Environmental Pollutants - Asbestos

For over 100 years, asbestos has been used in building products, shipyards and factories. Its airborne presence has affected millions of workers. Even those who do not work in an area where asbestos fibers are found can be negatively affected by fibers brought home on the clothing of other family members. With a doormant period of 20 to 50 years before the initial symptoms of exposure become noticeable, asbestos is the primary cause of such diseases as mesothelioma, asbestosis, and lung cancer, which can develop many years after the initial exposure. Over the last 50 years, an estimated 21 million workers have been exposed to asbestos in the workplace and nearly 3,000 new cases of asbestos-attributable disease are diagnosed each year. 

When the dangers of such exposure were first noted as early as 1929, claims of damage related to asbestos exposure were filed. Since then, hundreds of suits have been filed against the manufacturers of asbestos products based on charges of negligence, design defect, and failure to warn. Millions of dollars have been awarded in damages.

If you have been exposed to asbestos in the past and think that you may show symptoms of mesothelioma, asbestosis, or any other lung cancer, it is important that you consult a physician.

If you or a loved one has suffered an injury, illness or death, as the result of an environmental pollutant, such as asbestos, and you believe the exposure was someone else's fault, call VanDerGinst Law at 1-866-843-7367 or click here for a FREE online case evaluation. The initial consultation is free of charge. If we agree to handle your injury case, we will work on a contingency fee basis, which means we get paid for our services only if, and when, there is a money recovery for you. In many cases a lawsuit must be filed before an applicable expiration date, known as a statute of limitations. So please call right away to ensure that you do not waive your right to possible compensation.

• Mesothelioma

Links on the Web

 

NYT > Asbestos - Search for 'National Asbestos' News about asbestos, including commentary and archival articles published in The New York Times.

Wednesday 20th of August 2008 08:57:27 AM USG to Settle Suits Related to Asbestos By The Associated Press. Click here to read this Environmental Pollutants - Asbestos news article.

Wednesday 20th of August 2008 08:57:27 AM The Bitter Fight Over the Manville Trust LEAD: Hordes of lawyers will fill the benches of a courtroom at the United States Courthouse in Brooklyn tomorrow to watch what will happen with more than 500 plaintiffs who say they have suffered from inhaling asbestos at the Brooklyn Navy Yard more than 25 years ago. But the stakes are significantly greater than for just those former shipyard workers or their families. Click here to read this Environmental Pollutants - Asbestos news article.

Wednesday 20th of August 2008 08:57:27 AM CONSUMER'S WORLD; A Product Dead-Ended By Liability Fears LEAD: It seemed like a dream come true: a virtual miracle fiber touted as being as tough as asbestos but completely safe and versatile enough to be used in products ranging from roofing materials to spackling compounds to brake shoes. Click here to read this Environmental Pollutants - Asbestos news article.

Wednesday 20th of August 2008 08:57:27 AM Asbestos Costs Give Schools Hard Choices LEAD: Twenty years ago, before the hazards of asbestos became known, the steel beams inside sprawling, brown-brick New Canaan High School were sprayed with it. Though tests have shown that the flame-retardant coating - harmful only if its particles are inhaled - is mostly intact and safe for now, it is to be removed anyway, at a cost of perhaps $10 million. Click here to read this Environmental Pollutants - Asbestos news article.

Wednesday 20th of August 2008 08:57:27 AM CONSUMER'S WORLD; If Asbestos Is in the House, Must You Hold Your Breath? LEAD: Mention asbestos to New Yorkers and they think of exploding steam pipes. Mention it to homeowners nationwide, and many envision Dracula sleeping in their basements. Click here to read this Environmental Pollutants - Asbestos news article.

Wednesday 20th of August 2008 08:57:27 AM [$] HEMPSTEAD SEEKS TO CURB ASBESTOS FEAR of lung cancer and other diseases believed to be linked to asbestos has prompted the Town of Hempstead to draft regulations that would allow close monitoring of any business using asbestos. Critics of the proposed rules, however, say they are more a ploy to diffuse community concern than a serious attempt to protect the public. Both sides are expected to state their arguments at a public hearing at 10 A.M. Tuesday at the L. H. Bennett Pavilion in Hempstead. The Hempstead proposal would req... Click here to read this Environmental Pollutants - Asbestos news article.

Click here for archived Environmental Pollutants - Asbestos news.