An Increase Predicted of Reported Mesothelioma Cases

Asbestos is a naturally occurring fibrous mineral which was widely used in the manufacture of a variety of products beginning in the late nineteenth century. Although the majority of exposure to asbestos occurred between 1940 and 1980, in occupations such as construction, shipyards, railroads, insulation, sheet metal, automobile repair, and other related fields, exposure continues to this day.

Asbestos fibers are inhaled by workers and remain in the lungs where they can cause disease. Fibers are also inhaled by family members or any other person coming into contact with asbestos wherever it may be.

A recent study predicts that there will be an increase in the number of reported mesothelioma cases in the United States in the future. Therefore the continuing epidemic of workers' compensation claims for mesothelioma will not abate as previously predicted as many exposed workers' and their families seek benefits including medical monitoring.

"Mesothelioma, a rare tumor, is highly correlated with asbestos exposure. Mesothelioma, similar to all asbestos-related diseases, is dose/intensity dependent to some degree, and studies showed the risk of mesothelioma rises with cumulative exposures. Multiple processes occur in an individual before mesothelioma occurs. The impact of mesothelioma in the United States has been continuous over the last half century, claiming between 2,000 and 3,000 lives each year.

"Mesothelioma is a preventable tumor that is more frequently reported as associated with asbestos exposure among men than women. However, the rate of asbestos-associated mesothelioma is on the rise among women due to a better investigation into their histories of asbestos exposure. It is of interest that investigators detected asbestos-associated cases of mesothelioma in women from nonoccupational sources—that is, bystander, incidental, or take-home exposures.

"It is postulated that asbestos-associated mesotheliomas, in both men and women, are likely underreported. However, with the implementation of the most recent ICD-10 coding system, the correlation of mesothelioma with asbestos exposure is expected to rise to approximately 80% in the United States. This study examined the demographic and etiological nature of asbestos-related mesothelioma. Mesothelioma from asbestos exposures: Epidemiologic patterns and impact in the United States, Richard A. Lemen Journal Of Toxicology And Environmental Health, Part B Vol. 19 , Iss. 5-6,2016

"Workers' compensation benefits have been awarded to claimants who have been exposed to asbestos and who have suffered asbestos-related disabilities. Bolger v. Chris Anderson Roofing Co., 112 N.J.Super. 383, 271 A.2d 451 (Co.1970), aff'd 117 N.J.Super. 497, 285 A.2d 228 (App.Div.1971). The courts have recognized an asbestos exposure as causing multiple disabilities, and awards have been made for occupational exposure which has resulted in a “second disease”. Shepley v. Johns-Manville Products Corporation, 141 N.J.Super. 387, 358 A.2d 485 (App.Div.1976). Jon Gelman, Workers Compensation Law, 39 NJ Practice Series 9.20.

The United States has yet to completely ban the use of asbestos and recent regulations to do so have been put on hold by the Trump Administration. In light of the concerns raised by this study, reconsideration of a complete ban of asbestos products in the US should be reconsidered without further delay.

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Jon L. Gelman of Wayne NJ is the author of NJ Workers’ Compensation Law (West-Thomson-Reuters) and co-author of the national treatise, Modern Workers’ Compensation Law (West-Thomson-Reuters). 

For over 4 decades the Law Offices of Jon L Gelman  1.973.696.7900  jon@gelmans.com  has been representing injured workers and their families who have suffered occupational accidents and illnesses.

Trump Administration May Bring a Surge in Occupational Disease Claims

Mesothelioma death rates remain high in the US even on the eve of an anticipated national ban of the asbestos fiber. Things may radically change for the worse as the Trump Administration goes forward with its announced intention to dismantle environmental regulation now in place and placed on-track for enactment during the former Obama Administration. With anticipated less EPA and OSHA regulation under the Trump administration, there is the potential for a serious surge of future occupational disease claims in the United States.

President Trump has remarked, “I believe that the movement against asbestos was led by the mob, because it was often mob-related companies that would do the asbestos removal. Great pressure was put on politicians, and as usual, the politicians relented.” Trump, The Art of the Comeback, 1997.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) today published a report indicating that mesothelioma, a neoplasm, continues to be prevalent at high rates.

"Malignant mesothelioma is a neoplasm associated with inhalation exposure to asbestos fibers and other elongate mineral particles (EMPs). The median survival after malignant mesothelioma diagnosis is approximately 1 year. The latency period between the first exposure to asbestos fibers or other EMPs and mesothelioma development ranges from 20 to 71 years. Occupational exposure has occurred in industrial operations including mining and milling, manufacturing, shipbuilding and repair, and construction. Current occupational exposure occurs predominantly during maintenance and remediation of asbestos-containing buildings. The projected number of malignant mesothelioma deaths was expected to increase to 3,060 annually by 2001–2005, and after 2005, mortality was projected to decrease."

