A recent propane explosion in Toronto that scattered asbestos for blocks brought to light the extent of asbestos contamination throughout Canada and the lack of government funding to address the issue, notes an article in The Canadian Press.

Canada doesn’t track asbestos-related disease among its residents nor are there any national foundations or associations that serve as advocates for those who’ve developed asbestos-related diseases. Those who know the truth about Canada’s asbestos problem, however, hope the handling of the recent explosion will demonstrate the lack of resources available to Canadians when it comes to addressing the dangers of the toxic mineral.

“I think if the Canadian public really knew the extent of harm that asbestos has caused, I think there would be an outrage over what the federal government is doing,” said Jim Brophy, global asbestos expert and former director of the Occupational Health and Safety Clinics for Ontario Workers.

“I cannot describe to you the public health epidemic that unfolded before us and is still happening,” Brophy said in regards to the explosion and the subsequent asbestos contamination that followed.

In addition, Brophy points out, workers are currently removing chrysotile asbestos from the country’s Parliament buildings to the tune of $1 billion dollars and hundreds of thousands of houses in Canada still contain dangerous Zonolite insulation.

“We’re probably the only industrialized country not tracking the extent of [asbestos-related] disease and its impact on our society,” said Brophy, noting that most of the commercial buildings in Canada constructed before 1980 also contain asbestos.

MP Pat Martin says the government’s overseas promotion of asbestos, processed at its Quebec mines, is why officials keep health risks under the radar.

“Certainly the government will not support anything that may be viewed as critical of asbestos when they’re the chief cheerleaders for the asbestos industry,” said Martin.

Tempers continue to flare as residents in the vicinity of Sunday’s blast at a Toronto propane facility learned that asbestos dust is still being found throughout their neighborhood, including at city parks where children play regularly.

According to an article in the Globe and Mail, a press conference held yesterday escalated to “a shouting match” between city officials and residents who are concerned that those same officials are not being honest about the dangers of the asbestos fibers found in the air around their homes.

During the meeting, officials revealed that high levels of asbestos fibers had been discovered at the Ancaster Community Centre, located in a park two blocks away from the explosion site. The park had not been closed on the days following the blast and residents note that children had played there since the explosion.

City officials tried to tell residents that the levels of asbestos were not dangerous but those who live near the blast site had a hard time believing what they were hearing, most said.

Jeff Green, 40, said he believes he’s already inhaled asbestos, and condemned “the nerve of you people to act so God damn smug.”

Cast-Fab Technologies Inc. of Cincinnati has been cited by the U.S. Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) for several workplace violations, including a number pertaining to asbestos exposure.

According to a press release by OSHA, the agency has been addressing the issues of asbestos in the workplace since 1972 and recently found that Cast-Fab Technologies was not diligent about protecting its workers from exposed asbestos, which may have been used as insulation on pipes or other equipment in the facility that is subject to high temperatures.

According to the press release, an inspection of the factory began in January and was performed by OSHA’s Cincinnati office during its focus on safety procedures in the primary metal industry. More than $128,000 in fines against Cast-Fab has been proposed. The company has the right to contest the fines.

“Employers must remain dedicated to keeping the workplace safe and healthful or face close OSHA scrutiny,” said Richard Gilchrist, director of OSHA’s Cincinnati office, noting that asbestos has long been a “silent killer” and should be carefully managed by means of a written plan in order to protect workers.

An article in the Welsh newspaper The Daily Post notes that though Welsh authorities have been attempting to move dangerous asbestos from the country’s schools, more than 300 buildings still have a problem with the toxic mineral.

According to the article, 113 schools have been stripped of asbestos over the past five years but the government fears that total removal from all the facilities will take many more years and lots of money to complete.

The announcement comes just five months after a jury found that retired teacher Renee Blodwen Eden, 69, was probably killed by exposure to asbestos in a school building in which she taught, located in the town of Flintshire.

Cases like Eden’s have prompted teacher’s unions to demand that asbestos be cleared from all schools by 2010. The government says asbestos is being removed based on risk;  the worst cases are being addressed first. However, all six North Wales authorities told the newspaper that asbestos in their schools is monitored regularly and any serious problems are addressed immediately.

