Category: Asbestos Exposure
Environmental Investigator Oversees NY Asbestos Probes
Justus Derx, a federal environmental crimes investigator, has taken part in more than 100 investigations involving large scale asbestos violations, including a probe of a Utica, New York family involved in an illegal asbestos removal coverup scheme.
Asbestos, a mineral fiber long used in building materials, is a human carcinogen. Inhaling asbestos dust can cause mesothelioma, a cancer of the lining of the lung or abdomen, lung cancer or asbestosis, a chronic scarring of the lungs. Because of the toxicity of asbestos to humans, federal laws strictly regulate the removal and disposal of asbestos to prevent inhaling asbestos dust.
But some asbestos removal contractors try to remove asbestos without following rules or falsify reports showing no lingering asbestos dust. That gets the attention of Derx.
“I’ve gone to a lot of places where people have been put in situations where I know their health and the environment have been put at serious risk,” Derx said in a Washington Post profile article.
An accountant by training, Derx serves as the resident agent-in-charge of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s Syracuse, New York office. An investigation by Derx and his team led to criminal charges, indictment and conviction of three members of the Mancuso family in 2009 for illegal asbestos removal activities at numerous locations throughout central and upstate New York.
Paul Mancuso of Utica, NY and members of his family had engaged in numerous illegal asbestos removal projects at schools, businesses and homes, then had workers dump asbestos in the fields of unsuspecting property owners, according to a U.S. Justice Department press release.
Derx said it’s not unusual to go through hundreds of boxes and millions of documents to discover the history of a company and individuals involved in a criminal investigation. Another Derx investigation involved a company that improperly removed asbestos from buildings, then provided fraudulent air monitoring results to clients. That detailed investigation also led to convictions.
Derx said the common motivation of environmental criminals was greed.
Approximately 3,000 Americans are diagnosed with mesothelioma each year. Many are exposed to asbestos decades before symptoms of mesothelioma, an aggressive cancer, begin to appear.
Mesothelioma Early Detection Test Shows Promise For Improving Treatment Options
Researchers from New York University Langone Medical Center presented promising research this week on a new diagnostic test designed to identify mesothelioma at an early stage.
Mesothelioma is an aggressive cancer of the lining of the lung or abdomen associated with breathing asbestos dust. Because the diagnosis is difficult, the asbestos-related cancer often goes undetected until it has reached an advanced stage, limiting patients’ treatment options.
The NYU cancer researchers used a a new diagnostic blood assay test to identify proteins secreted by malignant mesothelioma tumors. Developed by the biotechnology company SomaLogic Inc., the test measures protein biomarkers found in the blood. Using the simple blood test, the NYU researchers identified 19 biomarkers associated with malignant mesothelioma. The aim is to detect mesothelioma early enough to allow for effective treatments, and improve survival rates and the quality of life for patients with mesothelioma.
In a presentation at the annual meeting of the American Association for Cancer Research, the research team, led by NYU cardiothoracic surgeon Harvey Pass, reported comparing 170 blood samples from 90 patients diagnosed with malignant mesothelioma and 80 patients who had been exposed to asbestos, but who had not diagnosed with cancer. Using the protein detection assay, the researchers detected 15 of 19 cases of stage 1 or stage 2 malignant pleural mesothelioma.
Between 1940 and 1979, approximately 27.5 million people were exposed to asbestos in workplaces in the U.S. Symptoms of mesothelioma typically take 20 to 40 years to appear after asbestos exposure so many people will be diagnosed with mesothelioma in the coming decades who were exposed to asbestos in the 20th century.
Approximately 3,000 new cases of mesothelioma are diagnosed each year in the U.S., and the researchers estimated the disease would not peak for another 20 years.
Asbestos Exposure Causes Cell Damage that Leads to Mesothelioma
Normal cells transform into cancer cells because of damage to DNA, the material within a cell that provides each person’s genetic blueprint. Most DNA damage is caused by abnormalities that occur while a normal cell is reproducing or because of obvious environmental factors such as cigarette smoking or asbestos, a human carcinogen.
Breathing asbestos dust allows microscopic fibers to penetrate the lungs and damage the mesothelial cells, the layer of specialized cells that cover many internal organs including the lungs, abdomen and heart. Asbestos exposure causes various kinds of DNA damage and eventually leads to a signature cancer called malignant mesothelioma.
Malignant mesothelioma produces tumors that grow uncontrollably in the lining of the lung or abdomen. If the tumors first appear in the lining of the lung, the cancer is known as pleural mesothelioma. If a person swallows asbestos fibers, the mesothelioma may appear initially in the abdominal cavity. It is called peritoneal mesothelioma. On rare occasions, mesothelioma tumors may appear in the lining of the heart, a form of cancer called pericardial mesothelioma.
