Even with construction projects on-hold in a local school district, board directors approved for potentially-harmful fibers to be removed from two schools.
Armstrong School District board directors approved advertising for asbestos abatement within Ford City Jr. –Sr. High School and Kittanning Sr. High School – two schools which will possibly be renovated in the current construction plan – potentially this summer.
According to previous advertisements, asbestos removal at Ford City Jr. – Sr. High School is estimated to cost $350,000. The same work is to cost approximately $450,000 at Kittanning Sr. High School.
Directors previously advertised for bidders last month, but bids were not opened because it is unknown whether the construction projects will proceed. The projects are currently on-hold pending a Pennsylvania Department of Education (PDE) Act 34 public hearing at Elderton High School Thursday, April 28 at 7PM.
Asbestos abatement must be done before the construction projects can begin, but is not reimbursable through the Pennsylvania Department of Education.
Action to seek bids for both schools was passed 5-4 with Board Members Chris Choncek, James Rearic, Joseph Close and Steven Kozuch voting against the action.
Choncek explained why he voted to seek results from Thursday’s hearing on construction projects before deciding on the abatement.
“The state’s not sure, and everyone’s not sure if this is going to go through -that we’re going to get the reimbursement – so until that is determined from this Act 34 state-sponsored hearing, stop all the projects involved in this renovation because they would not be doing the asbestos abatement if it was not for the renovation project,” Choncek said.
Board directors have not discussed a contingency plan if construction plans are not approved by the state, which Choncek said might alter some board members’ plans.
“If we don’t get reimbursed and they don’t approve the project, obviously some of that stuff is going to have to change,” Choncek said.
According to PDE, Departmental approval of PlanCon Part F (construction documents) for a project does not guarantee reimbursement for that project. A project is deemed eligible for reimbursement only upon written Departmental approval of PlanCon Part G, Project Accounting Based on Bids.
Because the asbestos removal could potentially be done at a different time than the construction projects, Board Member Steven Kozuch said he is not in the board majority that approved the asbestos bidding.
“I have not backed the separation of the asbestos abatement from the project from Day One when it was first proposed,” Kozuch said. “I’m in favor of it being done, but I wasn’t in favor of it being separate from the rest of the project.”
L.R. Kimball architects will advertise for the asbestos removal three times before bids are opened.
Source : http://www.kittanningpaper.com/2011/04/26/school-board-directors-to-re-advertise-for-asbestos-removal/16362
Tuesday, April 26, 2011
Former Bills player faces asbestos charge
A Buffalo firefighter who briefly played fullback for the Buffalo Bills was criminally charged on Friday with illegally handling asbestos.
Sean P. Doctor, 44, of Buffalo, was charged with a felony violation of the federal Clean Air Act, the U. S. Attorney’s office said.
In addition to working as a city firefighter, Doctor owns and operates a Grand Islandbased asbestos removal firm called S. D. Specialty Services, according to prosecutor Aaron J. Mango and the U. S. Environmental Protection Agency.
Investigators from the federal Environmental Protection Agency and the state Department of Environmental Conservation said they conducted a court-authorized raid on the company’s property at 1815 Love Road.
Investigators found a “significant amount” of asbestos waste that had not been properly secured, labeled or disposed of, EPA Special Agents Justus Derx said in court papers after the April 19 raid.
Asbestos that is not wetted down, put into secure bags and disposed of could be blown about by the wind and cause health problems for people who live near the Love Road property, authorities said.
“Through investigation, it was determined that the asbestos-containing material on the site came from projects that [Doctor] had worked on,” Mango said.
Before joining the Fire Department, Doctor was a football star for Marshall University. He was drafted by the Bills in April 1989. After a suspension for steroid use, he played briefly for the team before he was cut early in the 1990 season.
“Sean is a wonderful guy who does a good job on asbestos removal,” Doctor’s attorney, Michael T. Kelly, told The Buffalo News. “The rules and regulations on handling asbestos are absolutely mind-boggling. I do feel that he will be cleared of these charges.”
During a court appearance Friday before Magistrate Judge H. Kenneth Schroeder Jr., Mango said state safety inspectors recently found that employees who worked for Doctor on a project in Watertown were not using required safety equipment.
Doctor was released on nonfinancial bond while he awaits further proceedings.
Source : http://www.buffalonews.com/city/article400543.ece
Sean P. Doctor, 44, of Buffalo, was charged with a felony violation of the federal Clean Air Act, the U. S. Attorney’s office said.
In addition to working as a city firefighter, Doctor owns and operates a Grand Islandbased asbestos removal firm called S. D. Specialty Services, according to prosecutor Aaron J. Mango and the U. S. Environmental Protection Agency.
