The state of Vermont is warning people to stay away from an abandoned asbestos mine in Eden and Lowell. The mine is often used by people to ride all terrain vehicles.

Health and death records from towns within 10 miles of the site were studied and the odds of dying of asbestosis or lung cancer are 12 times higher for those living closer to the mines.  

Health Commissioner Wendy Davis is telling people to stay away from the mines as exposure to asbestos can cause adverse health conditions.

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In St. Louis, MO, a company who makes heat resistant products has filed for chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in order to manage their legal liabilities concerning asbestos exposure lawsuits. 

Christy Refractories filed its petition for bankruptcy last week. The company has been subject to many lawsuits that stem from products sold by a company they acquired back in 1995. The company began to be named in asbestos-related cases back in the early 1980s, but the frequency of these lawsuits significantly increased about 8 years ago.

The manager of Christy Refractories, Frank O’Brien, says that on a monthly basis, asbestos settlements average out to be about $1 million per month and estimates that there are an additional 1,000 lawsuits pending. These lawsuits include people that were exposed to asbestos in schools, steel mills, and other commercial and industrial spaces.

A trust fund is being established for the lawsuits, and the bankruptcy court will decide how much money should be put in to the trust fund. O’Brien says there will be at least $18 million in the fund. 

O’Brien plans to keep the company running through its reorganization process. He speculates that it could take up to one year.

A decision was handed down Tuesday at the Rotterdam Convention in Rome that confirmed chrysotile asbestos will be left off of the United Nation’s international list of harmful substances. This decision means that Canada, the world’s second largest producer of chrysotile asbestos, will continue to be able to export the harmful substance to developing countries. Despite information that exposure to asbestos can lead to health complications such as lung cancer, mesothelioma, and asbestosis, Canada still maintains the stance that the developing countries they export the asbestos to are able to manage and handle it in a safe manner.  

Back in 2006, Canada was the only western democracy to oppose the substance’s inclusion on the list of harmful substance. The Canadian delegation did not even participate in the meetings this year and, instead, got others to work on their behalf.

In the Canadian Medical Association Journal, Dr. Matthew Stanbrook likened the Canadian government's support for exporting asbestos to developing countries to the deadly arms trade. Moreover, Stanbrook said he was “deeply disappointed” with the results of the meeting. "This is something we hoped would be an opportunity for Canada to take a stand and make a decision that would benefit the health and welfare of people in the world, especially people who are in the developing world in countries least prepared to cope with the health burden that asbestos imposes everywhere that it's used."

During the 1970s, hundreds of men worked in Sarnia’s chemical industry in Ontario, Canada which thrived on asbestos during that time. It is here where these workers were regularly exposed to asbestos and, as a result of years of exposure, their lungs are now marked with pleural plaques, often predictors of asbestos-related diseases.

Each year, many of these men travel to Princess Margaret Hospital in Toronto, ON, Canada hoping for the best, but fearing the worst. It is here where radiologists and doctors are conducting an early mesothelioma and lung cancer diagnosis study. Researchers hope to predict the diseases that are sometimes linked to pleural plaques. Dr. Heidi Roberts, the principal investigator, says a person who is diagnosed early may be saved using surgery, chemotherapy and radiation.

Nearly all of the study's 766 participants are from Sarnia. So far, researchers have detected five cases of mesothelioma and two cases of lung cancer. The men with mesothelioma have since died.

One of the study’s participants, Bill Trenouth, has no idea how he was exposed to the dangerous material. And while most of the other men are in there 70’s and 80’s, Trenouth is only 52 and 7 years away from retirement. Yet, he is uncertain that he will live to see retirement or his children grow older.

A recent study published in the British medical journal Lancet, analyzed the impact of chemotherapy on active symptom control treatment in malignant pleural mesothelioma patients. The reason for the study, according to the researchers, is that active symptom control is commonly recommended for managing mesothelioma, but medical researchers and doctors have yet to come to a consensus on the role of chemotherapy in mesothelioma treatment. In an attempt to explain if chemotherapy improved survival rates and quality of life, researchers combined chemotherapy and active symptom control treatments.

A total of 409 participants from the UK and Australia with malignant pleural mesothelioma, were randomly assigned to either active symptom control treatments alone or active control treatments in conjunction with one of two chemotherapy medications. Active symptom control treatments included steroids, bronchodilators, analgesic medications, and palliative radiotherapy. Researchers followed up with patients every 3 to 21 weeks after the random treatment and then every 8 weeks thereafter. The two groups receiving different chemotherapy medication were combined for analysis and compared with the group receiving only active symptom control treatment.

Researchers found that the group receiving chemotherapy with active symptom control methods received only a small, non-significant survival benefit compared with the group receiving only active symptom control treatment. Moreover, researchers found no difference among the groups when it came to quality of life among the patients.

In conclusion, researchers believe the addition of chemotherapy to active symptom control presents no significant benefit or advances in survival rates or quality of life in malignant pleural mesothelioma patients.