Two New Democrat Party (NDP) Members of Parliament (MPs) are issuing a warning stating that a popular toy being sold this holiday season contains unsafe levels of asbestos. Pat Martin and Libby Davies produced test results today showing that the CSI Fingerprint Examination Kit, a very popular toy this season, contains 5% tricolite asbestos. That form of asbestos is a particularly virile form of the fiber. Asbestos fibers in general have been named as the almost exclusive cause of mesothelioma, the deadly lung cancer. MP Martin says that selling this toy this holiday season is the equivalent of putting razorblades in Halloween candy. The NDP says that Canada's currently conservative government has kept its head in the sand in regards to the dangers of asbestos and has fallen victim to industry lobbyists. Canada exports roughly 200,000 tonnes of asbestos each year. MP Davies feels that the country needs to offer a relief program to workers and shut down the entire industry. If you or someone you know has been diagnosed with mesothelioma following exposure to asbestos, contact the Mesothelioma Lawyers of Williams Kherkher at 1-866-950-9000 to discuss your legal options and to schedule a free initial consultation.

Mrs. Kristina Woodhouse, age 67, died in May from mesothelioma. Oddly enough, she had never been exposed to asbestos. This makes her one of a very small percentage of people that somehow develop mesothelioma without asbestos exposure. The disease in so rare in people that have not been exposed to asbestos that it is almost unheard of. The coroner for Lockeridge, in the United Kingdom, heard that Mrs. Woodhouse had contracted mesothelioma and so performed an autopsy. Her husband, however, claims that Mrs. Woodhouse was never exposed to asbestos dust. He is a retired school teacher. Mesothelioma is generally considered to be an industrial disease because asbestos is most commonly found in factories. Mrs. Woodhouse becomes part of 1% of all mesothelioma cases in that she did not develop mesothelioma following inhalation of asbestos dust.  Mrs. Woodhouse fell ill in August of 2006 and died in May of 2007. Due to a lack of asbestos exposure, her death was ruled a natural death. If you or someone you know has been exposed to asbestos and diagnosed with mesothelioma, contact the Mesothelioma Lawyers of Williams Kherkher at 1-866-950-9000 to schedule an initial consultation and to discuss your legal options.

According to the Asbestos Disease Awareness Organization, asbestos has been found in numerous consumer products, including one of this season's top toys for Christmas. The CSI Fingerprint Examination Kit, two brands of children's clay, powdered cleanser, roof sealers, duct tapes, window glazings, spackling paste, and small home appliances were all found to include asbestos according to two of the three labs hired by the Asbestos Disease Awareness Organization, a watchgroup formed in 2004 to educate the public on the dangers of asbestos and the risks associated. The riskiest of the products found is the CSI Fingerprint Examination Kit. The kit, licensed by CBS and produced in China, is a top seller. It comes with three "finger print dusting powders" that come in black, white, and glow-in-the-dark varieties. The white and glow-in-the-dark powders had high concentrations of asbestos fibers. Physicians are particularly concerned because they expect that a lot of dust from the powder will be inhaled by children as they run around dusting for fingerprints and moving the powder around with a small brush. Some of the products on the list had less than 1% asbestos in them which would make them legal under the bill just passed by the U.S. Senate. Others, such as the CSI kit, have much higher asbestos contents. Physicians insist that asbestos exposure in any quantity is harmful to the body.  If you or someone you know has been exposed to asbestos or diagnosed with mesothelioma, there may be legal options available to you. Contact the Mesothelioma lawyers of Williams Kherkher at 1-866-950-9000 to discuss your legal options and to set up a free initial consultation.  

On Oct. 4 the U.S. Senate unanimously passed legislation to ban most asbestos-containing materials (materials with asbestos concentrations of 1 percent or less by weight are not covered) and begin federal investment in the research critically needed to develop effective treatments and, perhaps even one day, a cure. Since 1999, the Mesothelioma Applied Research Foundation has awarded more than $4 million in research grants to study this dreaded cancer. That is an essential start, but just a drop in the bucket compared with what is needed. Murray's bill authorizes federal funds of $10 million per year for medical research so that tens of thousands of people who were exposed to asbestos decades ago and may be diagnosed with mesothelioma in the future can benefit from better therapies. Like Bruce, they will be in the fight of their lives. This important legislation will help them win that battle.

The state attorneys general in Minnesota and Wisconsin are joining environmental groups to stop Northshore Mining Co. efforts in federal court to lower the standard for fibers in the air near the company's Silver Bay taconite plant. The states and environmental groups vehemently oppose the company's motion to drop the standard, set in 1974, for asbestos-like fibers in the air near the taconite plant along the shore of Lake Superior. Fibers found in taconite dust in the eastern parts of the Iron Range, may cause health problems, particularly lung ailments like mesothelioma. The current, court-ordered standard requires Northshore to keep fibers in the air near Silver Bay at or below the average level of fibers in St. Paul air. The company claims that the comparison between Silver Bay and St. Paul air is outdated, and that the fibers pose no human health risk and dropping the standard won't result in increased fibers in Silver Bay, but would end an unfair comparison to fluctuating St. Paul fiber levels. Wisconsin Attorney General J.B. Van Hollen noted that recent reports from the Minnesota Department of Health show unusually high levels of mesothelioma in the region. The disease is caused only by exposure to asbestos fibers.