Investigators from the federal Environmental Protection Agency and the state Department of Environmental Conservation said they conducted a court-authorized raid on the company’s property at 1815 Love Road.
Investigators found a “significant amount” of asbestos waste that had not been properly secured, labeled or disposed of, EPA Special Agents Justus Derx said in court papers after the April 19 raid.
Asbestos that is not wetted down, put into secure bags and disposed of could be blown about by the wind and cause health problems for people who live near the Love Road property, authorities said.
“Through investigation, it was determined that the asbestos-containing material on the site came from projects that [Doctor] had worked on,” Mango said.
Before joining the Fire Department, Doctor was a football star for Marshall University. He was drafted by the Bills in April 1989. After a suspension for steroid use, he played briefly for the team before he was cut early in the 1990 season.
“Sean is a wonderful guy who does a good job on asbestos removal,” Doctor’s attorney, Michael T. Kelly, told The Buffalo News. “The rules and regulations on handling asbestos are absolutely mind-boggling. I do feel that he will be cleared of these charges.”
During a court appearance Friday before Magistrate Judge H. Kenneth Schroeder Jr., Mango said state safety inspectors recently found that employees who worked for Doctor on a project in Watertown were not using required safety equipment.
Doctor was released on nonfinancial bond while he awaits further proceedings.
Source : http://www.buffalonews.com/city/article400543.ece
Fitness fruits of cultivating your own garden
Spring is here and people everywhere are getting back to their gardens.
Experts say whether you're planting lilacs, squash or roses when it comes to the fitness benefits of all that pulling, digging, mulching and mowing, you'll reap what you sow.
"You get exercise whether you're mowing the lawn or planting a flower garden," said Bruce Butterfield, market research director of the nonprofit National Gardening Association (NGA).
"Some of it is more rigorous, some less," he added.
Last year about 68 per cent of all U.S. households participated in one or more types of do-it yourself lawn and garden activities, according to a national Harris Poll conducted by the NGA.
"That's about 80 million households," Butterfield said.
And a 2009 poll found that of those, 38 per cent gave gardening a green thumbs up as a great form of exercise.
The effort involved in planting a garden, such as standing, stooping, kneeling, watering, and weeding, can burn more than 300 calories an hour, according to the American College of Sports Medicine's (ACSM) Health and Fitness Journal.
Neal Pire, an exercise physiologist with ACSM, said lower back stress is the most common weed in the fitness garden, especially if, after a winter of inactivity, you run outdoors on first day of spring to garden the day away.
"Start slowly," he advises, "and progress a little more each successive day."
Jeffrey Restuccio, author of book "Get Fit Through Gardening," is a martial arts expert keen to transform gardening, generally categorized as a moderate-intensity exercise, into a comprehensive fitness program.
Experts say whether you're planting lilacs, squash or roses when it comes to the fitness benefits of all that pulling, digging, mulching and mowing, you'll reap what you sow.
"You get exercise whether you're mowing the lawn or planting a flower garden," said Bruce Butterfield, market research director of the nonprofit National Gardening Association (NGA).
"Some of it is more rigorous, some less," he added.
Last year about 68 per cent of all U.S. households participated in one or more types of do-it yourself lawn and garden activities, according to a national Harris Poll conducted by the NGA.
"That's about 80 million households," Butterfield said.
And a 2009 poll found that of those, 38 per cent gave gardening a green thumbs up as a great form of exercise.
The effort involved in planting a garden, such as standing, stooping, kneeling, watering, and weeding, can burn more than 300 calories an hour, according to the American College of Sports Medicine's (ACSM) Health and Fitness Journal.
Neal Pire, an exercise physiologist with ACSM, said lower back stress is the most common weed in the fitness garden, especially if, after a winter of inactivity, you run outdoors on first day of spring to garden the day away.
"Start slowly," he advises, "and progress a little more each successive day."
Jeffrey Restuccio, author of book "Get Fit Through Gardening," is a martial arts expert keen to transform gardening, generally categorized as a moderate-intensity exercise, into a comprehensive fitness program.
Man exposed workers to asbestos
A man who exposed his young, inexperienced workers to asbestos without providing them with the proper gear has dodged a prison sentence.
Arthur Moore was ordered to stop his asbestos abatement business in an August 2010 ruling by a B.C. Supreme Court judge.
But he continued to carry on work, sometimes using recovering drug and alcohol addicts from the Lion Wellness Recovery House in Surrey, where some clients are required to find a job as part of their recovery program.
WorkSafe B.C. made an application to have Moore found in contempt of court and sentenced to up to 120 days in jail for continuing to do asbestos work despite the injunction.
Justice Jeanne Watchuk dismissed WorkSafe B.C.'s application on a technicality in her B.C. Supreme Court ruling dated April 11 this year.
