asbestos fiber News
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Chicago`s Oak Street Beach contaminated with asbestos
The Illinois shoreline and Illinois Beach State Park have a long history of asbestos contamination, so as the 2008 beach season opens on Lake Michigan, a conservation group is advising beachgoers how to minimize inhalation of cancer-causing asbestos fibers. For at least 20 years, asbestos fibers were released daily and carried southward by Lake Michigan's currents from the Johns-Manville ...
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Vermiculite Insulation May Expose People to Dangerous Asbestos Fibers
Millions of homes across America may be contaminated with asbestos tainted vermiculite insulation. Vermiculite is a light-weight, fire-resistant, and odorless material that has been used in numerous products, including insulation for attics and walls. Although not all materials that contain vermiculite have asbestos, many products containing vermiculite and asbestos were sold in the ...
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Mesothelioma and the prolonged effects of asbestos exposure
Considering the recent trial concerning W.R. Grace & Company, the federal government and the citizens of the asbestos-contaminated town of Libby, Montana, the topic of asbestos-related disease has been receiving national attention in the media. Malignant mesothelioma is a rare form of cancer caused almost exclusively by asbestos exposure. Approximately 2,000 to 3,000 cases of mesothelioma ...
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Secondhand Asbestos Exposure Risks for Families of Some Workers in Puerto Rico
Due to the unique properties found in asbestos, it was used for decades in thousands of commercial products and building materials. While asbestos-containing materials may have many beneficial attributes, they can also release fibers into the air when they are disturbed and as they age and become friable. Asbestos fibers cannot be seen with the naked eye so they can be inhaled and get trapped ...
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Fifteen Tons of Asbestos Containing Materials Dumped on the Streets of San Francisco
LA Testing provides asbestos testing services to keep the public safe from exposure to deadly airborne asbestos fibers. Garden Grove, CA, November 22nd, 2010 Earlier this month it was reported that someone illegally dumped fifteen tons of old roofing material in the Bayview district of San Francisco. The asbestos containing materials were left on the street for the city to remove at the cost ...
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California Officials Verify Elementary School has Asbestos
LA Testing provides asbestos testing services to keep children and faculty at schools safe from exposure to deadly airborne asbestos fibers. Garden Grove, CA, October 11th, 2010 This summer it was reported that a multipurpose room at a Berkley, California elementary school has been exposing teachers and children to potential asbestos hazards. The room in question had previously had carper ...
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Pipe Insulation in Homes May Expose People to Dangerous Asbestos Fibers
Cinnaminson, NJ, October 15, 2012 Many homes built up until the 1970s were constructed using insulating blankets and paper tape on their steam pipes, boilers and furnace ducts that contained asbestos. Due to the material’s strength, durability, and insulating fire resistant properties it was a popular choice and was installed in many homes and buildings.� Over time, these materials can ...
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Asbestos Containing Pipes have some Jamaican Residents Demanding Action
Earlier this month,The Gleanerpublished a story about residents from St. Thomas Parish in Jamaica voicing concerns over old and leaking cement water pipes that contain asbestos and deliver water to their homes. This type of pipe was once common, but its use was largely discontinued in North America in the 1980s. While the presence of these types of pipes carrying water and buried ...
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Long After Structural Fires, Asbestos Hazards May Linger
Earlier this month, the Belleville News-Democrat published a report about a vacant property in Belleville, Illinois. The vacant parcel of land, located in downtown Belleville, used to be the location of two buildings that housed several businesses. In 2010, a fire destroyed the properties and they were later torn down. A year later, the article reports that the Illinois Environmental Protection ...
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Children Mistake Asbestos for Sidewalk Chalk
Young children found pieces of what appeared to be sidewalk chalk outside a former high school in Niagara Falls, NY and began drawing with the substance outside the building. Only later did their parents discover that the children were actually playing with asbestos, the dangerous, carcinogenic mineral. Vandals broke into the old high school to steal pipes and left the asbestos insulation ...
