A Liberal Democrat Councillor has accused Labour council members of deliberately delaying the publication of a report into negligence at Wear Valley Council because the findings would be damaging to the Labour ...

A developer in Denver has created a popular new housing community on the site of the former Stapleton International Airport, property once contaminated with asbestos and de-icing chemicals. Such former industrial sites, known as brownfields, are now frequently being redeveloped for residential and commercial use across the country. More than 500 properties have been redeveloped with EPA incentives such as revolving loan funds and grants. Real estate developers have also been encouraged by a 2002 rule change that shifts liability for harm caused by any toxins remaining on such properties from the developers to those who actually contaminated the properties in the first place. As for the new communities’ residents, often they don’t even know that they are living on soil once contaminated with deadly substances.

For the full story, go to Foster’s Daily Democrat.

Officials in Curacao have sealed the flagship of the Church of Scientology, after dockworkers found dangerous levels of blue asbestos during routine repairs while the ship was in dry dock there. According to the ship’s architect, Lawrence Woodcraft, the Church of Scientology has known of the asbestos problem for over twenty years, yet has done nothing to fix it. When the Church of Scientology began renovating the ship in 1987, said Woodcraft, the dangerous blue asbestos was discovered throughout. Though Woodcraft reports that he informed senior Scientology management of the health risk to passengers and workers, Church officials hid the problem. Woodcraft has explained that Scientologists reasoned that since L. Ron Hubbard, the group’s founder, had never said that asbestos was dangerous, there was no risk involved. In apparent keeping with Scientology’s earlier approach to the problem, the current captain of the ship failed to alert the crew after Curacao dock workers accidentally released the asbestos dust into the ventilation system. Since 1987, thousands of passengers have traveled on the contaminated ship, many of whom may have been exposed to asbestos dust stirred up by the ship’s movement and routine maintenance work.

Main Category: Cancer / Oncology Also Included In: Respiratory / Asthma ; Conferences Article Date: 29 May 2008 - 0:00 PDT Leading international experts on the asbestos-related cancer, mesothelioma, will join ...

Back in 1988, the Bennington School District in Vermont was happy to receive $88,000 in aid from the State to cover the cost of asbestos removal from Catamount Elementary School. But when the District sold the school to a local real estate developer in 2007, it sought a waiver from a Vermont state law requiring districts to reimburse funds from construction projects that receive state aid after a school is sold, either by repaying the aid given in full or a percentage of the school sale price, whichever is smaller. With Vermont’s legislative session winding down and no action having been taken on the request, however, it looks as though the Bennington School District will have to pay the piper.

For the full story, go to the Bennington Banner.

Mesothelioma most often affects the lining of the lungs A new asbestos compensation scheme has been welcomed by a Londonderry woman whose husband died of a related cancer.

The Victorian Government will make legislative changes so asbestos sufferers can receive more compensation.

In May of 2006, during renovation of a car barn owned by the city of East Liverpool, Ohio, the city removed old asbestos pipe insulation from unused water piping and buried it in a clean landfill site also owned by the city. After the fact, the city then notified the Ohio EPA of the occurrence and paid Cardinal Environmental Services to clean up the asbestos at both the car barn and the landfill. Despite the city’s uncover-up, the Ohio EPA has found that the asbestos removal was done without prior EPA approval, without proper safeguards and handling and without proper disposal. The Ohio EPA proposes to settle its claims for civil penalties against the city for $30,000. Should the city refuse, Ohio EPA Director Chris Korleski has threatened “referral of the matter to the Ohio Attorney General’s Office for legal action.”

For the full story, go to The Review.

Inhaling long and thin carbon nanotubes could be as harmful to health as exposure to asbestos fibres, according to a new study which urges industry and policymakers to ensure the safe development of this ...

The police have stopped the investigation of the murder-suicide of a family in County Wexford, Ireland because high levels of asbestos were found in the home. A fire broke out in the house after the parents were killed by gunshot. The fire is likely to have released asbestos into the air and caused the high levels of dangerous asbestos fibers in the house. Protective gear has been ordered, but it is not clear how long it will be before the investigation can continue.

For the full story, go to the Irish Examiner.