Watchuk found Moore would get his vulnerable, young workers to remove asbestos from jobs he had successfully bid on "without providing protective equipment to his employees."
Asbestos was a popular building material for its fire-retardant properties up to the 1970s. That changed when it was determined asbestos is a slow killer, claiming its victims 10 to 20 years after they were exposed to the substance.
It is the biggest cause of workrelated deaths in B.C. -53 of the 121 death claims in B.C. in 2009 were asbestos-related.
Although Watchuk found Moore "poses a significant public safety concern" and "targeted ... vulnerable workers," she dismissed the application to have him jailed.
Arthur Moore was ordered to stop his asbestos abatement business in an August 2010 ruling by a B.C. Supreme Court judge.
But he continued to carry on work, sometimes using recovering drug and alcohol addicts from the Lion Wellness Recovery House in Surrey, where some clients are required to find a job as part of their recovery program.
WorkSafe B.C. made an application to have Moore found in contempt of court and sentenced to up to 120 days in jail for continuing to do asbestos work despite the injunction.
Justice Jeanne Watchuk dismissed WorkSafe B.C.'s application on a technicality in her B.C. Supreme Court ruling dated April 11 this year.
Watchuk found Moore would get his vulnerable, young workers to remove asbestos from jobs he had successfully bid on "without providing protective equipment to his employees."
Asbestos was a popular building material for its fire-retardant properties up to the 1970s. That changed when it was determined asbestos is a slow killer, claiming its victims 10 to 20 years after they were exposed to the substance.
It is the biggest cause of workrelated deaths in B.C. -53 of the 121 death claims in B.C. in 2009 were asbestos-related.
Although Watchuk found Moore "poses a significant public safety concern" and "targeted ... vulnerable workers," she dismissed the application to have him jailed.
Asbestos Sampling Guidelines for the Prediction of Mesothelioma
Despite its established threat to human health, asbestos was once extensively used in construction and manufacturing projects. Although asbestos use is now firmly regulated in the United States, construction projects are often conducted at sites where the mineral naturally occurs or at buildings where asbestos products were used. Sampling tests are commonly used to estimate the amount of asbestos disturbed by the construction as well as the health risk posed to workers.
Samples taken from asbestos worksites are most commonly used to assess the risk for construction workers, individuals who pass through the worksites during construction, workers employed at the finished worksite and residents who live near the area. Calculations project the risk of developing an asbestos-related illness such as malignant mesothelioma, as well as absolute risk, which is the chance of death from a complication of cumulative asbestos exposure.
Risk assessments for asbestos-related diseases are based on the level and extent of a person’s asbestos exposure. Extent includes the number of hours per day, days per year and total years that were spent in an asbestos-contaminated worksite. While extent varies from person to person, the precise level of exposure at a given worksite is determined by analyzing an air or soil sample.
The soil collection method currently used is the Berman and Crump approach. During this process, a soil sample is suspended in a machine called an elutriator. The filters in the machine collect the particles. A microscopic evaluation of the filters projects an estimate of asbestos concentrations in the soil. The modified elutriator method, adopted in 2000, uses the number of overall asbestos structures in the soil to also anticipate the quantity of airborne asbestos.
In September 2008, a new air sampling approach was introduced to more closely reflect the conditions created by the actual construction process. This approach analyzes breathing zone samples taken after soil is mechanically disturbed. Known as activity-based sampling, this method more adequately reflects the risk of asbestos inhalation during common construction activities.
After sampling has been conducted, data quality must be considered and reports must be checked for completion. This process ensures the submission of an accurate report for publication.
Additional information on asbestos and its role in the development of mesothelioma may be found through the Mesothelioma Center.
Source : http://www.asbestos.com/news/2011/04/25/asbestos-sampling-guidelines-for-the-prediction-of-mesothelioma/
Samples taken from asbestos worksites are most commonly used to assess the risk for construction workers, individuals who pass through the worksites during construction, workers employed at the finished worksite and residents who live near the area. Calculations project the risk of developing an asbestos-related illness such as malignant mesothelioma, as well as absolute risk, which is the chance of death from a complication of cumulative asbestos exposure.
Risk assessments for asbestos-related diseases are based on the level and extent of a person’s asbestos exposure. Extent includes the number of hours per day, days per year and total years that were spent in an asbestos-contaminated worksite. While extent varies from person to person, the precise level of exposure at a given worksite is determined by analyzing an air or soil sample.
The soil collection method currently used is the Berman and Crump approach. During this process, a soil sample is suspended in a machine called an elutriator. The filters in the machine collect the particles. A microscopic evaluation of the filters projects an estimate of asbestos concentrations in the soil. The modified elutriator method, adopted in 2000, uses the number of overall asbestos structures in the soil to also anticipate the quantity of airborne asbestos.
