California Mesothelioma Law Blog

In Canada, city officials fear that asbestos is in a wider portion of an Ontario park's soil.

A city manager stated that there are traces of asbestos in all tests results, which included 131 holes. Earlier this year in mid-May, tests revealed asbestos in the soil near the playground, which prompted the city to take safety precautions by fencing a large portion of Centennial Park. Half of the park, where Sarnia's summer festivals are usually held, is closed off to the public.

A Swiss billionaire industrialist had his jail sentence extended to eighteen years after being convicted for his part in Italy's biggest asbestos scandal. Stephan Schmidheiny was guilty of negligence to more than 2,000 asbestos-related deaths. He was forced to pay millions of Euros in damages to local authorities and victims and their families.

Schmidheiny was the owner of a Swiss building material maker called Eternit and was found guilty in February 2012. Originally, his sentence was sixteen years in prison. He was not immediately sent to jail since prison sentences in Italy are often not enforced until the appeals processes, which sometimes can take up to years.

In a previous article written about doctors advocating for pharmaceutical companies to lower the cost of some cancer drugs, statistics from a study found that thirty percent of cancer patients were "significantly burdened" by medical expenses. Another eleven percent called it a "catastrophic problem".

Mesothelioma patients are faced with several challenges after they are diagnosed. From decisions about where to receive medical care to options of treatment and coping methods, patients realize the financial aspect is another significant stressor.

People living in public housing face many challenges, from the negative view many people have of those who live in public housing, to the risks of crime and other dangers that may be present in public housing throughout California. Asbestos and mesothelioma might not seem as concern worthy of much attention for residents, but a story from KQED in San Francisco, points out that maybe it should be.

The San Francisco Housing Authority houses 31,000 residents in numerous locations around the city. Unsurprisingly, there are problems with the properties. Public housing has long been problematic in the United States. Much housing was built during the 1950s and 1960s, as part of the "Urban Renewal" movement that witnessed the clearing of many "slums" and the construction of concentrated public housing developments.