Officials from the Georgia Environmental Protection Division recently descended upon a decrepit structure in the town of Rossville where, nearby residents believe, asbestos is being improperly and illegally removed and causing dangerous dust to become airborne.

A story aired on News Channel 9 sites the investigation of the old Peerless Mill in the town of Rossville, near Chattanooga, Tenn., where locals say asbestos is being removed without a permit. As trucks full of the material leave the site, nearby residents worry about the potential of exposure.

“It’s in my back door,” said James Guy, who has lived behind the property for about 25 years. “Does that make it even scarier? It sure does.”

“My lungs are kind of important to me you know, your intake of that stuff can scratch your lungs, scar your lungs up, it’s just a bad thing,” Guy said, noting that he fears the eventual development of asbestos-caused diseases like asbestosis or mesothelioma.

“I guess my family will wear masks if we’re around over there; for years there ain’t no telling what we took in,” Guy added.

Now, the EPD is analyzing samples they extracted from the property and the results will determine whether or not the owner, Les Coffee, will be fined for violations.

“The Peerless site strives to be a good citizen of Walker County and metro Chattanooga. I can confirm that the Georgia EPD has opened an investigation into asbestos removal at the site,” Coffee told the news station. “The area in question is a very small confined area that consists of less than 1% of the total area of the building and affects no one in the public or tenants. It is our position and strong belief that no environmental violations have occurred on the site and that in due process the investigation will be resolved in our favor.”

A seminar to be hosted by the Route 66 Asbestos Initiative will address the problem of asbestos abatement and disposal in small, often impoverished communities along Arizona’s famed Route 66, where the hazardous material is often handled improperly due to the lack of funds for proper removal.

Representatives at the Arizona Department of Environmental Quality (ADEQ) will hold the seminar in the town of Kingman and will aim its content at contractors who often deal with abatement in older historic buildings in small towns throughout the state, says an article in the Kingman Daily Miner.

ADEQ Director Steve Owens launched the Route 66 Asbestos Initiative last year because he was concerned about improper removal procedures and the threat of asbestos exposure not only among contractors but also residents of the towns in question. Education was his main goal.

“Many small communities across the state have older buildings they want to preserve, renovate or even demolish that contain asbestos,” Owens said in a news release. “If asbestos is not handled properly during a renovation or demolition, it can present a huge risk to public health, as well as cause the site to become contaminated.”

“As part of the initiative, ADEQ designated an outreach specialist in its air-quality division to provide technical assistance, outreach and asbestos education to rural communities,” the article notes.

A gas explosion at a Flushing, NY apartment complex that seriously burned two tenants is also responsible for spreading asbestos and other toxic substances throughout the area.

According to an article in the Queens Chronicle, Con Edison is denying responsibility for the gas explosion, despite the fact that one of their employees left the complex just minutes before it happened. In all, 17 people were injured in the explosion including a handful of firemen that were called upon to fight the blaze that occurred after the explosion.

A few days after the mishap, fears of asbestos and other contaminants had city officials suited up in hazmat gear for a combined agency task force inspection of the apartment complex, the article notes. As a matter of fact, a fire department spokesperson said the bulk of the inspections were centering on asbestos and that it was difficult to say when tenants at the 90-unit apartment complex would be allowed back into their homes and if their belongings would survive the fire and the asbestos contamination.

The diversity of the population at the Flushing apartment building further complicated matters because communicating with many of the non-English-speaking tenants was difficult and many didn’t understand why they weren’t allowed back in to claim their property and why some articles were seemingly being thrown away indiscriminantly.

Residents of Greenwich, Conn. have been concerned about the spread of asbestos fibers from a local school renovation project to a nearby wiffle ball field, but town officials say their fears are unfounded.

The field is located behind the International School at Dundee in Riverside, where extensive renovations are taking place, including the removal of floor tiles that contain asbestos, notes an article in the Greenwich Time. Parents who have seen the “Danger Asbestos” signs near the field have expressed their concerns about the safety of their children.

“Would they put their kids there to play?” said Bob Bellantoni, whose son, Tim, 17, has been playing at the field that opened last Friday.