"During 1999–2015, a total of 45,221 malignant mesothelioma deaths were reported, increasing from 2,479 (1999) to 2,597 (2015). Mesothelioma deaths increased for persons aged ≥85 years, for both sexes, persons of white, black and Asian or Pacific Islander race, and all ethnic groups. Continuing occurrence of malignant mesothelioma deaths in persons aged <55 years suggests ongoing inhalation exposure to asbestos fibers and possibly other causative EMPs."

"Despite regulatory actions and decline in asbestos use, the annual number of malignant mesothelioma deaths remains substantial. Contrary to past projections, the number of malignant mesothelioma deaths has been increasing. The continuing occurrence of mesothelioma deaths, particularly among younger populations, underscores the need for maintaining efforts to prevent exposure and for ongoing surveillance to monitor temporal trends."

Asbestos is a naturally occurring fibrous mineral which was widely used in the manufacture of a variety of products beginning in the late nineteenth century. Although the majority of exposure to asbestos occurred between 1940 and 1980, in occupations such as construction, shipyards, railroads, insulation, sheet metal, automobile repair, and other related fields, exposure continues to this day. Asbestos fibers are inhaled by workers and remain in the lungs where they can cause disease. Fibers are also inhaled by family members or any other person coming into contact with asbestos wherever it may be. We believe that the evidence shows that the companies which manufactured these products knew that their products would injure people and that they actively conspired to hide this information in order to keep selling their products, and as a result, they are now being held liable for the resulting injuries.

"Workers' compensation benefits have been awarded to claimants who have been exposed to asbestos and who have suffered asbestos-related disabilities. Bolger v. Chris Anderson Roofing Co., 112 N.J.Super. 383, 271 A.2d 451 (Co.1970), aff'd 117 N.J.Super. 497, 285 A.2d 228 (App.Div.1971). The courts have recognized an asbestos exposure as causing multiple disabilities, and awards have been made for occupational exposure which have resulted in a “second disease”. Shepley v. Johns-Manville Products Corporation, 141 N.J.Super. 387, 358 A.2d 485 (App.Div.1976). Even where the exposure to asbestos can be identified as occurring 50 years earlier in the course of the employment, the resultant disease has been recognized as compensable. Bush v. Johns-Manville Products Corporation, 154 N.J.Super. 188, 381 A.2d 65 (App.Div.1977), certif. denied 75 N.J. 605, 384 A.2d 835 (1978)." Gelman, Workers' Compensation Law 3rd ed. §9,20 (Thomson-Reuters).

With the anticipated dismantling of EPA and OSHA regulations by the Trump Administration, in conjunction with a return to manufacturing jobs in the US, there remains to be seen whether there will be a resurgence of occupational disease claims and fatalities in the US,  as a result of the continued work-related exposures to such toxic substances such as asbestos.

…

Jon L. Gelman of Wayne NJ is the author of NJ Workers’ Compensation Law (West-Thomson-Reuters) and co-author of the national treatise, Modern Workers’ Compensation Law (West-Thomson-Reuters). 

For over 4 decades theLaw Offices of Jon L Gelman  1.973.696.7900  jon@gelmans.com  has been representing injured workers and their families who have suffered occupational accidents and illnesses.

Lung-sparing surgery for patients with advanced mesothelioma results in prolonged survival, new study shows

Patients with advanced malignant pleural mesothelioma (MPM) treated with a combination of surgery to remove the cancer but save their lung, plus photodynamic therapy and chemotherapy, had a median survival of nearly three years, with a subset of patients living longer than seven years, according to new research published in the Annals of Thoracic Surgery.

The disease, which is most commonly caused by exposure to asbestos, is an incurable cancer that affects the lining of the chest cavity. Patients treated with chemotherapy alone, the standard of care, typically live only 12 to 18 months. In the United States, 2,000 to 3,000 patients are diagnosed with MPM each year.

"These are among the best results ever published for patients with an epithelial subtype of pleural mesothelioma, which accounts for about two thirds of all cases," says the lead author, Joseph S. Friedberg, MD, the Charles Reid Edwards Professor of Surgery and Head of the Division of Thoracic Surgery at the University of Maryland School of Medicine and Thoracic Surgeon-in-Chief of the University of Maryland Medical System.

