Articles Posted in Boston Mesothelioma

Toward the end of the Obama administration, the United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) added asbestos to a list of dangerous or hazardous chemicals.  The significance of this new law was the EPA would be able to allocate more money toward the prevention of asbestos-related illnesses, such as malignant mesothelioma.

asbestosWhile asbestos is not used anywhere as near is much as it once was, it still poses a significant danger, and the number of asbestos cases are actually going up each year, according to recent statistics.  As it stands now, there are thousands of deaths from mesothelioma each year in the U.S. alone. Continue reading

According to a recent news article from The Garden Island, inspectors have discovered a large amount of asbestos at the Kauai War Memorial Convention Hall.   Hawaii is very important in terms of America’s involvement in the Second World War.  This of course was the site of the bombing of Pearl Harbor, which caused the United States to enter the war in the Pacific Theater of Operations. As a result, there are many war monuments and museums on the Hawaiian Islands.

boilerOne of these war memorials is located in Kauai and there is a large convection hall attached to the monument as well, which is frequented by both locals and businesses that host events on the property.  According to reports, one of the caretakers of the facility first became concerned that there was asbestos in the flooring tiles and that its presence could be dangerous to those who frequent the building. Continue reading

When asbestos was first installed in the countless buildings in the United States it was very dangerous to the workers who were at the mines unearthing the material.  It was also very dangerous to the workers who were employed at the factories processing the material into construction products. Then it was transported to millions of job sites across the country, where it was dangerous to the workers who were on the job.

warningAs if this was not bad enough, it was dangerous to the families of the workers. When a worker came home at the end of the day still covered in the deadly asbestos fibers, they posed a significant risk to the spouses and children of these workers who would hug them at the end of the day and lived in the same home. Continue reading

For many, New York City’s Broadway is the gold standard of musicals and famous theaters. However, Boston has quite a few historic theaters located in the theater district and throughout the downtown area.  One of the most famous is the Colonial Theater, built 117 years ago.  At it turns out, many of the more famous shows, such as “Porgy and Bess” and “Oklahoma,” were first presented at this theater in Boston before debuting on Broadway.

asbestos dustThis famous theater was designed with many classic and beautiful features, but it was also built at a time when asbestos was used in virtually every aspect of the construction process.  Over the years, the theater began to fall apart and was literally crumbling into dust.  Since much of this dust contained deadly asbestos fibers, this became a major problem, and there was much talk about the theater closing down forever, according to a recent article from The New York Times. Continue reading

Malignant mesothelioma is the most well-known disease associated with exposure to deadly asbestos fibers. However, it is not the only disease caused by exposure to asbestos fibers.  There is also a disease known as asbestosis that is not talked about as much, but many people are still aware of its existence.

treatmentAs discussed in a recent article in The Western News, one of the more common diseases caused by exposure to asbestos is known as pleural thickening. Pleural refers to the human lungs.  As the asbestos fibers are inhaled, they can become trapped in the lungs, and the body has three distinct responses that are not technically associated with mesothelioma.
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According to a recent news article from Canyon News, one neighborhood is facing a public health emergency due to the fact that residents in as many at 20 apartments are at risk for being exposed to deadly asbestos fibers.  While asbestos fibers can come from many sources, in this case, the danger is posed by the use of popcorn ceilings.

popcorn-1152298-300x225For those who are not familiar with popcorn ceilings, this was a design trend that was popularized in the 1950s and used through 1988 that involved an acoustic dampening foam before a coat of paint was applied to the ceiling.  The purpose of the popcorn ceiling was providing sound insulation so that people who lived in lived in a lower floor apartment would not be bothered by noise coming from the apartment on the floor above. Continue reading

According to a recent news article from Mesothelioma Research News, a new study involving what is known as the WT1 protein has been shown to have promising results in the treatment of malignant mesothelioma using chemotherapy drugs. There is a big focus on improving the efficacy of chemotherapy drugs, because surgical alternatives are very invasive and often result in significant complications for patients who undergo these procedures.

lungsThis study focused on malignant pleural mesothelioma (MPM).  MPM is the type of cancer where the malignant tumors first appear in the lungs as oppose to the patient’s abdomen or chest.  However, it is important to understand that, while the tumor may start in the lungs, the cancer can and often does quickly spread to other areas of the body where it does a tremendous amount of damage. Continue reading

Many of the schools built in Boston and surrounding suburbs were constructed at a time when asbestos was heavily used during the construction process.  The reason asbestos was used is because it is a cheap naturally occurring mineral that has a tremendous ability to withstand heat, fire, electricity, and caustic chemicals.

schoolAsbestos was used as insulation in walls, ceilings, roofing tiles, around pipes and boilers, and it was also used for its ability as a chemical bonding agent.  This means it was used in most construction cements and joining compounds.  It was very dangerous to the miners extracting asbestos from the ground and everyone who worked in transporting it and processing it into building materials.  It was also very dangerous to the workers who were installing the materials in the schools when they were originally constructed. Continue reading

There is no question that being diagnosed with malignant mesothelioma is essentially a death sentence.  The vast majority of patients who are diagnosed with malignant mesothelioma will be dead with a year or two of learning they are victims of this almost exclusively asbestos-related cancer.

x ray analysisThere is no cure for mesothelioma, and many researchers do not know if there will ever be due the fact that it is almost always in a very advanced stage once they receive a diagnosis. This reason for this is because, once a victim is exposed to the deadly asbestos fibers, the fibers can become lodged in a protective layer of tissue known as the mesothelium.  At this point, the body has no way to remove these fibers, and they will start to cause cells to mutate into what will ultimately be classified as malignant mesothelioma.   Continue reading

Boston and the surrounding towns in Massachusetts are filled with old buildings. Some of these are three-deckers, offices that have not been renovated in decades, and others are old industrial buildings, such as factories that are not in good enough shape to occupy without major renovations.

construction siteIf these old buildings were fully renovated, they would be beautiful and could be used for years to come as condos, offices, and even mixed use residential and commercial.  However, it is very costly to fully make these repairs, because the buildings were built at a time when asbestos was used in virtually every aspect of the construction process, and now it is in a crumbling state, and that is what is known in the asbestos industry as friable asbestos. Continue reading

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