Document 3Q6vQogNJz1dYxYBRo5NmxMr3

Manville to Prosper While Victims Lose Out he Manville Settlement TTrust has begun operations. Proof of Claims forms booklets were sent to plain tiffs' lawyers in April and the first tentative settlements have been set. Settlements which have been agreed to have averaged $21,000, before law yers' fees. But no checks can be written until 30 days after consum mation of the plan, which is still being appealed. The appeals challenging the bank ruptcy agreement which denies fu ture claimants rights was denied at the court of appeals level. The final step before consummation of the plan would be appeals to the Su preme Court. This could delay settle- "From the very beginning the White Lung's position has been that the bottom line is NOT shielding the company, whose criminal activities caused the problem. " ments from 6 months to 2 years depending on court action. While Manville Corporation, shielded from lawsuits, keeps making money and paying their managers exorbi tant salaries and severance pay, the Settlement Trust will settle all claims against Manville. Funded by $615 million from the insurance compa nies (and $150 million plus future payments in four years) from Man ville, the trust is facing 17,000 pre1982 victims' suits and between 50-70,000 which are ready to be filed. Companies who sold Manville prod ucts have been given the right to sue the trust for damages. Other asbestos companies have the right to file 36,000 cross claims against the trust under their "joint and several" liabil ity. Government workman's comp may also have to be repaid from the fund. Even Manville Corporation itself is demanding reimbursement for $110 million in workmans' comp paid to its own employees. The continued on page 9 Asbestos Playsand Exposes Children hy in the world would the government not act to ban asbestos in sev eral varieties of chil dren's playsand, when youngsters playing in it are being exposed to levels from 50 to 100 times the oc cupational asbestos standard? This is not natural beach sand, but a by product of tremolitic talc mining. Tremolite is one of six asbestiform fibrous rock types. Talc^which is as high as 4-7% tremolite asbestos, is mined in certain geologic regions, such as those in up-state New York and Connecticut. Tests run by the state of New York found that this type of sand could generate 14 long, thin tremolite fibers per cubic centimeter of air. (At .2 f/cc, asbestos workers must be provided with respirators!) But the Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) ignored these and similar findings. Dr. Art Langer stated that this type of tremolite was "not asbestos", therefore the CPSC said there was no danger. Dr. Langer is a geologist who has close associa tions with R. T. Vanderbilt Mining Co., the Johns-Manville of tremolite. Dr. Langer and Dr. Ann Wylie of the University of Maryland are putting continued on page 8 On Hie inside... AHERAIn Schools DonationioWLA Wellington Break-Up Utility Workers NewJersey Demonstration SF Asbestos Team Southern Illinois Activities Lawyers Fees In Memoriam BIDCBffl Resumen en Espanol Florida School Fine p.2 p. 3 p.3 p. 4 p.4 p.t> P-5 p.6 p.6 P-7 p. 10 p. 12 Oversight Groups: Key to Safe Schools ll public and private non Aprofit schools, grades 1-12 must be inspected for as "Thegreatest concern about activity bestos-containing materials beforeunder the AHERA Urn is that so October 12,1988. By that date the Asbestos Hazard Emergency Re much is bang done so poorly. Most sponse Act (AHERA) also requires that a management plan be written school districts are ignorant of the to include response actions to any asbestos material that could be re science of asbestos control and leasing fibers into the air. These plans, including training for all cus are..." todial staff, must be implemented by July 9,1989. Since December 14, 1987 it has been illegal for workers with less than 3 days of training to work on asbestos abatement projects in schools or for untrained mainte nance workers to disturb asbestos. This new law does not solve the problem of asbestos in schools. However, it does give persons con should be cited for violations and fined. It is also important to keep the final July 9th, 1989 deadline for final implementation of management plans firm. The greatest concern about activity under the AHERA law is that so much is being done so poorly. Most cerned about asbestos in schools a school districts are ignorant of the more clearly defined arena to fight in. science of asbestos control and are The Safe Building Alliance (the as bestos companies' front group) challenged the law, saying that it wasn't proven that levels of asbestos in schools were harmful. This chal lenge was rejected early this year. Now the controversy is whether or not the deadlines set by the law will be delayed. Hearings have been held in Washington and many local edu cation agencies (LEAs) and their representatives