was officially terminated from her position with the EPA. Jenkins will be reinstated with back pay.

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Libby City-County Health Committee Seeks to Continue Addressing Asbestos Exposure Issues

By on Tuesday, May 1st, 2012 | No Comments

A proposed Libby Board of Health initiative, funded in total by a grant from the Environmental Protection Agency, will look for ways to reduce public exposure to dangerous amphibole asbestos during clean-up of the EPA Superfund site and will also determine what role it can play – along with the town’s citizens – in reducing any further exposure after clean-up is complete. Allen Payne, a member of the Libby City-County Health Committee, notes that he hopes the initiative will provide an opportunity for local citizens who have been directly affected by the W.R. Grace asbestos-tainted vermiculite disaster to have direct input on how the naturally-occurring amphibole asbestos from the Grace mine will be managed in the community in the future. “As most Lincoln County residents already know, Libby amphibole asbestos is a naturally occurring mineral contained in the vermiculite mined by W.R. Grace in the Libby area,” said Payne, the spokesperson for the committee. “Since 1999, the EPA has been removing vermiculite and Libby amphibole-contaminated materials from residential, commercial and public properties throughout South Lincoln County. EPA’s cleanup effort is ongoing and may continue for a number of years, but eventually, the EPA will complete its cleanup work,” Payne added. When all the EPA trucks have departed and the community is once again left on its own, it’s important to have a plan in place, committee members note. That’s why the Board of Health stresses that its primary goal is to encourage participation and discussion from community members, many of whom are struggling with asbestos-related diseases like asbestosis and others who have lost loved ones to the cancer known as mesothelioma . More than 400 Libby residents have already died due to asbestos exposure and another approximately 1,800 are sick. To kick off this initiative, the Board of Health has hired a program coordinator as well as an environmental and engineering consulting firm. They will assist in reviewing existing local health regulations and will help to put educational programs and other resources in place to assist local residents in keeping future asbestos releases and exposure to a minimum.

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Union: Police Officers on Capitol Hill Endangered by Recent Asbestos Abatement

By on Wednesday, April 25th, 2012 | No Comments

Even with the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) close by, police officers on Capitol Hill were not warned about or protected from the nearby asbestos abatement project that was conducted the past three months, according to their union.

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County Courthouse Plagued with Asbestos Issues

By on Friday, April 20th, 2012 | No Comments

Clean-up of the Northampton County (PA) Courthouse law library began this week, just five years after workers removed asbestos tiles from the same area inside the courthouse in 2007. County officials say they have no idea how asbestos wound up back in the library but they’re determine that – this time – all asbestos will be removed from the busy building. According to an article in The Express-Times, workers will take four to six weeks to remove asbestos fibers from the library room and will have to clean reference books and other items that may have become contaminated with toxic asbestos dust over the years. The law library at the courthouse in Easton is just one of three locations owned by the county that has had to undergo asbestos removal. It’s been closed for nearly 11 months, shutting its doors shortly after the EPA was notified that there was indeed toxic asbestos inside the room. In addition, a storage area in the basement is being cleaned as well due to fears that asbestos dust has accumulated on surfaces there. Gracedale, the county-owned nursing home, recently contended with asbestos in their basement as well, and parts of that facility just reopened after being closed for more than a month. Employees at Gracedale and at the other county facilities in question have continuously complained about the presence of the toxic mineral, they say, but they have been largely ignored by county officials, confirms Stephen Barron, a Controller for Northampton County. Other concerned officials have also been rallying the county to address the asbestos situation, recognizing the fact that asbestos exposure can cause the development of diseases such as asbestosis and mesothelioma . Ted Harris, who serves on the county employee safety committee, says he’s been after the county to make amends and to spend money to remove the hazardous material. The situation, he says, has improved slightly. It is likely that fines will be imposed, he added, though the county hasn’t heard from the EPA in months.

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Controversy Continues Over Clean-up at Raymark Site

By on Tuesday, April 17th, 2012 | No Comments

Residents of Stratford, Connecticut and environmental regulators are still at odds as to how to best clear decades worth of toxic soil from the Raymark property, a designated Superfund site that continues to be of great concern to locals. Save Stratford, a network of concerned residents, is pushing the EPA to explore the possibility of using a procedure known as “thermochemical conversion” to clean-up the property. This particular process, developed by ARI Technologies of Seattle, neutralizes chrysotile asbestos and biphenyls, two primary components of the waste left behind by Raymark, a company that manufactured gaskets, clutches, and heavy brake friction products at the Stratford, Connecticut site for 70 years. But while the biphenyls and asbestos will be addressed by the thermonuclear conversion, EPA officials worry that other materials left behind – mainly lead and copper – will not be neutralized. That means the processed soil will need to be encapsulated under several layers of clean soil in order to prevent contact with the lead and copper contaminants. “That’s always been the problem here,” said Ron Jennings, an EPA project manager for Raymark waste remediation. “There’s no silver bullet for this kind of waste stream.” The EPA has continually pointed out that ARI has never used thermonuclear conversion to neutralize brake pad material, and that concerns them. “There’s an awful lot of uncertainty,” said Jim Murphy, a community outreach coordinator for the EPA. “We don’t know what’s going to happen. It may work, it may not.” Also, the EPA noted, ARI Technologies may not be willing to fund the pilot testing at the Raymark site. It’s typical for the vendor to fund these tests, they say. But Erin Holroyd, co-founded of Save Stratford, says the money it would cost for testing is money they’re willing to spend. “We’ve clearly (thrown) away more than $100,000 on other things that have moved us nowhere,” Holroyd said. “So this is just another option. This is just another shot. Why would we not take it? This is something that it potentially better than anything else we’ve had available to us before.” In the meantime, Town Council Chairman Joe Kubic thinks the government isn’t doing enough to help. Whether or not thermonuclear conversion is used, Kubic just wants to see the site cleaned up. He and others constantly worry about the health of those who live and work nearby, concerned about issues that include the development of asbestos diseases like mesothelioma and disorders that are caused by exposure to other toxins as well. “The town of Stratford can’t take it anymore,” Kubic stressed at a meeting last week.

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