Mesothelioma is typically classified as one of three subtypes depending on the appearance of the cell structure under a microscope. The most common cell subtype is epitheliod. About 50 to 60 percent of people with mesothelioma have this type and patients with this type of mesothelioma have a better prognosis, according to the American Cancer Society.
About 10 to 20 percent of mesotheliomas are sarcomatoid and 30 to 40 percent contain a mix of epitheliod and scarmatoid cells.
Most cases of mesothelioma are linked to exposure to asbestos in a workplace, though the symptoms may not appear until decades after exposure when the worker is retired or near retirement. About three out of four people with mesothelioma are older than 65 years old. The risk of developing mesothelioma corresponds to how much asbestos a person was exposed to and how long the asbestos exposure lasted. The risk of developing mesothelioma is a lifetime risk for people exposed to asbestos.
Asbestos In All Forms Including Chrysotile Causes Deadly Mesothelioma
The owner of the Jeffrey Mine in Quebec awaits a decision this month from the provincial government of Quebec on a request for $58 million in loan guarantees to reopen the asbestos mine.
In an article in The New York Times, G. Bernard Colombe, president of Mine Jeffrey, discusses his plan to revitalize the mine located in the town of Asbestos and export asbestos to nations such as India, Pakistan and Vietnam, countries that have weak worker safety laws. Colombe repeats the old asbestos industry canard that chrysotile asbestos is safe.
Asbestos describes a group of mineral fibers and all forms of asbestos cause cancer, according to the World Health Organization. Asbestos causes a signature cancer, mesothelioma that produces malignant tumors in the lining of the lungs or abdomen as well as lung cancer and asbestosis, a chronic scarring of the lung. About 3,000 Americans die of mesothelioma each year from exposure to asbestos decades ago. Asbestos-containing products such as pipe, insulation, roofing and cement are still widely used in many Asian countries and workers saw and hammer the building materials without knowing that they are breathing deadly asbestos.
Given the recognized health hazards of asbestos, medical and health organizations in Canada, the United States and Great Britain have condemned the proposed reopening of the mine and export chrysotile asbestos. Canada is one of the world’s leading exporters of asbestos and has blocked attempts by the United Nations to increase awareness of the dangers of asbestos among developing nations.
The World Health Organization says that all forms of asbestos cause cancer in humans including mesothelioma, lung cancer and cancer of the larynx and ovary. According to the most recent WHO estimates, more than 107,000 people die each year from asbestos-related lung cancer, mesothelioma and asbestosis. One in every three deaths of cancer contracted in the workplace is caused by asbestos.
The World Health Organization says the most efficient way to eliminate asbestos-related disease is to stop the use of all forms of asbestos.
New Leaders Committed to Seeking Cure for Mesothelioma
A woman who lost her 33-year-old son to mesothelioma and a doctor whose work led to the only chemotherapy drug approved to date to treat asbestos-related cancer will lead the national organization that provides patient support and funds peer-reviewed research on mesothelioma.
Hanne Mintz and Dr. Axel Hanauske will serve as 2011 co-chairs of the Mesothelioma Applied Research Foundation, the non-profit national organization announced. Malignant pleural mesothelioma is a cancer of the lining of the lungs caused by inhaling asbestos particles. The symptoms of the disease typically appear decades after exposure to asbestos, a mineral fiber used in building materials and insulation. About 3,000 Americans die each year of mesothelioma.
Dr. Hanauske is global brand development leader for Eli Lilly & Co., and is a professor of medicine at the Technical Institute in Munich, Germany, where his team of researchers discovered the effectiveness of chemotherapy using Alimta/Cisplatin in treating mesothelioma. Alimta, which is given in combination with Cisplatin, another cancer drug, works by blocking enzymes that are believes to spur growth of mesothelioma tumors. Alimta is distributed by Eli Lilly & Co.
Dr. Hanauske said he has seen advances in mesothelioma treatment and feels a responsibility to keep developing new treatments option until a cure is found for mesothelioma.
Hanne Mintz, whose son Adam died of mesothelioma, is owner of Paragon Language Services, Inc., a professional translation and interpreting agency in Los Angeles, CA. Ms. Mintz began seeking a cure for meosthelioma when her son was first diagnosed and has pledged to support the Meso Foundation in its efforts to advance mesothelioma research and save lives.
“It instills hope that researchers around the world are choosing to concentrate their efforts on the underfunded, under-recognized and not-so-glamorous world of mesothelioma,” Ms. Mintz said in a statement. “Research holds the answers while funding is its lifeblood; this is why the Foundation relies heavily on its generous supporters to ensure that promising research is rewarded with adequate funding. I look forward to seeing the pieces of the puzzle fall into place during my tenure.”
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