So, the manufacturing is done for the day, the laborers pack it all up, sweep the floor, take a hit on the water jug, and either head home or stop in at the local drinking establishment. In 1982, the Environmental Protection Agency in the United States decided to extensively research and issue a 265 page…
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Last week, we discussed what Engineers knew about asbestos prior to 1920. Today, let’s discuss how those involved in the electrical trades might find asbestos in their renovation jobs. We will use the Canadian code from 1966 merely as an example. From the following pages taken from the book, clearly asbestos wiring insulation had its…
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I love a good stroll through the archives. Today, please join me on this trip as Electrical Engineers might have been making over 100 years ago. Asbestos intersected with engineering designs long before the health related hazards became obvious. To see examples of their use of asbestos, I have chosen the 1917 Standard Handbook for…
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The Asbestos Disease Awareness Organization (ADAO) held its 18th Annual Asbestos Awareness and Prevention Conference on September 9, 2023 in Washington D.C. and live streamed globally. I attended by listening and watching the conference from my home in Colorado Springs. The convention was packed with panels discussing medicine, prevention, and all things asbestos, and attendees…
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The asbestos wrongful death claim by the Estate of Paul Stepka filed in January 1932 against Johns-Manville in the New Jersey Supreme Court was not the first such case to be filed, but it is a good representation of what JM knew at that time. I grabbed it from the Motley 1000 documents put together…
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And so, Paul Brodeur began his journalism career investigating asbestos-related health hazards on October 12, 1968 with his article in the New Yorker Magazine. His following 3 books on asbestos included Asbestos and Enzymes in 1972 dedicated to Irving J. Selikoff, The Asbestos Hazard in 1980, and Outrageous Misconduct in 1985. After a long and…
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Emily Reinstein and I share a terrible bond; that is, the death of our respective fathers to a terrible disease named Mesothelioma. Emily and her mom Linda, through the Asbestos Disease Awareness Organization (ADAO), honors Alan’s memory each year by granting the Alan Reinstein Award. For 2023, I am honored to share this award with…
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By 1966, many of the international asbestos companies such as Johns-Manville, Turner & Newell, James Hardie, Cape Asbestos, just to name a few, had undertaken a number of actions to hide the potential health hazards of asbestos. As some of my prior posts have pointed out, this includes settling cases upon the condition that the…
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Asbestos was mined extensively in many locations within the United States, including from the vermiculite mine in Libby, Montana. This mine opened in 1923 and was operated by W.R. Grace until it was closed in 1990, but only after exposing the residents and the environment to extensive asbestos pollution and causing significant illnesses. Even to…
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I see from Raymond’s recent posts that Mavis is going through a tough time of it. As such, now would be a good time for me to repeat my August 5, 2021 blog entitled “Mavis Nye: A Force to be Reckoned with” originally posted at https://theasbestosblog.com/?p=8406. Mavis is one of a kind and has done…
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