The study, to be conducted at the Mesothelioma Center of the Herbert Irving Comprehensive Cancer Center at New York-Presbyterian Hospital and Columbia University Medical Center, will explore whether a combination of chemotherapy and radiation may be successful in treating the fatal disease by targeting cells on the surface of affected lungs while sparing healthy tissue. It is hoped that the new treatment will help preserve the quality of life of mesothelioma victims and improve treatment outcomes while avoiding the need for major surgery. The current standard treatment for mesothelioma is to remove the affected lung.

Mesothelioma is a form of cancer which has been directly tied to asbestos exposure. Pleural mesothelioma is most common form of the disease, accounting for around three-quarters of mesothelioma victims.

It is estimated that over 25 million Americans were exposed to asbestos between 1940 and 1979, and current trends indicate that the number of American citizens diagnosed with the disease may continue to rise in the near future. While incidence of mesothelioma is relatively rare, affecting approximately 15 people per million in the United States in 2004, the disease can occur between 20 to 50 years after asbestos exposure.

Hide Full Article

By a vote of 14-2 on Wednesday, the panel of advisers advised the FDA to require drug makers to demonstrate that experimental diabetes drugs submitted for FDA approval do not increase cardiovascular risks. While the panel’s recommendations are not binding, the FDA generally tends to follows such recommendations as a matter of course.

Cardiovascular problems are the leading cause of death in diabetics. Last year, a firestorm of controversy erupted when GlaxoSmithKline’s Avandia, then the top-selling diabetes drug, was said to raise the risk of heart attacks in an analysis published in the New England Journal of Medicine. GlaxoSmithKline has consistently denied the allegations and asserts that Avandia is completely safe; the drug remains on the market despite an FDA safety alert regarding the potential heart safety issue.

If new, stricter standards are imposed, research and development costs for drug makers could rise in order to comply with new testing requirements. AstraZeneca and Bristol-Myers Squibb are expected to submit their new diabetes drug saxagliptin (proposed brand name Onglyza) for FDA approval soon; Merck has already received FDA approval for its diabetes drug Januvia, which would not be subject to any new requirements.

Hide Full Article

Along with Continental Airlines, Continental mechanic John Taylor, Continental chief of maintenance Stanley Ford, Aerospatiale director Henri Perrier, former Concorde chief engineer Jacques Herubel, and Claude Frantzen of the French civil aviation authority were identified as defendants in the case.

In 2004, French investigators concluded that the July 25, 2000 crash of Air France Flight 4590 was caused by a titanium metal strip which fell off of a Continental Airlines DC-10 onto a runway at Charles de Gaulle airport and punctured the Concorde jet’s tires as it attempted to take off. The Concorde’s fuel tanks were also determined to be insufficiently shielded from shock, a defect Concorde’s makers were reportedly aware of since 1979.

Continental, which has consistently denied responsibility for the crash, vehemently denounced the indictments in an official statement and characterized the charges as “outrageous” and “completely unjustified.” If found guilty in the case, said to be likely to begin in 2009, Continental could face a multi-million dollar fine.

Flight 4590 was the only fatal Concorde flight in the aircraft’s 27-year history of regular service. The 2000 crash led to all Concorde airliners being withdrawn and refitted with additional safety modifications before being officially retired in 2003.

Hide Full Article

The northern face of the fourth through seventh floors of the 30-story Hilton San Diego Bayfront hotel were knocked out by the explosion, which occurred about 2 p.m. Pacific Daylight Time on Monday. Nine construction workers injured in the blast and one firefighter were transported to UCSD Medical Center, where five workers were admitted in critical condition. Three of those critically injured workers have been placed in medically induced comas to receive treatment for second and third degree burns covering up to 35 percent of their bodies. Four other workers were treated at Scripps Mercy Hospital.

While onlookers and first responders expressed initial concerns that the blast could have been the work of terrorists and arson and bomb squad investigators were summoned to the scene, a spokesman for the San Diego Fire-Rescue Department said that the explosion was caused by an accumulation of natural gas which was ignited by an as-yet undetermined source, most likely an electrical spark or boiler flame.

The 1,190-room hotel was previously scheduled to open in December. It is undetermined whether the opening will be delayed due to the damage.

The accident scene is currently under investigation.

Hide Full Article

Daniel C. Price, of La Mesa, California, was diagnosed as having contracted the West Nile Virus from a mosquito bite while employed by marine construction contractor Connolly-Pacific. Although Price worked on board the derrick barge “D.B. Long Beach” five days per week, he was not required to live aboard the vessel. Instead, Price was given special permission to park a camper truck in a Connolly-Pacific parking lot near the job site.