"This is among the most virulent cancers known to man, and we have a long way to go, but it's encouraging to have achieved results we can report in years not months even for these patients with such advanced disease," Dr. Friedberg says. "Although, from a technical perspective, it is more challenging to save the lung than to sacrifice it, it does appear that this technique helps to not only extend life but to also preserve quality of life."

The study followed 73 patients with MPM who had surgery to remove the cancer, followed by a therapy using a photosensitizing agent and light to kill microscopic cancer cells. Ninety-two percent of the patients also received chemotherapy. Overall median survival for all the patients in the study was nearly three years (35 months), the researchers report, but that figure more than doubled, to 7.3 years, for 19 of these patients whose cancer had not spread to their lymph nodes. Median survival is the length of time at which 50 percent of patients are alive after treatment. In addition, researchers also found that overall survival was three times higher than disease-free survival, which is the length of time until the cancer recurs.

For the 73 patients in the study, median disease-free survival was 1.2 years, a third of the overall survival of three years. In the group of 19 patients with overall survival of 7.3 years, disease-free survival was 2.3 years. The majority of the patients had Stage III or Stage IV disease.

"It's unusual to find such a difference in between overall and disease-free survival rates. When this cancer recurs, which it almost always does, patients usually live only a few months," says Dr. Friedberg of the study results, which were published online in November.

While the researchers caution against drawing definitive conclusions based on this non-randomized study, they are intrigued by the findings. Dr. Friedberg and his colleagues are now looking for mechanisms behind the difference, in order to work on improving survival even more.

Dr. Friedberg performed the lung-sparing surgery on the patients in the study while he was at the University of Pennsylvania, where the research was conducted. He has pioneered lung-sparing surgery for mesothelioma and now serves as Director of the Mesothelioma and Thoracic Oncology Treatment and Research Center at the University of Maryland School of Medicine. The center is part of the University of Maryland Greenebaum Comprehensive Cancer Center.

The lung-sparing surgery is a 6- to 14-hour operation to remove detectable cancer from the lining of the chest and spares the lung and as many other normal structures as possible. Dr. Friedberg developed his lung-sparing technique as an alternative to removing the entire lung, diaphragm and sac around the heart.

Dr. Friedberg and his colleagues say that this study shows that the lung-sparing technique can be safely used to achieve a "macroscopic complete resection" -- the removal of all detectable cancer -- while preserving the lung. "The role for lung-sparing surgery for mesothelioma has not been completely defined, but this series demonstrates that it is an option, even in advanced stage cases," they conclude in the journal article.

"The results showing extended overall survival for some patients are very promising and warrant further study," says E. Albert Reece, MD, PhD, MBA, vice president for medical affairs at the University of Maryland and the John Z. and Akiko K. Bowers Distinguished Professor and dean of the University of Maryland School of Medicine. "Under Dr. Friedberg's leadership, our new Mesothelioma and Thoracic Oncology Treatment and Research Center is fast becoming an major center for important scientific discovery as well as highly specialized, multidisciplinary care for patients with mesothelioma and other thoracic cancers."

Story Source:

Materials provided by University of Maryland Medical Center/School of Medicine.

Journal Reference:

1. Joseph S. Friedberg, Charles B. Simone, Melissa J. Culligan, Andrew R. Barsky, Abigail Doucette, Sally McNulty, Stephen M. Hahn, Evan Alley, Daniel H. Sterman, Eli Glatstein, Keith A. Cengel. Extended Pleurectomy-Decortication–Based Treatment for Advanced Stage Epithelial Mesothelioma Yielding a Median Survival of Nearly Three Years. The Annals of Thoracic Surgery, 2016; DOI: 10.1016/j.athoracsur.2016.08.071

University of Maryland Medical Center/School of Medicine. "Lung-sparing surgery for patients with advanced mesothelioma results in prolonged survival, new study shows." ScienceDaily. ScienceDaily, 14 December 2016. <www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2016/12/161214145608.htm>.

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Asbestos and Mold in Schools: Paterson NJ Safety Officer Claims Mishandling

The presence of asbestos and mold in schools and the potential exposure of students and employees has been a major health concern for decades. A Paterson NJ health and safety office now claims that the Paterson NJ school system improperly mishandled the removal of these hazards in violation of Federal regulations.

Many old structures have still have asbestos products in place that were installed decades ago as insulation for heat and a fire inhibitor. As the asbestos products age they deteriorate and contaminate the ambient air.

Asbestos is a known carcinogen and exposure is causally linked to asbestosis, lung cancer and mesothelioma. For decades, the Federal government has had regulations in place to require notification of those potentially exposed in schools and for proper abatement procedures.