are requesting delays. The Asbestos-in-Schools Coalition, trying to pass their responsibility and liability on to a consultant. Many consultants do not have ade quate training and experience; some are charlatans. Even among experi enced consultants, many are willing to contract to a school district to provide a quasi-scientific rationale for whatever the district wanted to do in the first place. Many jobs are going to "low bidders," which is a danger in itself in the asbestos business. which includes the National Educa "Mega-consulting" firms are cur tion Association, the American Fed rently bidding total package inspec eration of Teachers, the National tion/management planning work at PTA, the American Federation of rock bottom prices (3-7 <t/a square State, County and Municipal Em foot). The State of Maryland, Dade ployees, the Service Employees Inter County Florida Schools and several national Union and the White Lung other large systems have "mega Association, are working with the problems" today because of the Council of Greater City Schools and quality of work received. One mega others to develop a plan which consultant in Florida, EG&G/Entek, would not delay implementation. suddenly went out of business after Some school districts have honestly tried to implement the law, while others are using the lack of trained embarrassing revelations about its staff, leaving its clients in equally embarrassing situations. consultants or the hope for delay to Even the EPA is promoting improper excuse inaction. A "deferral" for methods. A nation-wide teleconfer schools that made a good faith effort ence for school officials showed an could allow more time to complete asbestos inspector, with no protective inspection and planning. But schools clothing or respiratory protection, which have not acted in good faith entering the space above a drop ceil 2 ing where apparently friable asbestos was visible. The sample-taking shown in the video was done by someone with no protective clothing and no means of preventing contam inated material from falling to the floor below. If proper measures are not used, the process of sample taking itself can contaminate our schools. The technical issues which an em ployee or parent group needs to know about to oversee AHERA implementation are not difficult to comprehend. The White Lung Asso ciation works with unions, occupa tional safety groups, parents groups and others to establish and educate oversight committees at local schools and in school districts. If you are interested in working in this effort, contact the White Lung. White Lung Members! Supporters ofRights ofDisabled Workers And Toxic Victims! If you will be in Atlanta, Georgia during the Democratic National Convention (the week of July 17-23, please contact the White Lung national office (301) 727-6029. The Asbestos Watch is a himonthly newsletter published hv the White Lung Association. President: Paul Kal'check Executive Director. James Fite JEditor: Marilyn Hunter Office: 1114 Cathedral Street Baltimore, MD 21201 (301)727-6029 Contributors: Dr. Jerrold Abraham Willie Jackson Harry Brandt Bonnie Jacobs Dr. Barry Castleman Bill Kitchen Eugene Duffy Leo McGillivray Ricardo-Francb' " " Ruth McKay Leo Gattoni JoAnn Miller Thomas Genuine, Esq. Mike Saviak John Grimes Ron Simon Esq. Jaime Herrera Bella Sosa Shepard Hoffman, Esq. Asbestos Victims Donate Share of Damages to WLA ast November, a jury decided drag the case out with appeals. Like Lthat Raymark Industries, Inc. so many asbestos manufacturers, (formerly Raybestos) should the company is facing many other pay $75 million in punitive damagessuits and may try to escape into to three former employees of DuPont bankruptcy. (a chemical company) and their wives. This award, the second highest ever made in the U.S., was made be cause the jury found that Raybestos, an asbestos supplier to DuPont, had conspired with other asbestos com panies to conceal or misrepresent the health hazards of asbestos. Because this is such an important precedent for all asbestos victims, the plaintiffs, William Kapp, James Webb and Joseph Katsner and their wives, have decided to donate $67.5 million of the award to six institu tions. The White Lung Association would receive $13 million dollars. A panel of judges will now decide Other awards of $13 million would whether to uphold the award. Even go to Mt. Sinai School of Environ if it is upheld, these asbestos victims mental Medicine in New York, the may never receive any money, be University of Delaware School of cause the asbestos company will Business to establish a chair in busi- back pay as part of the White Lung-trained SFUSD asbestos control team. bestos work. This forced many or the men to take up to 25% wage cuts. After a long battle, classifica tions and wage rates have been re hite Lung member Barbara stored and back pay granted. WAlvers began her work with asbestos as a temporary The whole SF