Cancer causing asbestos released from local company
By Leann Foutch Judkins, Middle Tennessee Times
Asbestos (friable) releases and emissions from Smithville's Federal-Mogul plant have exceeded 7.4 million pounds over a 12-year period, an investigation has revealed.As part two of Dying to Live in DeKalb County continues, other findings indicate that the global corporation, headquartered in Michigan, has filed Chapter 11 bankruptcy and administrative petitions to resolve mounting asbestos claims and litigation.
Published reports issued from the Environmental Protection Agency's, Toxic Release Envirofact's Inventory, extracted on March 7, 2003, show 7,403,137 pounds emitted from 1987 through 1998, the ending year of asbestos-related production at the friction product's site.
During this time, the plant, located at 1 Grizzly Lane, has released 7,395,400 pounds of the toxic chemical asbestos (friable - CAS # 1332-21-4, TRI chemical ID: 001332214) by using an EPA method termed "DISP Non-metals," or by definition, the summation of a group of the methods that can be used to dispose of a metal or non-metal chemical off-site.
Environmental air toxic releases during the same time show stack emissions totaling 7,484 pounds, and fugitive releases at 253. (See method of compilation and category information as end noted). There were no amounts listed for water releases.
For clarity, air stack is stack or point air emissions while air fugitive refers to fugitive or non-point air emissions. (TRI) In accordance with Tennessee's OSHA rules and regulations, Federal-Mogul initiated efforts in 1998 for compliance to eliminate asbestos (friable) as a part of the local friction product's automotive processes.
The National Environmental Defense reports, "Chemically-induced cancer generally develops many years after exposure to a toxic agent. A latency period of as much as 30 years is observed between exposure to asbestos and an incidence of lung cancer."
In addition, Federal-Mogul's initial bankruptcy plan indicates "there will be no job losses or facility closures directly related to the filings and the business will continue operating without interruption."
A press release from the Atlanta Journal-Constitution stated that Federal-Mogul Corporation, which employs more than 47,000 persons in 24 countries, filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection because of mounting asbestos claims. Concurrently, on October 1, 2001, Federal-Mogul announced that to separate its asbestos liabilities from its true operation potential, "the company and its U.S. subsidiaries have voluntarily filed for financial restructuring under the bankruptcy code."
Moreover, on March 6, 2003, the corporate headquarters in Southfield, MI filed a proposed disclosure statement for their Chapter 11 plan of reorganization with the U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Wilmington, DE. About six weeks later on April 22, the announcement was posted on the company's website, www.federal-mogul.com. While an official hearing date on the proposed disclosure statement has not been announced by the court, one of the key elements of the plan is the "creation of a 524 (g) trust for the benefit of present and future asbestos personal injury claimants which will assume all of the company's obligations to those claimants..."
Somewhat alarmingly, the newspaper reported last month "a trend with even greater impact on the expansion of litigation was the filing of claims by people with little or no current disability, a condition characterized as nonmalignant. A recent RAND Institute for Civil Justice shows that the majority of asbestos claimants are not disabled, but are now filing in the event they should become ill at some point in the future. The study reports that some 8,400 companies have had claims filed against them and that 600,000 persons filed asbestos-related personal injury claims through the end of 2002.
Federal-Mogul Corporation is in the top 28 toxic reporting facilities nationwide, according to the Journal-Constitution. Statistics show 6,996 lbs. in fugitive air releases, 13,951 in stack air releases totaling = 20,947 lbs. /year. Cumulative figures were obtained from EPA's TRI database.
While TRI provides federal, state, and local governments, the public, and industry with key environmental data, it has some limitations that need to be considered. "These totals reflect releases and other waste management of chemicals, not exposures of the public to those chemicals. Also, the report does not cover all sources of releases and other waste management activities, such as car emissions, nor does it cover all toxic chemicals or industry sectors.
"While many facilities base their TRI data on monitoring data, others report estimated data to TRI as the program does not mandate release monitoring." However, efforts are underway by the public, such as the Superfund program with the EPA, that targets and reports toxic chemicals and industries which use them.
Frighteningly, toxic increases are increasing in Tennessee -the state now ranks 9th nationally for toxic releases, 3rd in the nation for air emissions, 23rd for water discharges, and 11th for land releases, an increase of nearly 20 million pounds more than in the previous reporting year.
With each passing day, seemingly, we learn of another friend or family member in DeKalb County who has some form of treatable or terminal cancer, or other chemically induced ailments.
These diseases are increasing in an alarming and overwhelming rate, probably more so than ever before, especially within our countywide 17,000 census.
We ask "Why?" and wonder, "What's causing it?" I hope that at the conclusion of this all-encompassing continuing series, the majority of long-searched questions can be answered.
Initially compiling a list of DeKalb County's cancer victims and survivors while pinpointing home and work locations, evidence reveals a correlation between environmental toxins and health-related diseases.