"Brenda Zemo, an Environmental Occupational Health and Safety Officer since 2008, claims she was subjected to a hostile workplace after she raised concerns about the alleged mishandling of the material by the Facilities Department and its Executive Director Steve Morlino, according to the lawsuit.

"She claims she was let go by the department after she filed the complaint.

"The only female employee at the department, Zemo's role was to ensure the district provided a safe and healthy work environment for about 23,000 students and 5,400 staff.

Click here to read the complete article, "Paterson schools improperly handled asbestos, former safety officer says." nj.com 12/07/2016

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Jon L. Gelman of Wayne NJ is the author of NJ Workers’ Compensation Law (West-Thomson-Reuters) and co-author of the national treatise, Modern Workers’ Compensation Law (West-Thomson-Reuters). 

For over 4 decades the Law Offices of Jon L Gelman  1.973.696.7900  jon@gelmans.com  has been representing injured workers and their families who have suffered occupational accidents and illnesses.

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Kidney Cancer Reported Related to Workers' Asbestos Exposure

A new research report links asbestos exposure to kidney cancer. Today's post is shared from pubmed.com.

Asbestos is the main causal factor for malignant mesothelioma (MM), a relatively rare and aggressive malignancy. Some epidemiological evidence suggests a role of this agent also in the etiology of renal cell carcinoma (RCC), the most common form of kidney cancer.


CASE REPORT:
After 7 years of asbestos exposure, a 76-year-old asbestos-cement worker came to our notice with left flank pain. Diagnostic imaging disclosed a neoplasm in the upper two thirds of the left kidney, without evidence of metastases. After surgery (nephrectomy with para-aortic lymphadenectomy), histopathology revealed clear cell RCC. One year later, the patient was hospitalized for abdominal pain. Laparoscopy showed diffuse neoplastic infiltration of the peritoneum and liver. Histological and immunohistochemical examination of the bioptic samples led to the diagnosis of biphasic MM. The subject died 2 months later. Autopsy disclosed ascites and diffuse infiltration of the abdominal wall and viscera, without evidence of RCC relapse.

CONCLUSIONS:
This is the second reported case of association between RCC and peritoneal MM in the scientific literature. Asbestos might be involved in the causation of both malignancies.

Renal cell carcinoma and malignant peritoneal mesothelioma after occupational asbestos exposure: case report Candura SM1, Boeri R, Teragni C, Chen Y, Scafa Med Lav. 2016 May 26;107(3):172-7.

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Jon L. Gelman of Wayne NJ is the author of NJ Workers’ Compensation Law (West-Thomson-Reuters) and co-author of the national treatise, Modern Workers’ Compensation Law (West-Thomson-Reuters). For over 4 decades the Law Offices of Jon L Gelman  1.973.696.7900  jon@gelmans.com  has been representing injured workers and their families who have suffered occupational accidents and illnesses.

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Mesothelioma surgery improves quality of life, study finds

Loyola University Health System reports:

Many mesothelioma patients avoid surgery for fear it will degrade their quality of life. But a study has found just the opposite: Patients who underwent an operation called pleurectomy and decortication (PD) generally reported their quality of life improved after surgery.

Click here to read the complete article.

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Mesothelioma: Employer Held Liable for Wife's Asbestos Related Death

The Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA) was held liable for the death of an asbestos worker's wife death from mesothelioma. A Federal Court in Alabama held that the the employer held that the employer had a duty to protect the wife a nuclear plant employee from take home asbestos exposure.


The wife, a household contact of asbestos fiber,  developed pleural mesothelioma after exposure to asbestos on her husband's clothes.

The Court held that there was foreseeability of harm to wife was evident from the very nature of relevant Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA)regulations and employer's internal standards, which aimed to prevent asbestos fibers from clinging to an employee's street clothes, skin, or hair and being carried off of employer's property, and employer was party in best position to protect wife, as relatively simple, low-cost methods which, if implemented as directed both by federal law and employer's internal policy, may have prevented wife's contraction of mesothelioma.

Bobo v Tennessee Valley Authority, 138 F. Sup3d 1285 (2015)

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Jon L. Gelman of Wayne NJ is the author of NJ Workers’ Compensation Law (West-Thompson-Reuters) and co-author of the national treatise, Modern Workers’ Compensation Law (West-Thompson-Reuters). For over 4 decades the Law Offices of Jon L Gelman  1.973.696.7900  jon@gelmans.com  has been representing injured workers and their families who have suffered occupational accidents and illnesses.

