Boston mesothelioma attorney

April 17, 2017

Report: Asbestos “Everywhere” at Harvard University

According to a recent news report from The Harvard Crimson, Harvard University administrators have said asbestos is “everywhere” around the campus, but stressed that the risk of asbestos exposure to any of the students, faculty or staff is minimal. The recent concern arose as the university has been performing a massive renovations project on the student housing buildings that were built at a time when asbestos was heavily used during most aspects of the construction process.

A year prior to this announcement, one student returned to his dorm room and found everything covered in dust that had fallen from the ceiling. This dust was tested and the presence of deadly asbestos fibers was confirmed. At this point, there was an investigation into the amount of asbestos and the possible dangers it may pose to people who frequent these buildings. Continue reading

April 9, 2017

Report: Framingham Asbestos Dumping Lawsuit Settled

by Jeffrey S. Glassman

According to a recent news story from Wicked Local Framingham, a major asbestos lawsuit has been settled for $385,000. This lawsuit involved seven different parties, including the town of Framingham, Massachusetts, which is just outside of Boston.

This case primarily involved a waste disposal company located in Milford and its owner. The Massachusetts attorney general alleged that the owner of company took soil that contained asbestos from a construction job site located in Framingham and then illegally dumped the asbestos debris behind a residence in Milford, rather than properly disposing of the material. Continue reading

April 5, 2017

Mass. Attorney General Prosecutes Alleged Asbestos Violator

by Jeffrey S. Glassman

In Massachusetts, whenever a property owner suspects that he or she has asbestos issues and is going to do any renovation or demolition work, it is first necessary to have a certified inspector come and take samples. These samples are sent to a materials testing lab for microscopic analysis, even if there is little question that the material contains deadly asbestos fibers.

If the presence of asbestos is confirmed, the property owner must hire an asbestos abatement contractor to handle the removal after first submitting an abatement (removal) plan to the state department of health. All personnel must be properly trained and must be wearing proper safety equipment. This includes ventilators or respirators. The purpose for all of this is to keep all workers and the community at large safe from the dangers of asbestos exposure. Continue reading

March 19, 2017

Report: Lack of Asbestos Enforcement Puts People at Risk

by Jeffrey S. Glassman

An investigation by reporters in Georgia revealed that the state agency in charge of enforcing asbestos regulations fails to make certain that those removing the dangerous substance are actually licensed to do so. That’s because the program was de-funded six years ago. This lack of basic enforcement, say victim advocates, puts residents and the general public at grave risk of developing diseases associated with asbestos exposure – including mesothelioma.

One of the men who has been affected is in 2015 was diagnosed with mesothelioma. For the last several years, he worked six days every week at a heating and cooling company. At his most recent doctor’s visit, he was given between six and eight months left to live. Mesothelioma, of course, is caused by exposure to asbestos. The man has filed a lawsuit against the manufacturers he believes ares responsible for his exposure to the substance while he was working on residential projects in the Atlanta region some two decades ago. The father-of-two lamented the fact that his condition was terminal, and he would likely die before he saw the companies responsible for the toxic exposure held to account.

Of course, most homes build prior 1978 use some type of asbestos in the joint compound in the wallboards. However, most people have no idea because asbestos doesn’t have any distinct odor or taste. The real risk of exposure occurs when the substance is disturbed and the fibers are kicked up in the air and breathed in. This is especially concerning when you consider that in driving through older neighborhoods in that city at any given time, one is likely to see dozens of these older residences under construction. If the asbestos removal work isn’t done properly by licensed contractors, it increases the risk that not only are the workers being exposed to the toxin, but so too are the neighbors. Continue reading

March 5, 2017

New Asbestos Law and Changes Ahead

by Jeffrey S. Glassman

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.

While 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

March 3, 2017

Asbestos Discovered at War Memorial

by Jeffrey S. Glassman

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.

One 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

February 28, 2017

Attorney General Alleges Contractor Falsified Asbestos Records

by Jeffrey S. Glassman

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.

As 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

February 25, 2017

Renovation Efforts and Asbestos Abatement at Boston’s Colonial Theater

by Jeffrey S. Glassman

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.

This 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

February 22, 2017

Childhood Exposure to Asbestos and Related Issues

by Jeffrey S. Glassman

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.

As 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.
Continue reading

February 13, 2017

New Study Analyzes Proteins in Mesothelioma Treatment

by Jeffrey S. Glassman

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.

This 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