team effort is an ex clerk typist, doing record-keepinagmple of what can be done in a for the San Francisco Unified School school district even when top officials District asbestos control team. The do notwant to disturb the status quo. team, many of whom are White The people in charge blocked efforts Lung Association members, is the to deal with the asbestos problem. SFUSD's "strike force" against asbes Parent support was mobilized, and tos hazards. After Barbara received several school board officials did the same training as the team and support asbestos control. Perhaps achieved top scores on tests, she most importantly, the workers doing knew she was qualified and wanted the job themselves understood their a regular job on the team. role in protecting public health. "All ness ethics to be named the Castleman Chair, the National Campaign Against Toxic Hazards and the Car penter Clinic for Cancer Research. $2.5 million would go to a hospital for the critically ill in Newport, Delaware. The White Lung Association is ex tremely grateful for this intended support. This money, and any money donated to the association, would be used to carry out our goals: to edu cate the public about the dangers of asbestos, help prevent asbestos ex posure and aid victims of asbestos disease. see Raymark Bulletin page 10 can, auu must wm. A $90 million bond issue was passed by San Francisco voters for con struction and asbestos removal. A commission will oversee use of the money to avoid questionable expen ditures as have occurred in the past. Another positive step has been the removal of Eduardo Escobedo from direct responsibility for the asbestos program. Escobedo not only opposed the efforts of the control team but also those of the Asbestos Control Council of parents and employees which plays an oversight role in the district. chapter news Southern Illinois Chapter Actively Educates Area, Defends Members omeone once described the steelworker lives only two years after Sinside of a steel mill as "steel retirement, many of them dying of and heat." We could add heart attacks. Many victims of asbes "...and pipes and asbestos." The agteos disease die of heart attacks be of US steel plants and the lack of cause their reduced lung capacity money invested in their upkeep has puts an extra burden on their heart. added to the asbestos that steel workers are breathing. Screenings being done among steelworkers are showing that from 15 to 30% have asbestos-related disease. The average The Southern Illinois Chapter of the White Lung Association was orga nized by current and retired work ers from local steel mills. President 5 Harry Brandt was a bricklayer in the Granite City mill. Terry Wooden, vice-president of the chapter still works in the Laclete Co. mill and was recently elected vice-president of Local 3643 of the United Steel workers. Wooden attended the 5-state regional Steelworkers Convention in May continued on page 9 chapter news San Francisco Asbestos Team Scores Victory Eduardo Escobedo, director of gen eral services, would not appoint her to the position, giving the excuse that she was just a temporary clerical worker. The White Lung Association, Barbara's union, SEIU Local 790 and the rest of the team, including her supervisor, Gene Taguba, all supported her efforts, to do a job traditionally assigned to a man. She was finally promoted. "The guys on the team backed me up all the way," said Alvers. "I don't think I could have done it without their support and encouragement." Escobedo also threw roadblocks in White Lung Member and "Asbestos Worker I" Barbara Alvers won her position and retroactive back pay as part of the White Lung-trained SFUSD asbestos control team. front of the men on the team, creat ing a new work classification for as bestos work. This forced many of the men to take up to 25% wage cuts. After a long battle, classifica tions and wage rates have been re hite Lung member Barbara stored and back pay granted. WAlvers began her work with asbestos as a temporary The whole SF team effort is an ex clerk typist, doing record-keepinagmple of what can be done in a for the San Francisco Unified School school district even when top officials District asbestos control team. The do notwant to disturb the status quo. team, many of whom are White The people in charge blocked efforts Lung Association members, is the to deal with the asbestos problem. SFUSD's "strike force" against asbes Parent support was mobilized, and tos hazards. After Barbara received several school board officials did the same training as the team and support asbestos control. Perhaps achieved top scores on tests, she most importantly, the workers doing knew she was qualified and wanted the job themselves understood their a regular job on the team. role in protecting public health. "All "Though thejob is difficult and dangerous, and it gets dirty and grimy under all that heavy clothing, I think it's afight