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US Workers Continue to be Exposed to Asbestos

Asbestos Insulation

Asbestos is not banned in the US and continues to be a cause of deadly disease to workers. Asbestos, a deadly substance that causes a range of fatal diseases from asbestosis to malignancies including lung cancer and mesothelioma. Today the Detroit Free Press enlightens its readers to the asbestos problems that Michigan workers face daily. Those problems continued to be mirrored in all the states and is a national issue.

"At a time when blight removal is at historic highs and a record number of contractors are getting into the asbestos-abatement business in Michigan, the state's worker safety agency rarely gets tough with employers who expose their workers to the deadly toxin, a Free Press investigation has found."

****

"The investigation also found dozens of cases of unlicensed contractors and untrained workers removing asbestos improperly: In one, the crew included workers hired from a homeless shelter — people lured by the promise of easy cash and not likely to complain about working conditions. In others, workers weren’t told they were removing asbestos or given proper clothing and respirators. In some, proper decontamination procedures weren't followed and debris was disposed of in ordinary garbage bags instead of airtight containers, potentially exposing many others to the contaminant."

Click here to read this article as well as the companion articles in the series.

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Jon L. Gelman of Wayne NJ is the author of NJ Workers’ Compensation Law (West-Thompson-Reuters) and co-author of the national treatise, Modern Workers’ Compensation Law (West-Thompson-Reuters). For over 4 decades the Law Offices of Jon L Gelman  1.973.696.7900  jon@gelmans.com  has been representing injured workers and their families who have suffered occupational accidents and illnesses.

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Privacy: Court Mandates Protective Order for Workers' Compensation Discovery

Plaintiff in mesothelioma case sought production of defendant's (Union Carbide Corp) employees' workers' compensation claim records. The corporate defendant, Union Carbide Corp) sought to restrict access and limit dissemination of the records of the workers' compensation matters sought through discovery.

Confidentiality is a two sided sword. Historically asbestos litigation had its genesis in workers' compensation claims. In this instance the Corporate Defendant sought the utilization of privacy restrictions as a defense.


Case reversed & remanded by Appellate Division so that Trial Judge could craft a Protective Order to embrace statutory "privacy requirements" of workers' compensation records. This decision restricts dissemination and use of discovery of workers’ compensation records obtained in this case for use in other matters.

"A participant in a workers' compensation hearing who agrees to the disclosure of medical records does so for the limited purpose of establishing a right to benefits, and does not intend or anticipate the release of that information for use in unrelated litigation."

Appellate Division ordered the trial judge to include the following restrictions:
"(1) the type of record requested; (2) the information it does or might contain; (3) the potential for harm in any subsequent nonconsensual disclosure; (4) the injury from disclosure to the relationship in which the record was generated; (5) the adequacy of safeguards to prevent unauthorized disclosure; (6) the degree of need for access; and (7) whether there is an express statutory mandate, articulated public policy, or other recognized public interest militating toward access."

The Court reasoned that both the Due Process Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment as well as the statutory restrictions of confidentiality N.J.S.A. 34:15-128(a)(1) and N.J.S.A. 34:15-128(3) required that a strict Protective Order be entered.

Seymoure v. A.O. Smith Water Products Company, et al 2016 WL 1589917 Decided 4/20/16
Limited time access at: http://www.judiciary.state.nj.us/opinions/a3967-14.pdf

National Asbestos Awareness Week - US Surgeon General

U.S. Surgeon General Dr. Vivek H. Murthy on National Asbestos Awareness Week 

Dr. Vivek Murthy
US Surgeon General

National Asbestos Awareness Week is April 1-7 – a good time to remind Americans about the health dangers of asbestos exposure. Asbestos, a natural mineral fiber that is found in rock and soil, was widely used as insulation and fireproofing material in homes, commercial buildings, ships and other products, such as paints and car brakes. In recent years, asbestos use has decreased dramatically after it was linked to illnesses, including lung cancer, mesothelioma, and asbestosis.

Because of its use in so many products, asbestos is still of special concern for anyone who works in construction – or who might be in a position to disturb asbestos found in older homes, buildings or equipment. The danger comes from inhaling the tiny fibers or dust released into the air once asbestos has been disturbed or damaged.

Workers who may be exposed to asbestos – including first responders and those involved in home repair or demolition projects – should protect themselves from asbestos exposure.

If you think you have been exposed to asbestos, I encourage you to speak to your health care professional.

For more information on asbestos – including sources on safe removal – please check out these resources:

• National Cancer Institute’s (NCI)  Asbestos Exposure and Cancer Risk
• Learn About Asbestos from the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)
• Asbestos Information from Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry (ATSDR)
• Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s (CDC) Workplace Safety & Health Topics:  Asbestos
• Consumer Product Safety Commission’s Asbestos in the Home