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National Asbestos Awareness Week Reminds the Public of Potential Hazards
Federal lawmakers designated the first week of April as National Asbestos Awareness Week. The purpose of the designation is to increase awareness with the general public of the dangers associated with exposure to asbestos fibers. Asbestos is a mineral fiber that has been used commonly in a variety of building construction materials for insulation and as a fire-retardant. According to the ...
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Floridians Warned of Asbestos Hazards in Popcorn Ceilings
Hundreds of thousands of homes, apartments and condominiums were built across Florida from the 1960s through the 1980s. During this same time frame, a favorite ceiling texturing technique used by many builders is the now outdated look of popcorn ceilings. Many of these older homes have been remodeled over the years and one of the favorite projects for homeowners to tackle is removing popcorn ...
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EPA Awards the State of Oklahoma Over $240,000 to Reduce Exposure to Asbestos in Schools and State Buildings
The Environmental Protection Agency has awarded the Oklahoma Department of Labor $242,322 to help reduce exposure to asbestos in schools and state buildings through compliance monitoring. The funds will be used by the ODOL to complete audit inspections in local schools during the upcoming school year. Asbestos inspections are a traditional method of encouraging compliance with the Asbestos in ...
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Asbestos Removal Project in an Illinois School has Parents Concerned
Last month, WFIE Channel 14 reported on an asbestos removal project at a Carmi, Illinois high school. Usually when parents learn of asbestos being removed from their child’s school it brings relief to parents’ minds, but this time many parents voiced concerns. The reason for the parents’ concern was due to the fact that the asbestos removal project was beginning during the ...
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What to Do When Property Damage Uncovers Hidden Asbestos in Your Home
A tree limb crashes through a roof, a broken pipe floods a basement, strong winds destroy siding or a kitchen fire causes damage to a home. For property owners with insurance, any one of these events will have them in contact with their insurance provider. In many circumstances, the damage incurred will be clearly evident and straightforward, but this is not always the case as there can be ...
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Asbestos Siding on Homes May Expose People to Dangerous Asbestos Fibers
Many homes built between the 1930s and the 1970s were constructed using asbestos siding and shingles on the exterior of the property. Due to the material’s strength, durability and fire resistant properties it was a popular ingredient in both manmade shingles and siding products. Over time, these materials can become damaged and begin to degrade. When this occurs, cancer causing asbestos ...
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Former Winchester, Idaho hotel owner settles with EPA for asbestos demolition violations
BBA Winchester LLC, the owner of a former hotel located in Winchester, Idaho has settled with EPA and agreed to pay a $21,000 fine for asbestos safety and environmental violations from improper demolition of the hotel. “This is an unfortunate example that when asbestos is not properly removed before demolition, the entire debris pile becomes contaminated, putting people at risk, and ...
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Naturally Occurring Asbestos and Protecting Communities and the Environment from Exposure Risks
There are six different fibrous minerals that occur naturally in the environment that are referred to as asbestos. The term naturally occurring asbestos (NOA), refers to the mineral as a natural component of soils or rocks as opposed to asbestos in commercial products, mining, or processing operations. NOA can be released from rocks or soils by routine human activities or natural weathering ...
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Dusts Containing Asbestos can be found in Some Older California Buildings
Across California, asbestos was used heavily in many building materials up until the mid-1980s. If these asbestos containing materials are disturbed or become friable with age, the asbestos may become airborne and spread throughout a property. Eventually these asbestos fibers will settle and may contribute to dusts found in buildings. According to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), ...
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Building Experts Warn Residents of Puerto Rico to be Aware of Asbestos Hazards
Up until the late 1970s, many different types of building products and materials commonly used in residential and commercial buildings contained asbestos. Today, many of these properties still contain these materials that could be causing a health threat to any building occupants. As these materials age or become disturbed, asbestos fibers can be released into the air. Exposure to asbestos ...
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