Malcom McLaren dies from mesothelioma
The former band manager for both the American rock group New York Dolls and the English punk group the Sex Pistols died recently from mesothelioma. Malcom McLaren was suffering from what he suspected was lung cancer at the beginning of last year, but his doctor at the time assured him that he had nothing to worry about even though some benign growths had recently been detected on his lungs. Just a few months after he was told not to worry, it was discovered that he did in fact have mesothelioma, a rare form of lung cancer that is aggressive and terminal. Malcom’s partner Young Kim is considering taking legal action against Malcom’s doctor on the grounds that his conclusions were inexcusably incorrect.
Mesothelioma is a cancer that develops around the lungs or abdomen in some three thousand people annually in the United States. The cancer has been conclusively linked to asbestos exposure, and is among the several asbestos related diseases that prompted the ban of asbestos products throughout much of the developed world. While asbestos restrictions in place in the United States and the European Union among other places may be effectively reducing asbestos exposure to specific populations, asbestos exposure worldwide is certainly not under control with mesothelioma diagnoses reaching an estimated ninety thousand annually.
Asbestos is used for its insulating, fire retarding, and strengthening properties, and is favored for its cost efficiency and ease of fabrication. All sorts of industrial products from pipes to cement additives to fireproof cloths are created from the dangerous substance and available to commercial markets in developing nations.
McLaren’s mesothelioma was most likely the result of asbestos exposure that occurred in his shop. His shop was constructed before the establishment of strict asbestos regulations in the 1980′s, and, according to his former partner contained asbestos board in several places. McLaren frequently performed radical renovations on the premises including tearing a large hole in the ceiling that made the shop look as if it had been hit by a bomb. These types of renovations could have resulted in airborne asbestos fibers and subsequently asbestos contamination.
Malcolm McLaren died under care in a clinic in Switzerland, but his body was returned to London for burial.
Dallas family awarded $11 million in asbestos lawsuit
A jury in Dallas, Texas has awarded $11 million to the family of Vernon Walker, who was exposed to asbestos fibers during his lifelong painting career. Many of the products that he worked with on a day to day basis were contaminated with asbestos up until 1978 when the Consumer Products Safety Commission instated a ban on asbestos in the workplace.
Walker developed mesothelioma, a rare, aggressive form of terminal cancer that has been conclusively linked to asbestos exposure. When individuals are exposed to asbestos fibers, the microscopic, needle like particles of the substance can enter their body through accidental ingestion or inhalation. The fibers are far too small for the body to expel using normal methods, and in time they can pass through the lung or intestinal walls and settle into the mesothelium – a protective tissue that encases our body’s organs.
Once settled in the mesothelium, asbestos fibers cause a severe tissue scarring reaction which can eventually lead to the development of malignant tumors. Mesothelioma affects around three thousand individuals annually in the United States alone, and nearly thirty times that world wide. While advances in medical science have been promising in the last few decades, the disease remains incurable and carries a dismal prognosis. Mesothelioma patients are often told that they have less than eighteen months to finalize their affairs.
Baron and Budd, P.C., represented Walker and his wife Patsy. In the release covering the verdict, the couples’ attorney John Langdoc was reported as saying “The asbestos industry has spent decades developing false science used to argue that asbestos is safe…Asbestos industry witnesses in this case continued to push asbestos industry false science that the shape or the length or even the mining location of the asbestos fibers sold by these companies meant they could not cause cancer, which has been rejected by every mainstream scientific organization in the world, and fortunately rejected by this jury.”
Veterans hospital in NY to undergo asbestos abatement
The Stratton VA Medical Center will be performing a series of renovations and improvements using funds from the federal stimulus that were awarded earlier this year. The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act is responsible for distributing the $16.4 million that will help the veterans’ hospital to upgrade their equipment and improve their facilities. Mary-Ellen Pich, the director of the medical center, said “We had projects on the shelf ready to go and were able to start projects fairly quickly, so we got our share of the money.”
The Department of Veteran’s Affairs is awarding more than a billion dollars in stimulus dollars, $110 million of which will go to New York VA hospitals such as Stratton. Stratton isn’t struggling for money, and with an annual budget of nearly $200 million it may seem like $16.4 million can’t be expected to make a substantial difference for area veterans. Pich, however, says that the federal money is a real boost. The funds will be used to address some of the less critical but consistently “nagging” projects that have been shelved in preference for higher profile, more standard upkeep and improvements.
One such project is the removal of asbestos construction materials from the building. Asbestos was used to insulate pipes in the hospital, as well as for various other insulating and strengthening purposes in alignment with the construction practices of the day. It’s now known that asbestos contamination can lead to serious health complications, including the development of mesothelioma, a rare, aggressive and terminal cancer.
Mesothelioma claims the lives of some three thousand Americans every year, most of whom were exposed to the dangerous fibers in their workplace. In the past few decades, asbestos sheeting and fabrics found in roofing tiles, wall insulation, pipe insulation and other products have become a public safety concern. Federal and state regulations require that specially trained contractors are hired to properly handle and dispose of the substance to minimize exposure risks, and urge public facilities to undergo asbestos abatement as soon as possible.
“This building is over 60 years old, and certainly renovations give us the opportunity to deliver health care in an appropriate environment,” said Pich.
Nearly three million dollars will be spent on the removal of asbestos products from the building, placing it as the second most expensive individual project. The remainder of the budget will be spent on modernizing equipment, facility expansion, window replacement, new air handling units, improved laboratories, and more.
