The Mesothelioma and Asbestos Disease Society (Meso Society) is a nonprofit group that seeks to raise awareness about mesothelioma and the risks of asbestos. The Meso Society was established by the Harahan family after a family member of theirs lost their life due to mesothelioma. The family runs the Meso Society with the help of volunteers who have been diagnosed with or have experienced a family loss due to mesothelioma.

Recently, the Meso Society presented Assumption BVM School in West Grove, Pennsylvania with a $13,535 grant to help the school fund removal of asbestos ceiling and floor tiles from its main building. Now, thanks in part to the generosity of the Meso Society, the near 1,000 children and adults that use the school’s classrooms on a weekly basis will be safer from the health risks associated with exposure to asbestos. Patricia Harahan, chair of the Meso Society——said, "It's a great feeling to be able to help Assumption BVM with their asbestos removal project. People often naively think of asbestos as a thing of the past. The truth is that asbestos is a current danger; it's a toxic material that is unfortunately not yet banned in this country."

Harahan was eager to help Assumption BVM when she found out that the school was in need of asbestos removal funding. She encouraged Assumption BVM to take part in the Meso Society's 5th Annual Meso Walk, an annual event that pays tribute to families and individuals affected by asbestos cancer. Additionally, Harahan promised to match all the funds raised by the school's participants up to $6,000.

Students, parents and teachers of Assumption BVM came together to raise $7,535 for the 2008 Meso Walk which took place on April 13^th. The Meso Society generously returned all of Assumption BVM's fundraising efforts to the school for its asbestos removal project, along with the promised $6,000 in matching funds, amassing the grant to over $13,000.

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Today's mesothelioma story comes to us from across the world.  In Nahariya, Israel, the rate of mesothelioma is 10 times greater than the rest of the country.  An Internal Affairs Committee has met to address the problem, but they are troubled by the lack of concern among higher authorities.

On Monday, the committee gathered to discuss the lack of action taken to combat the asbestos problem in the area.  Head of the committee Ophir Pines-Paz said, "People pay with their lives and the authorities demonstrate intolerable apathy. "  It is estimated that in the Nahariya region, there is between 70 and 150 thousand cubic meters of asbestos scattered in the ground. 

The committee discovered that Israel's Environment Ministry had allotted funds for asbestos clean-up, but none of the money was ever spent and no action was taken towards removing the carcinogen.  A ministry official said that the funds were earmarked for clean-up of three specific sites, two of which were later found to be asbestos-free.  So until those funds are reassigned to clean-up of new locations, Nahariya remains contaminated.

A member of the Internal Affairs Committee guesses that Israeli officials haven't initiated asbestos abatement in the area because of the city's profitability.  "The city council's aim to prevent panic and avoid harming the area's tourism looks like one of the reasons that the subject hasn't received the appropriate emergency treatment," he said.

Pines-Paz posed this question to officials: "Do you sleep well with this at night? Residents pay for this hazard with their lives, and instead of running from minister to minister with budget requests, the city council is busy planting flowers."
 

ARI Technologies, based in the US, has entered an agreement granting exclusive rights to their asbestos removal technique to Pectel Group, a leading asbestos abatement company in the UK and Ireland.ARI's method involves destorying the asbestos fibers through a thermal and chemical process which yields an inert, non-toxic, recycled, construction aggregate. It costs less than half of other available processes that melt the waste, ARI said.The thermochemical conversion process took years to develop, but ARI's novel approach provides effective asbestos removal at an affordable price.  Their achievements in the US have paved the way for what will undoubtedly become global success. Click here for more.