Author: Martin Ditkof

Where History Means Knowledge. Be Informed.

Mesothelioma Medical Research and Advances: State of the Art and Hope for the Future

The International Mesothelioma Interest Group (iMig) held a virtual conference on May 7-9, 2021 discussing all things medical (plus a little more) about Mesothelioma and other asbestos related illnesses. The scope and depth of the discussions by doctors and medical researchers around the globe was staggering; in fact, overwhelming for those of us who are…
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Ship Breaking in Bangladesh: Exporting the Asbestos Exposure with no Worker Safety

Ship Breaking means what visually comes to mind: breaking old ships into pieces for disposal or recycling. One of the primary areas in the world that specializes in Ship Breaking is Chittagong Ship Yards in Bangladesh. This link provides a good visual as to how this occurs. https://www.theguardian.com/world/gallery/2012/may/06/shipbreaking-yards-chittagong-in-pictures. As discussed in the link, the workers…
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International Mesothelioma Interest Group Virtual Conference, May 7-9

As a change from my normal historical based weekly Blog, let’s discuss Mesothelioma and other asbestos disease related research. As the diagnosis lag from exposure to asbestos is generally 30 to 40 years, literally millions of currently living ill fated people will be diagnosed with, and die from, an asbestos related disease who are already…
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The History of Asbestos in Electrical Products. 100 Years Ago.

As my weekly Blogs focus on history, I decided that we needed one which discusses the historical use of asbestos in electrical products. Electricians are one of the trades with a long history of exposure to asbestos, whether in the U.K., https://electrical.theiet.org/wiring-matters/years/2020/81-july-2020/asbestos-guidance-for-electricians/, the United States, https://www.ecmag.com/section/safety/asbestos-workplace, or elsewhere. As mentioned in the articles, electricians are…
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Naturally Occurring Asbestos Sources in the United States. The Ultimate Geology History Lesson by the EPA. Hiking in the Mountains in Colorado, Breath Deeply, and feel that Tickle? Yea.

Last week, we discussed the yearly publications on asbestos by the USGS side of the United States Government. In this Blog, we will go instead to the Environmental Protection Agency to discuss the geology history side of asbestos, with a focus on where it is naturally located and the risk of inhaling those asbestos fibers.…
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Minerals Yearbook. The Ultimate Guide to Asbestos History Starting in 1882

Did you ever wonder how it all began? Even more, have you ever wanted to search specific years to see what was known by the United States government about asbestos? Maybe even research the science and knowledge that existed when you or a beloved family member was working? Actually, that is the easiest historical research…
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Mining the Archives for Asbestos History. The Manville Document Repository.

One of the best starting points for a historical based deep dig on asbestos is the document repository based in Aurora, Colorado, also known as the Asbestos Claims Research Facility (ACRF). This repository was formed after the Manville bankruptcy but includes documents related to just about any asbestos topic, issue, or defendant. Just their available…
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DIGGING FOR HISTORICAL EXPOSURES. THE ASBESTOS INFORMATION ACT OF 1988.

Back to our series to help you locate who, what, when, and where. A good source of information are the responses by the asbestos companies to the Asbestos Information Act of 1988. That being said, I find it hard to believe that this was 33 years ago and yet we are all still fighting the…
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The Asbestos Industry. Turning Workers into Commodities. Turning an Attorney into a Bag Man to Deliver Lungs Across the Border.

I am interrupting my series on how to best use historical documents to determine exposure as I found an article that is fascinating. I hope that you also find it engaging and thought provoking. As part of my research, I have come across Jessica van Horssen who did her PhD Dissertation on the town formerly…
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Locating Asbestos History. The Owens-Corning Fiberglass Picture Book.

As my tagline says, “Where History Means Knowledge. Be Informed.” For those of you interested in researching your exposure to asbestos or in identifying potential exposures to asbestos, the OCF Picture Book is a tremendous asset. Owens-Corning Fiberglass created the Picture Book in 1990 in order to help the witnesses identify other potentially responsible parties.…
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