we can, and must win. " thirteen of us are committed to this effort because we want to help make our schools healthy and safe once again," says Alvers. "Though the job is difficult and dangerous, and it gets dirty and grimy under all that heavy clothing, I think it's a fight we can, and must win." A $90 million bond issue was passed by San Francisco voters for con struction and asbestos removal. A commission will oversee use of the money to avoid questionable expen ditures as have occurred in the past. Another positive step has been the removal of Eduardo Escobedo from direct responsibility for the asbestos program. Escobedo not only opposed the efforts of the control team but also those of the Asbestos Control Council of parents and employees which plays an oversight role in the district. chapter news Southern Illinois Chapter Actively Educates Area, Defends Members omeone once described the steelworker lives only two years after Sinside of a steel mill as "steel retirement, many of them dying of and heat." We could add heart attacks. Many victims of asbes "...and pipes and asbestos." The agteos disease die of heart attacks be of US steel plants and the lack of cause their reduced lung capacity money invested in their upkeep has puts an extra burden on their heart. added to the asbestos that steel workers are breathing. Screenings being done among steelworkers are showing that from 15 to 30% have asbestos-related disease. The average The Southern Illinois Chapter of the White Lung Association was orga nized by current and retired work ers from local steel mills. President 5 Harry Brandt was a bricklayer in the Granite City mill. Terry Wooden, vice-president of the chapter still works in the Laclete Co. mill and was recently elected vice-president of Local 3643 of the United Steel workers. Wooden attended the 5-state regional Steelworkers Convention in May continued on page 9 chapter news WIA Member Questions Fees by Mike Saviak, Alabama Chapter m r ustice Burger said it right: these lawyers will "overreach". The plum of asbestos cases was too much. Dollar signs lit up in their eyes and contingency fees started as high as traffic could bear -- mostly 40%. Then some start charging 40% plus expenses whether the case went to court or was settled out of court Some of these attorneys traded their hearts for a thumpin' gizzard be cause, no matter die hardship, their 40%+ was inviolate. Some lawyers took the smaller settlement and said, `You'll make it up on the `big one'," leaving the client with nothing. When Wellington came up, some of them said they'd lower lawyers fees to 20% since they could settle with the group. But they didn't. And a lot of them won't take workman's comp cases because of the 15% fee or whatever is set. I don't think lawyers can justify their 40%+ expenses (and more) on an out-of-court settlement, but they write it in the contract. The way they settle 20 or 50 cases at a time, 10% would be too much for the time spent. On the court cases, I know of cases where the victims had the case made and ready to The New York chapter wore White Lung t-shirts and carried balloons in the city's Labor Day Parade. present to the court but the lawyers claim they did the work. And then they settle for less for us in Alabama and Mississippi, cause they think, well, those rednecks think that $2000 is a lot of money. We are not rednecks. Just because we live down here, don't think we suffer any less. A lot of people here don't have much education and can't talk their way around the courtroom or the lawyer's office. They take what the lawyer says as gospel. But we're getting organized in Alabama and in Mississippi, too, there has been a lot of activity. I spoke to a rally in Pascagoula, Mississippi and passed out lots of Asbestos Watch newsletters. We need ail these folks to join with the White Lung so we can work together. Doctors too are falling in the same category as some lawyers. Some are refusing to diagnose asbestosis or that other diseases are caused by asbestos. Some are reviewing cases and saying that the asbestosis is diminished. I believe the doctors have contracted cirrhosis of the con science, because asbestos is a slow poison that gets worse instead of better. chapter news In Memoriam Many members of the White Lung Association have passed away since the publication of the last Asbestos Watch. The love they shared with their families and their lives of ser vice at work and in their commu nities will be remembered by all who knew them. White Lung mem bers all over the country join in expressing our condolences to their families. JoeArbutus, Dundalk, Maryland Chapter, Bethlehem Steel Shipyard, Sparrow's Point (Baltimore), mesothelioma. Adam Backe, New York Chapter, Brooklyn and Philadelphia Naval Shipyard, mesothelioma. John Buehler, Dundalk, Maryland Chapter, state employee, shipyard worker (warehousing) post-war, Sparrow's Point (Baltimore), cancer. Teresa Catucd, Albany, New York, un known low-level exposure, mesothelioma Lucrezia "Grace" Dutson, Cranston, Rhode Island, mesothelioma. Carmine C. "Charley" Margiotta, San Pedro, California Chapter, Long Beach Naval Shipyard, Boilermakers Local 285, throat cancer. 