Asbestos

Deutsche Welle Turkey

In Hatay, southern Turkey, crews are still demolishing buildings that were heavily damaged in the earthquake that struck on February 6, 2023, and killed tens of thousands of people. Yellow diggers move piles of leftover rubble, kicking up clouds of dust that shroud the city. An expert team from the Turkish Chamber of Environmental Engineers collected dust samples in Hatay, which were then analyzed by AGT Vonka Engineering and Laboratory Services, an internationally accredited laboratory, for DW. The investigation shows the presence of asbestos in the region despite official claims to the contrary.  For full text, click here.

WRAL News by Allison Giron and Marilyn Upchurch Albuquerque, NM

Willful and serious. That is how New Mexico’s Environment Department’s Occupational Health and Safety Bureau (OHSB) describes the City of Albuquerque’s actions in ignoring asbestos while renovating the Gateway Center. The state organization levied its largest fine ever against the City of Albuquerque. The debris was swept up with brooms and thrown in the trash. Workers were not wearing PPE and all this was done while the HVAC system was still running, possibly transporting the dust through the building.  For the full text, click here.

Inside EPA US

Advocates for banning commercial imports and use of asbestos are rallying to push a legislative ban over the finish line with the help of a new and unusual ally, Olin Corp. — one of the largest remaining users of the mineral — and a little-noticed provision in last year’s spending bill they say resolves a battle over asbestos-contaminated talc that sunk a prior bill. For the full text, click here. 

KREM CBS Spokane, WA

Weeks after the Oregon Road and Gray fires burned through parts of Spokane County, heartache turned into headaches for homeowners who lost everything to the flames. That’s because many of them are finding out they’re required to get an asbestos test before they clean up the debris. One reason it’s become a headache is the question of how much it’ll cost. One woman who spoke to KREM 2 anonymously says she was told it could be anywhere from $200 to $2,000. That question was on the minds of many attending a recent community meeting in Medical Lake, which touched on debris management. There, officials shared each burned structure needs to be tested for asbestos before cleanup begins. For full text, click here.

Environmental Factor Philadelphia, PA

NIEHS grantees from the University of Pennsylvania (Penn) Department of Earth and Environmental Science recently discovered that bacteria from extreme marine environments have the potential to detoxify asbestos. Their study, published in the journal Applied and Environmental Microbiology, suggests that the marine microbes may be better candidates for asbestos bioremediation than previously tested fungi and soil bacteria. Pérez-Rodríguez teamed with Reto Gieré, Ph.D., who has a long history characterizing asbestos minerals. They thought that these extremophilic microbes might be good candidates for asbestos bioremediation because they use inorganic compounds and interact with a variety of minerals in their natural environments. For full text, click here.

AP by Matthew Brown

Billings, MT – A health clinic in a Montana town plagued by deadly asbestos contamination has filed for bankruptcy protection after a judge ordered it to pay the government almost $6 million in penalties and damages for submitting hundreds of false claims for benefits. A seven-person jury in June found the clinic submitted 337 false claims that made patients eligible for Medicare and other benefits they shouldn’t have received. The federally-funded clinic has been at the forefront of the medical response to deadly pollution from mining near Libby that left the town and the surrounding area contaminated with toxic asbestos dust.  For full text, click here.

Washington, DC – EPA released a white paper as part of its Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) Risk Evaluation for Asbestos Part 2 – Supplemental Evaluation Including Legacy Uses and Associated Disposals of Asbestos for public comment and peer review. The white paper presents EPA’s quantitative approach for the human health assessment for part 2 of the risk evaluation for asbestos, which will include all fiber types and legacy uses. The agency will release the draft risk evaluation for asbestos part 2 for public comment early next year. EPA is releasing this white paper ahead of the full draft risk evaluation for public comment and peer review to allow for a focused review of key technical aspects that will benefit from independent expert review and advice. EPA will accept public comments on the white paper for 60 days following publication via docket EPA-HQ-OPPT-2023-0309 at www.regulations.gov. These comments will be collated and provided to peer reviewers for their consideration. For full text, click here.

KATU2 ABC

Portland, OR – State and local agencies are investigating possible health concerns from the ash that fell over Northeast Portland’s Parkrose neighborhood when a former Kmart building burned on Wednesday. Some debris that fell at Luuwit View Park tested positive for asbestos, the Oregon Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ) said. They found more charred pieces and heavy dust from the fire in nearby yards and on Parkrose School District Property. The Parkrose School District canceled all outdoor school and rental activities on the Parkrose campus. For the full text of the article, click here.

E&E News by Matthew Brown and Amy Beth Hanson

Washington, DC – BNSF Railway — controlled by billionaire Warren Buffet’s Berkshire Hathaway conglomerate and found liable for spreading hazardous asbestos that killed hundreds of people in Libby is trying to convince a federal jury that a local clinic submitted hundreds of asbestos claims for people who weren’t sick, earning them lifetime government benefits. The case focuses on the Center For Asbestos Related Disease in Libby, and the health clinic’s high-profile doctor, Brad Black, who has been at the forefront of efforts to help residents of the town, which came to national prominence when it was declared a deadly Superfund site in 2000. For the full text, click here.

ProRepublica

National – Citing ProPublica’s reporting, lawmakers on Thursday reintroduced a bill that would ban the use of asbestos in the United States, bringing it in line with dozens of countries that have outlawed the carcinogenic substance. Even though asbestos is known to cause deadly diseases, the U.S. still allows companies to import hundreds of tons of the raw mineral. It is primarily used by two chemical manufacturers, OxyChem and Olin Corp., in the production of chlorine. The legislation, called the Alan Reinstein Ban Asbestos Now Act of 2023, would ban the import and use of all six types of asbestos fibers. It would give OxyChem and Olin two years to transition its asbestos-dependent chlorine plants to newer, asbestos-free technology. For the full text, click here.