In September 2008, a new air sampling approach was introduced to more closely reflect the conditions created by the actual construction process. This approach analyzes breathing zone samples taken after soil is mechanically disturbed. Known as activity-based sampling, this method more adequately reflects the risk of asbestos inhalation during common construction activities.
After sampling has been conducted, data quality must be considered and reports must be checked for completion. This process ensures the submission of an accurate report for publication.
Additional information on asbestos and its role in the development of mesothelioma may be found through the Mesothelioma Center.
Source : http://www.asbestos.com/news/2011/04/25/asbestos-sampling-guidelines-for-the-prediction-of-mesothelioma/
Surgery is Inappropriate for Some Mesothelioma Patients
Patients with non-epithelial mesothelioma and lymph node involvement are poor candidates for the extensive surgical procedure known as extrapleural pneumonectomy (EPP), according to a new study.
That’s the finding of a new article published in the Annals of Surgical Oncology. Researchers from the Baird Institute for Applied Heart and Lung Surgical Research in Sydney, Australia analyzed the current literature on EPP for malignant pleural mesothelioma. They examined the patient selection process and overall survival of surgical patients in major referral centers where EPP is performed.
The most serious of the asbestos cancers, mesothelioma tends to spread quickly and is notoriously resistant to standard treatments. Clinical trials across the globe have confirmed that the best mesothelioma outcomes are seen in patients who undergo EPP, followed by adjuvant therapies such as chemotherapy and/or radiotherapy.
In the new review article, seventeen studies from 13 institutions were found to offer the most complete and up-to-date information for analysis. The authors report that “a number of quantitative, clinical and treatment-related factors were identified to have significant impact on overall survival.”
While the researchers found marked differences in the way different institutions select mesothelioma patients for surgery, they found that, across the board, patients who had sarcomatoid or biphasic mesothelioma did not fair as well after surgery as those who had the epithelioid type. Likewise, mesothelioma patients whose cancer had spread to their lymph nodes also did not do as well after surgery as patients whose tumors were confined to the mesothelium. In their conclusion, the researchers suggest that these patients be excluded from consideration for EPP.
EPP, which involves removing not only the cancerous tissue but, often, a lung or portion of a lung, carries serious risk of complication or even death. Careful selection of mesothelioma surgical candidates, say the study’s authors, not only improves outcomes for the right patients, but protects those who are not good surgical candidates from undergoing a risky operation for limited benefit.
Sources:
Cao, C et al, “Summary of Prognostic Factors and Patient Selection for Extrapleural Pneumonectomy int eh Treatment of Malignant Pleural Mesothelioma”, April 22, 2011, Annals of Surgical Oncology.
Source 2 : http://www.survivingmesothelioma.com/news/view.asp?ID=001076
That’s the finding of a new article published in the Annals of Surgical Oncology. Researchers from the Baird Institute for Applied Heart and Lung Surgical Research in Sydney, Australia analyzed the current literature on EPP for malignant pleural mesothelioma. They examined the patient selection process and overall survival of surgical patients in major referral centers where EPP is performed.
The most serious of the asbestos cancers, mesothelioma tends to spread quickly and is notoriously resistant to standard treatments. Clinical trials across the globe have confirmed that the best mesothelioma outcomes are seen in patients who undergo EPP, followed by adjuvant therapies such as chemotherapy and/or radiotherapy.
In the new review article, seventeen studies from 13 institutions were found to offer the most complete and up-to-date information for analysis. The authors report that “a number of quantitative, clinical and treatment-related factors were identified to have significant impact on overall survival.”
While the researchers found marked differences in the way different institutions select mesothelioma patients for surgery, they found that, across the board, patients who had sarcomatoid or biphasic mesothelioma did not fair as well after surgery as those who had the epithelioid type. Likewise, mesothelioma patients whose cancer had spread to their lymph nodes also did not do as well after surgery as patients whose tumors were confined to the mesothelium. In their conclusion, the researchers suggest that these patients be excluded from consideration for EPP.
EPP, which involves removing not only the cancerous tissue but, often, a lung or portion of a lung, carries serious risk of complication or even death. Careful selection of mesothelioma surgical candidates, say the study’s authors, not only improves outcomes for the right patients, but protects those who are not good surgical candidates from undergoing a risky operation for limited benefit.
Sources:
Cao, C et al, “Summary of Prognostic Factors and Patient Selection for Extrapleural Pneumonectomy int eh Treatment of Malignant Pleural Mesothelioma”, April 22, 2011, Annals of Surgical Oncology.
Source 2 : http://www.survivingmesothelioma.com/news/view.asp?ID=001076
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