Lake Michigan continues to spread its toxic legacy, this time in Waukegan, as the owners of a local power plant attempt to clean out the chunks of asbestos from a giant sand pile.
Having recently obtained a permit from the Illinois Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to carry out the task, Midwest Generation will now sift through 15,000 cubic yards of sand. The sand has been dredged over the last several years from a nearby canal, which draws water from nearby Lake Michigan. The water is conventional to cool the coal-fired plant.
The company hopes to sell the sand to road builders, and is testing a utility which screens out asbestos to make the sand safe for sale.
However, Illinois EPA officials are concerned about the possibility of puny asbestos fibers becoming airborne and blowing through to the surrounding residential neighborhoods. Evidence has proven that inhaling small asbestos fibers can lead to a variety of health issues, including a rare form of cancer, called mesothelioma. Right now there is no cure for this deadly cancer and mesothelioma treatment varies.
As a result, the EPA has ordered Midwest Generation to cover the screening spot with a tent. The company will use fans to draw air inside the tent through filters, with the effect of screening out asbestos material. After the air is filtered, it will then be released from the tent. The EPA has also told Midwest Generation they will be required to monitor the air outside the tent to ensure asbestos fibers are not being released outdoors.
Charlie Parnell, a spokesman for Midwest Generation, said, “We’re looking for ways to purchase the sand from the property without taking it to a landfill. This is a problem that affects a lot of people, not just us.”
The EPA hopes these procedures will finally resolve the long-standing problems of asbestos washing up on the shores of Lake Michigan, including the highly popular public beach at Illinois Beach Dwelling Park. The Midwest Generation sand pile is located next to an old Johns Manville factory, which for more than six decades manufactured asbestos-containing pipes and shingles.
State and federal officials have repeatedly said the local beach is safe for public use, even though chunks of asbestos have frequently been spotted washing up on shore. Last fall, an EPA team tested the beach to determine whether standard beach activities, such as playing volleyball and tossing a Frisbee, could result in asbestos exposure. The tests indicated that the public faces very dinky risk of exposure while engaged in normal beach play.
Midwest Generation initiated their rather ambitious project in July, but the EPA has not yet required that the public be notified, as the company is currently engaged only in testing their sand-sifting procedures. If the project is expanded, then the public must be notified.
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Filed under Mesothelioma Treatment by on Nov 15th, 2010. 
Asbestosis is a chronic inflammation of the lungs caused by inhaling particles of asbestos over a long period of time. For many years asbestos was dilapidated as an insulation material in homes and offices. Although there have been tremendous or remove as much asbestos from the environment as possible, there is still much remaining, especially in older buildings. Even today, asbestos exposure is the leading cause of work-related lung disease.
Asbestos is a major cause of the otherwise rare form of lung cancer known as mesothelioma. Mesothelioma is virtually never seen in people who have not been exposed to asbestos.
Asbestosis is most commonly seen in men, typically who are over age 40. This is because none of the stage were more likely to have worked in buildings containing asbestos. All people who were exposed to asbestos over a long period of time are potentially at risk.
As a person inhales small particles of asbestos, the particles travel to the deepest and smallest airways in the lungs. The asbestos fibers will then collect in the outer edges of the lungs, gradually causing a chronic inflammation and irritation to the magnificent lung tissues.
Symptoms
In many cases, it can lift up to twenty years for symptoms of asbestosis to become apparent. The most favorite symptom will be a chronic cough and shortness of breath. The cough will be dry and constant, producing very little sputum.
As the disease progresses, a person can experience chest damage, a coarse voice, a loss of appetite and weight, and changes in sleep patterns. On occasion, a person will cough up some blood. This is a tag that the disease is becoming relatively advanced.
Risk and prevention
Obviously the greatest risk of getting asbestosis is asbestos exposure. If you suspect that you may be working in an area with asbestos, always be sure to wear proper protective masks.
If you are a smoker, try to quit. Smoking can increase the damage done by asbestos exposure. The combination of damage done by the inhaled asbestos fibers and the cigarette smoke can be devastating to your lungs.
Regular exercise can abet limit the pain done by asbestos exposure. This helps for a number of reasons, including maintaining noble circulation and airflow through the lungs.
If you suspect or know that you have exposure to asbestos, be sure to tell your doctor and plan regular chest x-rays to look for signs of damage to your lungs. Asbestos can lead to mesothelioma, a rare and deadly produce of lung cancer.
Treatments
Treatment for asbestos exposure is largely aimed at controlling the symptoms. There is no known way to reverse pain which is already done, but symptoms can be treated and further damage can be prevented.
People with asbestosis must take good care of their lungs. Be determined to get proper treatment for any other condition which can affect your lungs, such as pneumonia, colds, bronchitis, and influenza. These conditions can be made much worse in people who suffer from asbestos exposure.
Respiratory therapists and work with people who have been exposed to whisper them proper care of their lungs. Bronchial drainage and the use of misting humidifiers can help tremendously with the symptoms.