Bellantoni says the sight of several storage barrels and ventilation hoses sticking out the building’s windows is making him think twice about allowing Tim to play at the new field, which was recently relocated from another part of the city.

“What if the wind is blowing that way? What happens?” Bellantoni said. “This town is really screwed up.”

“It’s just a routine summer capital project going on with all the appropriate precautions. Nothing going on in the school has any impact on the availability of the field,” said Sue Wallerstein, assistant superintendent for business services at the private school.

Michael Long, director of environmental services with the health department, concurred and assured residents that everything was being done by a licensed contractor and according to asbestos removal guidelines. Special ventilation has been set up to avoid exposure to airborne asbestos dust.

A man who spent 36 years working as an asbestos insulator for the U.S. Navy says he was working for five years before he even knew that he was being exposed to dangerous asbestos.

A posting on the website Lawyers and Settlements outlines the life of Fred, an insulator who was diagnosed with cancer two years ago. At just 59 years of age, Fred knows death could be imminent and resents the fact that his life was placed in danger without his knowledge.

“I worked insulating pipes and boilers, and removing asbestos from boilers, and pipes on tanks used in world wars I and II,” Fred said. “I first came in contact with asbestos on the base in 1979. The first asbestos controlled removal was in 1986 at the base. That’s when they issued us with the Tyvek suits and respirators. Before that I was just removing asbestos with my street clothes. I didn’t know I was exposed or that it was dangerous. What opened my eyes in the first place was a company down the street from us that dealt with asbestos piping, and it occurred to me at the time that maybe I was working with this stuff.”

Fred also believes Navy officials weren’t honest about what he and others like him were dealing with on the job. “The Navy said that the Great Lakes base didn’t have any asbestos. But I took samples from eight or nine buildings, of materials that I was working with, and sent it off for testing,” he explains. “Every sample came back with asbestos. As a result, the Navy had to recant what they said about there being no asbestos on the base. They had to put the information in the newspapers.”

Though Fred’s cancer is not lung-related at this point, he does suffer from pleural plaques, a thickening of the chest wall that causes pain and makes it difficult to breathe. The disorder makes him a prime candidate for mesothelioma in the future and also makes it difficult for him to work.

“Things are terrible for me now; I’m tired all the time. When I get tired I just have to stop,” Fred explains, barely concealing his anger at the Navy and their disregard for his life.

An Australian woman who was exposed to asbestos during her childhood is in remission from mesothelioma and is now pregnant with her first child, despite the cancer and the affects of the chemotherapy she received as treatment for the disease.

An article in the Australian newspaper The Age reports that Anita Steiner, age 46, is believe to have been exposed to asbestos at age 6 when her father built a workshop in their backyard and proceeded to tackle a number of do-it-yourself projects that involved the dangerous mineral. She is one of what medical experts are calling the “third wave” of asbestos disease cases in Australia – children who were exposed due to home projects performed by their parents.

Steiner was diagnosed with mesothelioma last year and after doctors removed part of her right lung, she was told she had about a year to live – a normal prognosis for a mesothelioma victim. However, at the beginning of this year, she was declared cancer-free by her doctors after a course of what was meant to be palliative chemotherapy.

After doctors informed her of her remission, she celebrated but then started to feel ill again. She feared that the disease had returned but then discovered she was pregnant.

“My partner and I had been trying to get pregnant with IVF before I got sick and I was told I had a less than 1% chance of it working back then, so we had all but given up,” Steiner told the newspaper.

While she realizes that the disease could return in an instant, Steiner says she doesn’t dwell on it but does continue to have regular medical check-ups.

Paul Mitchell, director of cancer services at Austin Hospital, says although Steiner’s case is unusual, he expects to see more young patients diagnosed with asbestos-related diseases as time goes by.

“Because there’s a latency period of 30 to 40 years from exposure to asbestos to the onset of cancer, we’re expecting the instances to keep increasing,” he says. “We’re seeing people whose only exposure was in the home.”

Medical experts in Australia predict that 25,000 Australians will die of mesothelioma and other asbestos-related diseases in the next 40 years.