6 Ralph McKay, National Chapter (New Hampshire), Johns-Manville (Nashua, N.H.), emphysema Lillian O'Toole, Dundalk, Maryland Chapter, wife of Dan O'Toole, Bethlehem Steel Ironworker, Sparrow's Point (Baltimore), cancer. Michael Piccora, New York Chapter, Bethlehem Steel Shipyard (Baltimore), Tood Shipyards (New York), Conlan Electric Co. (New York), mesothelioma Ralph Spelling, New York Chapter, Brooklyn Naval Shipyard, City of New York, Communications Workers of America Local 1180, asbestosis. : WalterF. Stewart, California, asbestosis. John Walsh, New York Chapter, Con j Edison (New York), Boilermakers Local 5, j asbestosis. .1 Asbestos Flaysand continued from page 1 forward a definition of asbestos that says the mineral fibers must grow "naturally" to be asbestos, that it's not asbestos if it splits into fibers only when crushed, weathered or injested into the body. This is a definition made to order for the companies that mine talc and those which are using tremolite as a sub stitute for chrysotile asbestos. They are also supporting the effort to classify asbestos as "cleavage fragments", not fibers so that it will not be subject to regulations. Tire workers are exposed to this tremolite asbestos through the talc which is used as a filler in rubber and to line tire molds. Paint compa nies use talc in paints; the plastics industry is dependent on talc, as is the ceramic tile industry. If tremolite is declared "non-asbestos", the workers who get sick from exposure would not have substantiation for workman's comp and their right to sue the asbestos manufacturer would be undermined. In addition, con sumers using it in many products will continue to be exposed. When the new OSHA regulation was issued in 1986, R. T. Vanderbilt put pressure for a stay, which means that the law does not now apply to tremolite. The latest stay is to expire in July and OSHA is getting ready to make a final decision on tremolite. So far the administrative record on which their decision is supposed to be based is loaded with one-sided pseudo-scientific reports from the likes of the National Stone Associa tion and the talc industry saying tremolite doesn't cause disease. NIOSH (the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health) did a study and found significant asbestos-related disease among miners in the talc mines. Recently a doctor who moved into the area was fired after pointing out that workers who had not been diagnosed for asbestos disease had x-ray evidence which had been ignored. The state of New York reviewed 90 x-rays from the area and found that each showed asbestos disease. This data and the NIOSH study were ignored under pressure from R. T. Vanderbilt. The mining companies said the study didn't prove its product was danger ous because the miners had also worked in other mines. A follow-up study was started to look at disease among RTV miners. The study found significant dose-response relation ships but can't draw a connection to RTV because NIOSH has refused to release employment data on individ uals to the pathologist conducting the study. Closed meetings between OSHA and the mining industry have been taking place. A letter to OSHA from Vulcan Materials, a mining company, re ferred to an understanding reached during one of these meetings. The letter infers that OSHA has already decided to deregulate tremolite and is only waiting until July to publish the decision. This type of collusion with industry is patently illegal. The fight to protect workers' health in the factories and children's health in the school and sandbox will have to proceed on several fronts. Petitions are being filed with the Consumer Product Safely Commission to re quire it identify this asbestos haz ard. Under the AHERA law, material such as playsand which is not a "building material" does not have to be identified and removed from schools. Parents and teachers will have to make sure their schools go beyond the requirements of the law to find and remove it More importantly, OSHA must not be allowed to ignore the massive evidence linking tremolite and asbes tos disease as an excuse for deregu lation. We urge you to write letters of protest to OSHA opposing the agency's collusion with the stone and talc companies and against the suppression of the study of RTV and other talc workers. Direct letters to John Pendergrass, OSHA, 200 Con stitution Avenue, N.W., Washington, D.C. 20210. If you would like more information on this issue and what you can do to help, contact the White Lung Association or White Lung members Thomas J. Genuine, 19 Market St., Morristown, NJ 07960, phone (201) 644-0007 or Bill Kitchen, 13 Pine St, Johnstown, NY 12095, phone (518) 762-3851. You need to get involved right away. The July deadline is not far off. chapter news In Memoriam Many members of the White Lung Association have passed away since the publication of the last Asbestos Watch. The love they shared with their families and their lives of ser vice at work and in their commu nities will be remembered by all who knew them. White Lung mem bers all over the country join in expressing our condolences to their families. JoeArbutus, Dundalk, Maryland Chapter, Bethlehem Steel Shipyard, Sparrow's Point (Baltimore), mesothelioma. Adam Backe, New York Chapter, Brooklyn and Philadelphia Naval Shipyard, mesothelioma. John Buehler, Dundalk, Maryland Chapter, state employee, shipyard worker (warehousing) post-war, Sparrow's Point (Baltimore), cancer. Teresa Catucei, Albany, New York, un known low-level exposure, mesothelioma. Lucrezia "Grace" Dutson, Cranston, Rhode Island, mesothelioma Carmine C. "Charley" Margiotta, San Pedro, California Chapter, Long Beach Naval Shipyard, Boilermakers Local 285, throat cancer. Ralph McKay, National Chapter (New Hampshire), Johns-Manville (Nashua, N.H.), emphysema Lillian O'Toole, Dundalk, Maryland Chapter, wife of Dan O'Toole, Bethlehem Steel Ironworker, Sparrow's Point (Baltimore), cancer. Michael Piccora, New York Chapter, Bethlehem Steel Shipyard (Baltimore), Tood Shipyards (New York), Conlan Electric Co. (New York), mesothelioma Ralph Spelling, New York Chapter, Brooklyn Naval Shipyard, City of New York, Communications Workers of America Local 1180, asbestosis. WalterF. Stewart, California, asbestosis. John Walsh, New York Chapter, Con Edison (New York), Boilermakers Local 5, asbestosis. Manville Appeal continued from page 1 physical victim is low man on the totem pole. If and when the plan is confirmed it will be "the law with respect to the rights of claimants under the plan," said Michael Goldberg of the law firm of Greene, O'Reilly, Broillet, Paul, Simon and Wheeler, which filed the appeal. Mr. Goldberg explained some of the contradictions. "The plan says that claimants will get the full value of their claims from the trust, but there is not enough money to pay all claims. Therefore...Man ville has to pay for the next three decades and can only do that through an injunction preventing suits against the company. Since the injunction is a critical element of the plan, the court has to decide whether the injunction which enjoins future vic tims is valid." If the plan is upheld, there is still a possibility that the first future victims who challenge the plan because they were not party to the suit could have a constitutional right to sue the Manville Corporation. If this right were granted, these future victims would be suing Manville for money which would then not be available to the trust. What is the solution? From the very beginning the White Lung's position has been that the bottom line is NOT shielding the company, whose criminal activities caused the prob lem. Certainly this is a misuse of the bankruptcy laws and a denial of the victims' rights. The question of liquidation is still on the agenda for many victims... .A criminal conspir- acy suit against Manville and its managers could make more money available for victims if the govern ment pursued the case in the victims' interest. Under criminal conspiracy law, money stolen by criminal activity belongs to the persons it was stolen from, without liens and cross claims. But today's legal system which bene fits corporations to the detriment of individuals makes this solution far fetched. The least that can be ac cepted by victims is that the injunc tion protecting the company be valid only as long as there is enough money to pay victims. The courts should not be used to protect the company's assets. Ifyou would like mare information about the Manville bankruptcy or other legal issues, please contact the White Lung Association (301J 727-6029. Southern Illinois Activities continuedfrom page 5 and made information on asbestos disease and the White Lung Associa tion available to his fellow union members. Brandt and Wooden have been active in publicizing the danger of asbestos and the activities of the White Lung Association in the St. Louis/southern Illinois area. They have appeared on a local radio talk show and will have a booth at the Bethaldo JC's Country Fair June 9-11, and Bethaldo Homecoming Associa tion, Sept. 2-5. Over 50,000 people will participate in these events. One of the focuses of the chapter has been to help many local asbestos victims protect their legal rights. One chapter member, Paul Zupan, a victim of asbestosis, was turned down for workman's comp at a 1979 hearing he wasn't informed of, and therefore didn't attend. Records he finally obtained after 8 years, showed someone had impersonated him at the hearing. Handwriting experts found his signature had been forged on hearing documents and a review of the hearing showed the