If you activity you may have been exposed to asbestos, or maybe experiencing symptoms of asbestosis, make an appointment to see your doctor as soon as possible. Asbestosis is not a medical emergency, however the sooner you are able to identify your risk and begin proper care and treatment, the more you can minimize the damage done to your lungs.
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Filed under Mesothelioma Treatment by on Oct 19th, 2010.
Mesothelioma is a cancer caused by contact with asbestos, a carcinogen. The disease attacks the lining of the lung or the lining of the abdominal cavity. It can be difficult to deal with this type of cancer and find decent mesothelioma info online. This article will outline some of the main treatment options available to deal with the disease. The more knowledge you have about this disease, the better.
Most people searching for mesothelioma info are looking for information regarding the different treatments currently available to those affected by the cancer. The type of treatment you receive for it depends on many factors, including cancer stage, location of the disease, and how far it has spread. It also depends on how the cancer cells look under the microscope. Your age and personal wishes are another factor to consider. Although this disease is very unsafe, there have been successful treatments.
There are three main treatment types for those who have been diagnosed with malignant mesothelioma – surgery, chemotherapy, and radiation therapy. Surgery physically removes the cancer, while chemotherapy using drugs to kill the cancer. With radiation therapy treatment high doses of x-rays and other high-energy rays are used to target and kill the cancer. In your search for valid information, you may have already discovered that in many cases, two or more of these methods are used to beat the cancer.
One of the surgical procedures that can be performed on mesothelioma patients is called palliative surgery, which involves treating the symptoms of the without going after the disease directly. Palliative treatments often include drainage of the chest tube and pleurodesis – the buildup of fluid is usually what first alerts patients to the reality of their situation. After the fluid has been initially drained, it often returns and patients have to undergo more procedures to permanently remove the remaining fluid. The pleural space must be closed to prevent future problems with fluid buildup.
If you want to know more about mesothelioma info, it’s notable to realize that other procedures are designed to cure the disease, rather than for palliative reasons. The goal of this type of surgical scheme is to remove the whole of the cancer – but take note that with the surgical removal of the cancer microscopic remnants of the disease are always left behind and have the potential to grow back after the surgery has been completed. It takes time, but you have to realize that this is a strong possibility with surgical treatment procedures.
For this very reason adjuvant therapy is carried out after the surgical procedure to minimize this possibility. This procedure of treatment is administered in addition to the primary surgery to remove residual disease.
For patients in the early stages, a pleurectomy/decortication is usually the route taken to remove the tumor. If the doctors can’t remove the entire tumor without removing the lung, the lung will be taken out (this is referred to as a pneumonectomy). As science progresses, there are other options for treatment, including gene therapy, immunotherapy, and photodynamic therapy.
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Filed under Mesothelioma Treatment by on Sep 11th, 2010.
Mesothelioma is a cancer of the mesothlial cells of an organ. Mesothelioma cancers statistics display that working in industrial jobs have led to higher percentages of mesthelioma. Researchers found that the inhalation of asbestos, a once common material at many industrial sites, was the culprit. The chance of getting cancer form asbestos exposure is a valid concern. Asbestos has now reached the world stage and while the problem of asbestos has not yet been eliminated there have been mass improvements.
Mesothelioma statistics show that there are at least 2,000 modern mesothelioma cases being diagnosed every year. 70 to 80% of these cases have a past of asbestos exposure. Since laws passed preventing using asbestos materials only in the 1970s. There are more people than once thought to be at risk.
The mesothelioma risk of your industry is simple to deduce. Since asbestos was used in many building materials, equipment, and structures, many people who worked in the construction field are now at high risk for mesothelioma. Men are also at a higher risk of contracting mesothelioma than women, because they’re work in these industries is more prevalent.
It is not only the people who worked in industrial field who have a risk of contracting mesothelioma. The Environmental Protection Agency or EPA has found that 10% to 15% percent of all United State Schools have asbestos inhalation. These schools were made before laws were establish into to place to restrict asbestos use.
The Inhalation of the asbestos is what causes mesothelioma. Asbestos particles separate and process fibers into a form of microscopic dust. Once breathed the dust collects in the lungs, stomach, and other organs. Mesothelioma and other life threatening diseases almost never show symptoms until years after the initial exposure.
If you are having symptoms of mesothelioma it is famous to tell your doctor about your previous exposure to asbestos. Because asbestos mimics other diseases so well, this helps the doctor target your treatment greatly.
Asbestos risk management is the just obligation of every business executive or landlord. Since the early 1970s the laws have been obvious that it is the management’s responsibility. This law had to come at a price however, and was actually spearheaded by the early mesothelioma law suits. Today the world is working towards a goal of restraining asbestos contamination. However in countries like South Africa the laws effecting asbestos abuse were only establish into effect as recently as 2008.
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Filed under Mesothelioma Treatment by on Jul 30th, 2010.