Three Utica men have been indicted on charges stemming from the illegal removal of dangerous asbestos-containing materials. Attorney Andrew T. Baxter for The Northern District of New York United States announced the indictment of Paul Mancuso, Lester Mancuso, and Steven Mancuso on four separate charges relating to environmental issues this week.

The charges against Mr. Mancuso and his two sons included conspiracy to defraud the United States, conspiracy to violate the Clean Air Act, conspiracy to violate the Superfund Act, and conspiracy to commit mail fraud. All of the charges stemmed from the illegal removal of asbestos materials at various locations throughout both upstate and central New York.

Paul Mancuso had previously been convicted of similar charges back in 2003 and 2004; those charges included violations of the Clean Air Act and insurance fraud. According to reports, Paul Mancuso’s most current charges involve the creation of companies under false names in order to hide his involvement with illegal asbestos abatement.

The charges against Steven Mancuso involve his preparation of false and fraudulent documents related to the conspiracy charges.

If convicted of the charges, Paul Mancuso will be facing of up to 55 years in jail and fines totaling up to $2,750,000. Lester Mancuso could face up to 23 years in jail and $1,250,000 in fines, and Steven Mancuso could serve up to 5 years in jail and up to $250,000 in fines.

Authorities are searching for a Rossville, Georgia man regarding an asbestos violation. Les Coffey is the property owner of Walker County Georgia’s Peerless Mills, where residents have been reporting Coffey’s illegal removal of asbestos-containing materials for quite some time.

One tenant has alleged that Coffey has begun to retaliate against the tenants living in the apartments after he learned that they had reported him. Tenant David Rowan stated that since the investigation by environmental officials began, Coffey has disconnected his family’s power and has also tried to evict them from their residence.

It was determined that Coffey did disconnect Rowan’s power and was found in contempt by local courts. Coffey will be receiving a five day sentence in jail for his retaliation and will also have to pay the Rowan family’s legal fees.

The Walker County Sheriff’s Department, along with the Georgia Environmental Protection Department and the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) are seeking Coffey for questioning regarding the illegal and dangerous removal of asbestos from his property. Coffey has violated the Clean Air Act and has potentially endangered his tenants and other nearby residents, and could therefore be facing additional jail time and substantial fees. Those who know where Les Coffey may be should contact local authorities.

A Washington woman has recently filed a lawsuit in Madison County Circuit Court claiming that her mesothelioma cancer was caused by second-hand asbestos exposure as a result of negligence by 13 corporations.

Susan Powell was diagnosed with the asbestos-related disease on July 8, 2008 and is claiming that her contraction of the deadly disease is the result of second-hand exposure via a family member who worked closely with dangerous asbestos-containing materials.

The family member, James Duman, was employed as a laborer at a number of locations in the 1950’s and 1960’s, at which time he was exposed to the toxic materials and subsequently transferred fibers home on his clothing. Powell claims that her cancer was caused by inhaling asbestos fibers that Duman transferred to her home.

Powell has filed a two-count lawsuit in which she is seeking both punitive and compensatory damages.

Missouri resident Homer Earl Farrar filed a lawsuit against 105 defendant corporations, claiming that his asbestos-related mesothelioma was wrongfully caused by asbestos exposure while employed with various corporations. Farrar worked as a boilermaker from the years 1951 to 1991 and also worked at the Amoco/Standard Refinery in Wood River, among others.

According to the lawsuit, Farrar’s disease was caused by his exposure to toxic asbestos materials while at work. Farrar is claiming that the consequences of working with and inhaling dangerous asbestos containing materials should have been foreseeable. Farrar further alleges that his disease has caused him to be disabled and disfigured and is requesting compensation since he is no longer able to work.

Farrar has filed a nine-count lawsuit and is seeking over $300,000, which includes $225,000 for compensatory damages and medical costs. This amount also includes punitive damages in an amount sufficient to punish those companies that failed to protect Farrar from asbestos exposure. The suit was filed in Madison County Court.

ccording to recent news reports, veterans who served during World War II are at a heightened risk of developing mesothelioma cancer, which is conclusively caused by asbestos exposure. According to the federal government and EPA, asbestos usage laws were not enacted until the 1980’s. Naval ships constructed before the 1980’s used high levels of asbestos-containing materials, as the dangers of the deadly fibers had not yet been recognized.

Those individuals and workers who repaired and maintained naval ships built before this time may have, without their knowledge, been exposed to significant levels of the toxin contained in asbestos materials. Asbestos materials were used on WWII-era ships in insulation and floor and ceiling tiles.

The Mesothelioma and Asbestos Center issued a press release this week that stated that it can take up to 50 years for mesothelioma to develop following exposure, and the average age of veterans who are diagnosed with this disease is between 50 and 70 years.

Many WWII veterans that lived aboard these naval ships are just now beginning to develop the deadly disease, and those who are concerned about exposure should consult with a doctor and monitor their respiratory health.

