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Asbestos Cleanup Announced in Kentucky

By Katie Kelley

Republish: EasyPublish™ Published: 05Aug2009 Word count: 479 Viewed: 165 time(s) Get Free Content For Your Site

Over the past few months, many cleanups of areas contaminated with asbestos or other toxic substances have been announced by agencies from the Environmental Protection Agency to smaller, local governmental agencies. Many times, these sites contain hazardous materials such as asbestos or contain residue from asbestos manufacturing facilities. In a recent case, a production facility in Spokane, Washington constructing insulation using materials contaminated with asbestos provided enough incentive for the Federal government to announce testing of residential soil in the areas surrounding the factory. All of these cleanups and tests have been sparked by the possibility of asbestos contamination which poses a serious health risk. Exposure to asbestos fibers could possibly lead to the development of mesothelioma cancer, a serious and terminal condition for which there is currently no known cure.

One of the most major cleanups announced this year took place in Libby, Montana, where years of vermiculite mining had covered the town with a fine dust. The dust was contaminated with asbestos and had caused over 200 asbestos-related deaths in the small town. It was brought to the attention of the Federal government and cleanup began soon after. An investigation followed into the activities of the company in charge of the mine and additional testing was announced for the aforementioned Spokane, Washington site.

Recently, another similar cleanup was announced, this time in the state of Kentucky. The site in question was a former electroplating facility, previously known as Deena Products. The company manufactured lamp fixtures and ceased operations in the 1980s. The buildings were demolished earlier this year and metal that could be reclaimed was stripped from the site. Upon official inspection and testing of the remaining building materials, it was announced that asbestos was found to be present on site. However, since there is such a large volume of contaminated material and since the site has essentially unrestricted access, it has been declared an environmental emergency clean-up site. This declaration allows the local government to receive additional funds from sources that would otherwise be unavailable in order to speed up the process. And, indeed, this particular site appears to be in need of a dedicated cleanup crew with a broad funding base; the combination of large amounts of asbestos contaminated materials coupled with the open accessibility of the site lead to an extremely dangerous conclusion.

Asbestos exposure is a serious hazard. Inhalation of asbestos fibers leads to many conditions, including lung cancer, asbestosis, and malignant pleural mesothelioma. Oftentimes, patients diagnosed with mesothelioma are given a grim prognosis and medical treatments designed to combat this chronic illness are expensive and may not be covered by conventional health insurance. Individuals diagnosed with mesothelioma from asbestos exposure should consider legal recourse; the development of a mesothelioma lawsuit could potentially provide enough monetary compensation to cover treatment costs and improve the quality of life experience for an individual or their family.

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