After contracting the virus, Price was unable to return to work and his employment was subsequently terminated. Citing maritime law provisions requiring vessel owners to provide “maintenance and cure” to injured or ill seamen in their employ, Price filed suit against Connolly-Pacific for compensation for his food, lodging, and medical care.

Although Connolly-Pacific conceded that it was likely that Price contracted the virus during the period he was employed by the company, the California Court Of Appeal, Second Appellate District affirmed that because Price was not obligated to remain on company property after his working hours, he was not covered under the “maintenance and cure” provision, which was intended to cover “blue water” seamen who are required to live aboard a vessel during the entire period of their employment.

Hide Full Article

The 1985 John Deere 750b bulldozer traveled over 250 yards without control, pushing construction debris about until coming to rest at the base of a large tree. No other injures were reported.

64-year-old James C. Eastman died around 10 a.m. EDT as a result of injuries suffered in the incident. Eastman had been working as a subcontractor, moving loads of fill and helping to construct a new road at the Hanson Quarry on State Route 3 in the town of Pamelia, north of Watertown.

Emergency personnel were summoned to the scene of the accident around mid-morning. New York State Police were assisted at the accident scene by personnel from Guilfoyle Ambulance, the City of Watertown Fire Department, and North Pole Fire Department. A State Police spokesman said an investigation into the incident is ongoing and that an autopsy is scheduled for Tuesday in the Jefferson County Medical Examiner’s Office.

Hide Full Article

Louis Coletti of the Building Trades Employers’ Association claimed that while safety is the industry’s top priority, building inspectors are shutting down projects unnecessarily over minor violations, including paperwork technicalities, in fear of losing their jobs. Former New York City Department of Buildings Commissioner Patricia Lancaster resigned last month under a cloud of controversy following a number of public embarrassments for the Department, including a deadly March 15 crane collapse which killed seven.

As a result, stop-work orders on construction sites rose from 785 issued in January to over 1,400 in April. Acting Buildings Commissioner Robert LiMandri denied that construction work sites were being intentionally slowed, emphasized that safety would not be compromised, and reiterated that adherence to NYC construction laws is crucial to the city’s future development.

To date, 14 people have died in eight separate NYC construction accidents in 2008, more than during the entirety of last year.

Hide Full Article

Mercer County Common Pleas Judge Francis J. Fornelli approved the settlement for Stanley and Rhonda Mariacher on April 29. The settlement allocates $550,000 for pain and suffering, $25,000 for past and future medical expenses, $60,000 for lost wages, and an additional $50,000 to Rhonda Mariacher for the loss of consortium.

Stanley Mariacher suffered a severe spinal cord injury, as well as traumatic psychological and neurological damage, as a result of a fall in January of 2004 at Wheatland Tube Co. While securing the freight that had been loaded onto his trailer by Wheatland Tube employees, Stanley fell and suffered severe injuries. The couple brought the suit against Wheatland Tube Co. because the couple felt the company placed Mr. Mariacher at “unreasonable risk.”

The insurance company representing Wheatland Tube Co., Sentry Select Insurance Co., is seeking to obtain compensation from Stanley Mariacher’s employer’s insurance company for legal fees and reimbursement of the settlement. The counter claim is being brought forth in U.S. District Court, Pittsburgh.

Hide Full Article

Officials from Florida’s Department of Environmental Protection visited the neighborhood of Azalea this week to hear residents’ concerns about the groundwater pollution. Last week, an independent engineering firm measured 39 of the town’s 63 irrigation wells for signs of contamination and found that at least six of the wells which were analyzed tested positive for chemicals including vinyl chloride and 1,4 Dioxane. One of the wells tested had 20 parts per billion of 1,4 Dioxane – far greater than the 3.2 parts per billion that the state of Florida allows.

The lawsuits, filed last month by residents of Azalea, argue that the chemicals are known to cause cancer and other ailments, and have negatively affected the retail value of the properties in the neighborhood. The lawsuits ask for restitution from Raytheon to cover medical screenings and continuous monitoring; the clean-up and removal of the chemicals from the groundwater; and compensation for the loss in property value.

Hide Full Article

The settlement, filed Wednesday with U.S. District Judge Shira Scheindlin in New York, would seek to resolve lawsuits filed against the companies in 20 states for groundwater contamination by the chemical methyl tertiary butyl ether (MTBE).

Some oil companies however, notably Exxon Mobil Corp., have refused to settle the lawsuits, asserting that no damage has been done and that the use of MTBE, a pollution-reducing oxygenate, was required by the federal Clean Air Act.

The settlement must be reviewed by U.S. District Judge Shira Scheindlin before it can go into effect.

Hide Full Article