According to recent reports the Environmental Protection Agency of Ohio is asking for the assistance of the federal Environmental Protection Agency in forcing the cleanup of a known asbestos-contaminated site.

The former General Industries was apparently victim to a fire on July 3 of this year and burned for more than 16 hours. Since the fire that ripped through the entire complex, nothing has been done as far as cleanup of the remnants of the buildings existing on the property.

Ohio Environmental Protection Agency representative, Mike Settles, has stated that the owner of the property has made no attempt to rid the property of the asbestos-contaminated building rubble. Settles has stated that the owner, John Peshek, has basically neglected putting forth any effort at all in the removal of the debris.

Apparently a fence was put in place around the property after EPA field tests revealed high levels of asbestos particles at the site but due to the fact that there has been no visible signs of asbestos emissions Peshek cannot be yet cited for any particular violations.

Although Peshek has offered suggestions as to how he would clean up the site, none of those suggestions would comply with EPA standards. Aside from his phone calls to discuss those suggestions, Peshek has made no effort to dispose of the contaminated materials.

In August 2008 a study was released claiming that there was a possibility that individuals living in Libby, Montana may experience a rise over the next 20 years in the number of cases of diseases that are caused by exposure to asbestos containing materials. Deadly diseases such as mesothelioma and asbestosis are all too often the result of handling these types of materials.

According to Dr. Alan Whitehouse, who conducted the study, many of those individuals who may not have worked first-hand with the materials may still begin to see effects resulting from living within such close proximity to the toxic materials.

Eleven mesothelioma victims were examined by Whitehouse, all who contracted the illness not by working with the toxic fibers but through environmental and second hand exposure to the fibers.

According to reports Libby, Montana has been deemed one of the worst asbestos contamination areas in the United States.

Whitehouse claims that toxic fibers released from the vermiculite mine have been the cause of more than 200 deaths to Libby residents. These fibers contain a specific type of asbestos called tremolite.

According to the Libby Mayor, the town will soon be undergoing asbestos cleanup and will “one day be one of the healthiest and cleanest places to live in the United States.”

In July of this year parents were notified that the Thomas O’Brien Academy of Science and Technology would be closed for the school year due to what was thought to be a minor asbestos problem.

When the initial abatement process began on the Academy and its parent school, Griffin Elementary School, it was thought that it would be a simple remediation project but as work began it was discovered that the problem was much worse than officials had previously realized. According to the school districts spokesperson, Ron Lesko, “asbestos was found in places from which it was thought it had been removed two decades ago in the late 1980s.”

Students have since been relocated to the former Philip Schuyler Elementary School while renovations and abatement are being performed at the Academy. School officials are estimating that the school will not reopen until approximately the 2009-2010 school year.

What was originally thought to be a minor issue will end up costing the school district in upwards of $10 million. It is estimated that $3.8 million of that will be sent toward the asbestos removal alone, while another $8-$9 million will be spent on renovations.

Texas residents Curtis Blake Phillips and Beverly Babin filed a lawsuit in Jefferson County Court in early September on behalf of their late father, claiming that his employment at Mobile Oil was the cause of his asbestos related death.

The survivors of Omar Phillips allege that Exxon Mobile was fully aware of the harmful affects of working closely with asbestos and failed to acknowledge the danger to their father. Phillips was employed as a pipe fitter and welder for Mobile and his surviving children state that he was unaware that he was being exposed to toxic fibers that cause asbestos-related lung cancer.

In the lawsuit it is stated that the company failed to warn employees as to the dangers of asbestos exposure and failed to properly train their employees on safe handling of asbestos as well as other hazardous waste materials.

The plaintiffs claim that Exxon Mobile could have prevented their father’s death and are seeking compensation for not only funeral and medical bills but for the pain and suffering they endured as well.

Phillips and Babin are also seeking compensation for emotional trauma that they suffered in the past due to the diagnosis of their father’s asbestos-related lung cancer and following death.

On August, 27 2008 California builder Wassim Azizi was sentenced to 10 months in a California federal prison by U.S. District Court Judge Maxine M. Chesney. Azizi was tried and convicted on May 13, 2008 for three separate violations of the Clean Air Act.

The violations occurred between late 2002 and early 2003 in Hayward, California and involved the razing of a two-story wooden building.

Azizi is said to have illegally demolished a building that contained “significant amounts of asbestos,” possibly exposing both residents and workers in the near-by area to asbestos from airborne dust that contained asbestos fibers. The possible exposure incident set-off an investigation by the Environmental Protection Agency who had evidence showing that Mr. Azizi was not in compliance with the Clean Air Act during demolition of the Hayward building.

The Clean Air Act is in place to regulate the removal and disposal of asbestos containing materials. Mr. Azizi allegedly violated more than one of the work practice standards enacted under this act, including failing to obtain the proper permits for removal of an asbestos-containing building. Azizi also failed to keep the asbestos-containing materials wet, failed to store the material in air tight containers, and disposed of materials in an unauthorized location.

Azizi’s sentence is set to begin December 1, 2008.