An appeals court in Cleveland has reinstated the mesothelioma lawsuit of an Ohio electrician who often did repairs at a General Motors plant. The ruling overturned the decision of a lower court judge, who ruled that the claims made in the mesothelioma lawsuit were not valid.…

A study which claimed that the soil in a California town was contaminated with asbestos has been confirmed in a second study by the U.S. Geological Survey. The earlier study, conducted by the Environmental Protection Agency in October 2004, found that naturally occurring asbestos fibers in the soil of El Dorado Hills, California had contaminated the air around schoolyards, parks…

A man in Florida has filed a mesothelioma lawsuit against 143 companies that he claims caused him to be exposed to asbestos. Richard Mahoney alleges that he developed mesothelioma symptoms after nearly 60 years of employment at jobs that involved working with asbestos products. Among the companies named in his mesothelioma lawsuit are DaimlerChrysler, Dow Chemical, Ford Motor Co., General…

Ten steamfitters who work in the crumbling, asbestos-lined tunnels beneath the U.S. Capitol complex in Washington, D.C. are set to receive an award for civic courage. The men claim to have been harassed by their bosses and denied equipment they need to do their jobs because they went public about the asbestos contamination in the tunnels where they work. On…

A Canadian study has found that 70% of a recent rise in workplace deaths can be blamed on asbestos-related illnesses. The study, “Five Deaths a Day: Workplace Fatalities in Canada, 1993–2005,” says that workplace deaths rose from 958 in 2004 to 1,097 in 2005. More than 30% of these deaths were related to asbestos exposure.…