Mesothelioma Science News August 14, 2008

Roger and Ann Worthington, alumni of the University of Texas, recently created a $500,000 endowment in the name of Professor Larry Gilbert to preserve the Brackenridge Field Station bordering Town Lake in Austin, Texas. This remnant of Hill Country habitat, increasingly isolated by homes and businesses, was being considered for development due to budget cuts that have put pressure on the field station.

Click here to read the news stories published in the Daily Texan and the Austin Business Journal.

"It's easier to find folks who'll put their name on a building than on a patch of grassland, scrub oak, and dragonfly habitat," says Worthington. "But I maintain that a true monument is one that springs from the earth."

UT Chancellor Bill Powers, former dean of the law school, contacted Worthington, a student in Powers's products liability class from 1984. "Bill heads up a truly great university, and of course greatness is measured by more than bricks and mortar. In today's fundraising climate, it's tough to find enough money to support growth and existing academic programs. The idea that the Board of Regents is considering using revenue from the lease of Brackenridge to fund other university endeavors makes sense at first blush.

"But," continues Worthington, "this is a unique living library that provides extraordinary research opportunities. Wildlife abounds here; this natural oasis supports an incredible diversity of plants and animals, everything from foxes and raccoons to more unusual sightings like Ringed Kingfisher. This endowment will help cover staff costs and at the same time honor Professor Gilbert, whose lectures impacted me so deeply more than two decades ago.

"There are so many alumni and donors who share a vision of UT as a school that's not afraid to sacrifice expediency for long term protection of habitat, especially when it intersects with basic ecological research and the core educational mission of the university. I commend Bill, Larry, and all of the UT staff who do so much to strike the right balance, and who honor the importance of preservation."

This story from the Seattle Post-Intelligencer updates the efforts of the Bush Administration to further gut workplace and environmental safety regulations in the waning days of its final term.

Investigative journalist Andy Schneider has kept up a running investigation into the Ban Asbestos Act, the attempts by industry to keep asbestos legal, and the general assault on environmental protection unleashed by corporations.

$50 million is now available from the Pentagon for grants that address 21 different diseases, including malignant mesothelioma. The high incidence of mesothelioma among navy veterans has spurred inclusion of this orphan disease in DOD research appropriations, and we encourage researchers and doctors to take advantage of the expanded opportunities for research into this disease. Our firm has long urged the Department of Defense to do the right thing and include mesothelioma as a candidate for research funding, and we applaud this new attention to mesothelioma research by the federal government.

RGW presentation on funding initiatives to cure meso

RGWPC federal funding request

MARF letter to Senator Specter

MARF letter to fund asbestos research through bankruptcy trusts

This information was sent to us by June Breit, 5-year pleural mesothelioma survivor and a giant in the mesothelioma advocacy community.

--Mesothelioma is an aggressive, malignant cancer caused by exposure to asbestos that invades the lining of the lungs, heart or stomach until it destroys the vital organs.

--No type or amount of asbestos is safe - even brief, incidental exposure to any asbestos is enough to cause disease. Global rates of mesothelioma are rising steadily.

--Each year 3,000 Americans and many thousands more worldwide develop mesothelioma, and millions of us are at risk.

--Mesothelioma can lie dormant for 10, 20, 30 years or more before symptoms appear. Victims have been as young as 14 or as old as 85.

--Current attempts to treat the disease generally have only a limited effect, especially if it is not detected early. Prognosis is only 4 - 14 months.

--For decades, asbestos was used heavily in construction, industry, the navy, even household products and appliances. It is still present in many homes, schools, and office buildings throughout the US, especially those built prior to 1990.

--At least 40 countries have banned the use of asbestos and established methods for tracking exposure sources and disease. The US has not yet done so, and asbestos is still permitted in imports, products and consumer goods.

--During the collapse of the WTC towers, 400 tons of pulverized asbestos were released in the dust that spread over lower Manhattan.

--Asbestos is still used in some automobile brake linings, which release fibers into the air in high traffic regions.

--Natural disasters such as hurricanes and tornadoes, and deterioration can release asbestos from structures and buildings into the environment.

--Research to understand mesothelioma has lagged far behind other cancers - as a result, diagnosis is difficult and often delayed. To date there has been virtually no federal funding directed toward mesothelioma research.

--The science on which asbestos regulations were based is over 30 years out of date. The Environmental Protection Agency and the World Health Organization have repeatedly called for updated regulations and tighter controls.

--Asbestos is most dangerous when disturbed, and should be handled only by qualified, trained experts.

--For more information about asbestos and mesothelioma, visit the Mesothelioma Foundation at www.curemeso.org or call 877-END-MESO.

Terry Lynch, vice president of the International Association of Heat and Frost Insulators and Allied Workers and board member of the Pacific Heart, Lung & Blood Institute, gave a powerful speech to the EPA subcommittee on solid waste, arguing forcefully that attempts to further delay asbestos regulation through delay and arcane research should be jettisoned in favor of immediate action to ban asbestos now, today. Click here to read his impressive and impassioned speech.