person who testified did not know Zupan's address or how long he had served in World War II. The White Lung National Board ofDirectors meets in the Baltimore office. Left to right: Mike Saviak (AL), Lamar Case (SC), Harry Brandt (IL), Marshall Blesofsky (CA), Paul Safchuck (MD), Marilyn Hunter (MD), Myles O'Malley (NJ/NY), Bernice Rosenberg (NY). The White Lung national office filed Freedom of Information Act requests for the local chapter, but all perti nent information was deleted from the records. The chapter has been trying to get the US Attorney's Office, the FBI and Senator Paul Simon to act on the case. Brandt has been fighting for his and others' rights to legal action against the steel and asbestos companies. In response, the steel companies have denied him his pension. But he and the chapter keep fighting. Neoct Time: Legal Cover-Up in Madison County 9 WIA President Paul Safchuck Makes Proposal at Legal Seminar In remarks to the Fourth Annual Asbestos Litigation Seminar in Monterey, California, Paul Safchuck, national president of the White Lung Association, outlined the asso ciation's plan for a national legal assistance program. The program will benefit asbestos victims and provide help to their lawyers. Look for articles on developments in this program in up-coming issues. If you are a victim or a legal professional, contact the WLA national office to find out how you can participate in and support this effort.  EPA Approved Training Begins "Safe"Air Tests? he White Lung Association has been approved by the EPA to provide training re quired under the Asbestos Hazard Emergency Response Act (AHERA). Under AHERA all elementary and secondary schools must be inspected and all asbestos-abatement work must be carried out by persons trained in EPA-approved courses. All school custodians and mainte nance personnel must receive 2 hours of training if they do not disturb asbestos in their work, 16 hours if they do. Building Inspector and Management Planner training has been presented in Maryland, New York, New Jersey, Wyoming and Nebraska Courses are slated for Washington, DC, Virginia and northern California in the next months. Training is being presented for workers, supervisors and project designers, as well as for the "desig nated persons" and "competent per sons" who must be identified under the AHERA and the OSHA Acts. The White Lung Association has 2-hour and 16-hour trainings avail able for custodial and maintenance personnel which are tailored to the specifics of a school district's asbes tos control program. Education is also available for principals, teachers and parents. Contact the White Lung training program at (301) 727-6029. Fonrfurther information about the topics covered in the Ashestos Watch and other legal, medical or technical questions about asbestos, contact theWhite Lung Association na tional office at (301) 727-6029. Literature and audio-visual material is-also available: More and more people are becoming aware that they are exposed to as bestos in the buildings where they work. When they ask questions, they are often told that air tests have been done and that there is no danger. What should you believe? The White Lung will soon be pub lishing a new pamphlet entitled "I Think I've Been Exposed to Asbestos: What Can I Do? What Should I Do?" Write or call the national office for copies and for more information. And look for the article in the next Asbestos Watch, "Air Tests: Can They Show a `Safe' Level?" Join, Renew Now! You haven't received the Asbestos Watch for some time now. That will change with this issue. You will find Asbestos Watch arriving in the mail every other month for the next six months and monthly beginning in 1989. Where have we been? Busy growing in manyways. We have been develop ing training programs and spending more time than ever in the class room -- not only to educate, but to raise needed funds. We have had to expand our staff and our office. We have begun to computerize the na tional office. We sent staff back to school, for asbestos technical training and in organizational development. As struggles against asbestos expo sure have grown, staff has spent more and more time on the phone land on site with people who have requested our assistance. And per haps most importantly, we are devel oping the national structure of the organization, revising by-laws, clari fying the national chapter chartering agreements, etc. And all this on a budget that is still more limited than we would like. Part of our plan for national growth is the expanded publication of As bestos Watch. You can help. Let us know about what is happening in your area. Let us know what ques tions you have that you would like to see answered in our pages. We will continue to report on important developments around asbestos as they affect asbestos victims and exposed persons -- the legal, the scientific, the technical, the personal sides of things -- and, of