According to a report by the U.S. EPA, there are three ways people are exposed to asbestos. Occupational exposure is when asbestos fibers are in the air, persons may inhale them they are small and light - and can remain in the air for a long time. In afterthought, persons whose employment brings them in contact with these fibers may inhale them. Para occupational exposure is defined when workers' families might inhale asbestos fibers released by clothes that have been in contact with asbestos containing materials.
Neighborhood exposure's definition is when persons who live or work near asbestos-related operations may inhale asbestos fibers that have been released into the air by the operations.
Additionally, it is imperative to remember not all illnesses are caused, nor directly linked, by the totality of asbestos. Many other toxic releases have been found within DeKalb County, and will be reported later in this series.
Yet, while actual determinations of asbestos levels only can be made using instrument analyses, some persons do not develop asbestos-related health problems. Interestingly, once inhaled, these fibers easily can penetrate body tissues. They may be deposited and retained in the airways and lung tissue.
The main crux of the asbestos-related argument centers on mounting evidence that asbestos fibers remain in the body, while each exposure increases the likelihood of developing an asbestos-related disease, some of which may not appear until years after exposure.
"The amount of worker exposed-asbestos will vary according to the concentration of fibers, duration of exposure, breathing rates, weather conditions and the wearing of protective devices."
As previously noted, one of the foremost hazardous chemicals is asbestos, especially the "friable" form. In a recent EPA, Region 4 report (of which DeKalb County is a part), an asbestos containing material, when dry, can be crumbled by hand pressure - a condition known as "friable" -which is more likely to release fibers that if it is classified as "non-friable."
To explain, asbestos is classified as a human carcinogen, or a cancer-causing agent, an immunotoxicant, and a respiratory toxicant by the Environmental Protection Agency.
A chemical carcinogen is defined as the induction of cancerous growths as a result of exposure to toxic substances. Carcinogenic chemicals may induce malignant tumors of epithelial tissue and connective tissue, and benign tumors.
Asbestos, as defined by the EPA's air toxics website, "has been used in friction products, cement, paper, and reinforced plastic products, textiles, packing and gaskets, and building materials. Exposure mainly occurs in indoor air where it may be released from these materials."
In a report entitled, "Asbestos in your home," the author summarizes this group of natural mineral fibers, known for their strength and fire-resistant properties, as "dangerous to human health when microscopic fibers are inhaled into the deep recesses of the lungs." Of note is that mesothelioma is defined as "a cancer of the lining of the body cavities."
"Effects on the lung are a major health concern from chronic, long-term exposure to asbestos in humans via inhalation, which can cause a lung disease termed asbestosis," according to the U.S. Environment and Protection Agency. It is characterized by shortness of breath and cough, and may lead to severe impairment of respiratory function and, ultimately, death.
Other studies show oral exposure to asbestos may be associated with cancer of the esophagus, stomach, and intestines. However, the evidence on cancer from oral asbestos exposure is not conclusive.
"Cancer is also a major concern from asbestos exposure, as inhalation can cause lung cancer and mesothelioma (a rare cancer of the thin lining of the abdominal cavity and surrounding internal organs), and possible gastrointestinal cancers in humans."
According to a report from the ATSDR, diseases from asbestos exposure take a long time to develop. Most cases of lung cancer or asbestosis in asbestos workers occur 15 or more years after initial exposure to asbestos. Tobacco smokers who have been exposed to asbestos have a "far greater-than-addictive" risk for lung cancer than do nonsmokers who have been exposed. The time between mesothelioma and the time of initial occupational exposure to asbestos has been 30 years or more. Cases of mesothelioma have been reported after household exposure of family members of asbestos workers and in individuals without occupational exposure who live close to asbestos mines.
Children are more likely to develop mesothelioma if attending schools built using asbestos-related materials, which is why enormous efforts are underway to prevent schoolchildren from being exposed.
Evidence suggests that cancers in the esophagus, larynx, oral cavity, stomach, colon and kidney may be caused by ingesting asbestos.
The USEPA and OSHA are responsible for regulating environmental exposure, according to reports, and for protecting workers from asbestos exposure.
In 1989, the EPA issued a rule (40 CFR, Part 763, Subpart 1) banning about 94% of the asbestos used in the U.S. (based on 1985 estimates). For example, asbestos containing drum brake linings and roof coatings have been banned, and the rule was implemented in three stages between 1990 and 1997.
The Clean Air Act (CAA) of 1970 requires the EPA to develop and enforce regulations to protect the public from exposure to airborne contaminants that are known to be hazardous to human health.
For more information regarding Federal-Mogul's local centers, log on to the links below.
Federal Mogul Distribution, P. O. Box 307, Smithville, TN 37166, Dennis Johnson, 615-597-6664, www.federalmogul.com or Federal Mogul Friction, 1 Grizzly Lane, Smithville, TN 37166, Steve Edson, 615-597-6700, www.federalmogul.com .
