When the Indiana Daily Student newspaper reported in 2005 damaged asbestos in four campus dormitories posed a health risk, Indiana University promised to complete asbestos removal in the residence halls within ten years. Now the school says that its residence halls will be asbestos-free by 2012. Asbestos is present in many of the classrooms and buildings at IU because most were built before 1980, when asbestos was phased out as an insulation material. Since the student newspaper published its articles on the subject in 2005, the school has adopted a more rigorous inspection policy and communications program to alert students to risks. Today, asbestos removal occurs continuously at Indiana University, and a full-time asbestos removal crew has been charged with the job of inspecting, maintaining and removing asbestos throughout the campus.

For the full story, go to the Indiana Daily Student.

Edited by John E. Craighead and Allen R. Gibbs. 403 pp., illustrated. New York, Oxford University Press, 2008.

“Libby, Montana,” a documentary about the town poisoned by asbestos from the mining operations of W.R. Grace Corporation, has been nominated for a National News and Documentary Emmy. High Plains Films’ Doug Hawes Davis and Drury Gunn Carr, both of Missoula, made the film in 2004. The documentary was broadcast last year on PBS and has received rave reviews. The Emmy winners in the National News and Documentary category will be announced in September in New York.

For the full story, go to Missoula’s New West.

What is mesothelioma cancer? What is a mesothelioma attorney? Why do I need a mesothelioma attorney? Do I have a mesothelioma case? What is involved in a mesothelioma trial? What can I expect in a mesothelioma ...

LegalView reported a breakthrough test on its mesothelioma blog, which will allow early detection of mesothelioma cancer.

LegalView reported a breakthrough test on its mesothelioma blog, which will allow early detection of mesothelioma cancer.

Malignant pleural mesothelioma is a rare, aggressive tumor for which no effective therapy exists despite the discovery of many possible molecular and genetic targets.

Malignant pleural mesothelioma is a rare, aggressive tumor for which no effective therapy exists despite the discovery of many possible molecular and genetic targets.

Many of Canada’s streets—including some in Toronto and Calgary—are lined not with gold, but with asbestos. The Alberta Federation of Labour doesn’t like it. The labor union has accused the city government of Calgary in particular of treating the discovery of an asbestos-contaminated asphalt roadway far too casually. Calling asbestos “one of the worst workplace killers in Canada,” AFL President Gil McGowan has noted that Canada’s Occupational Health and Safety Code requires measures for both worker and public safety in circumstances where asbestos may be released. McGowan has stressed that asbestos exposure can cause serious disease, including “mesothelioma, a malignant cancer whose only known cause is exposure to asbestos.” The labor president encouraged Calgary to take the same precautions used by Toronto, where the streets are also paved with asbestos: require road construction workers to wear hazmat suits, keep down the dust, and inform citizens of the risks and necessary safety measures. McGowan also urged that future paving projects should be asbestos-free.

For the full story, go to Energy News.

A BROMYARD woman died from asbestos exposure which she may have suffered when working for Worcestershire County Council, an inquest has heard.