course, about the activities of the White Lung Association itself. If you have not renewed your membership to the WLA this year, you will receive the next two issues of the Asbestos Watch as a reminder 11 to renew. If we don't hear from you, your subscription will end. We hope this doesn't happen. Please mail in the form below so we won't lose touch with you. I would like to join the White Lung Association. I would like to renew my membership for 1988. Enclosed is my $15 dues. I would like to make a donation to the White Lung Name Address City State Zip Code Phone Number Please check one: Victim Family Member Exposed Supporter EPA Betrays Florida Parents arents have been active in Finally in 1987 the EPA levied a PBrevard County, Florida generously lenient $27,300 fine schools for the last eightyears. against the district Although no They are trying to protect their chpialrent wants school funds to be dren from asbestos contamination spent on fines, the fact that the EPA and force the school board and was going to require the school administration to be responsible. administration to retract "false and Parents' main concern was proper misleading" statements made to notification and enforcement of the parents since 1982, was seen as avic worker protection rule in order to tory. They wanted to have the record prevent exposure in the schools. At set straight so that parents would one point in their efforts, they hoped know if their children had attended that the Environmental Protection schools with friable asbestos. Agency (EPA) would help them. Their experience has taught them the opposite lesson. The school district refused to take this good faith step. Instead, with EPA approval, they spent thousands The Brevard school district has of taxpayers money on lawyers, con consistently ignored the 1982 in sultants and trips to Atlanta to nego spection and notification rule and tiate away their responsibility and the EPA worker protection rule. not have to retract their previous They have ignored repeatedwarnings statements. The EPA gave in and from the EPA and proceeded to do will allow the district to pay $5,460 whatever they wanted. "The district," and "correctly and completelyinform says one parent, "maintained a cava parents of the results of inspections lier attitude in one instance after done in 1986." Only current parents, another, even making employees and not those whose children at work with asbestos without warning tended schools with friable asbestos or protection." When the EPA inves in the past will receive notification. tigated this complaint, they didn't The EPA ignored these parents' sug interview a single worker or eye gestion that the fine money be used witness. The investigation was so to bring in an independent consultant botched that someone had to be sent to review the work the school dis in eight months later to follow-up. trict's expert had done. Mrs. Bonnie Jacobs, one of the active parents, commented; "The EPA could have made a strong statement of the seriousness of their violations of the worker protection rule in addition to the 1982 notification rule. The agency had an opportunity to insti tute enforcement proceedings that could have carried additional fines and criminal penalties. When they are so lenient, it doesn't change behavior. They have reinforced all the bad attitudes that existed. This is a lesson to the administration: no matter how bad you are, we are going to do the least we can and then only after tremendous pres sure." In fact, one recalcitrant school board member called the whole process a "sucker play" by the EPA in the local press. Everything that has been accom plished in proper asbestos control in the district has come about be cause ofwhat the parents themselves have done. They have done research, made photo-essay studies of work in the schools and doggedly followed up on every action of the school dis trict, its consultants and the EPA One main lesson from these Florida parents is that no one will do it for you. You must get involved. Your children's health is at stake. National Non-Profit Asbestos Victims Organization (301) 727-6029 1114 Cathedral Street, Baltimore, Maryland 21201 Alabama - (205) 661-6532 P.O. Box 190097, Tillman's Corner, AL 36619 Northern California -- (415) 952-6840 924 El Camino Real, So. San Francisco, CA 94080 Southern California -- (213) 832-LUNG P.O. Box 5089, San Pedro, CA 90731 Florida - (305) 595-3495 4940 SW 100th Ct., Miami, FL 33165 Illinois/Missouri -- (618) 656-5957 P.O. Box 1071, Alton, IL 62002 Maryland -- Baltimore, Dundalk c/o the National Office New York - (212) 619-2270 12 Warren Street, 4th Floor, NY, NY 10038 New Jersey -- (201) 824-2623 P.O. Box 1073, Newark, NJ 07102 South Carolina -- (803) 269-8048 P.O. Box 3085, Greenville, SC 29602 Washington, D.C. -- (202) 289-3529 805 15th St., N.W., H 401 Washington, D.C. 20005 12 NON-PROFIT ORG. U.S. POSTAGE PAID PERMIT NO. 9557 BALTO., MD