Existing laws and regulations failed to prevent asbestos contamination of mulch. What’s missing is mandatory certification of recycled products so users can be sure they’ve been tested and are safe.
Exposure to asbestos can cause the same cancer in dogs as it does in humans. Recent cases of asbestos-contaminated mulch highlight the need to better protect our pets.
The most important factor for disease risk is exposure – you actually have to inhale asbestos fibres to be at risk of disease. But asbestos needs to be treated with caution.
While evidence grows about the impact of asbestos exposure on teachers and other school workers, the risk to schoolchildren remains worryingly under-reported and under-researched.
Despite the popular belief that vitamin E and beta carotene supplements help prevent heart disease and cancer, the latest research suggests they do not – but the supplements do have potential risks.
Those directly exposed to toxic dust and trauma on and after 9/11 carry with them a generation of chronic health conditions, which are placing them at higher risk during the pandemic and as they age.
More 9/11 responders died from physical and mental health issues after the terrorist attacks than on the day itself. And survivors are still suffering 20 years later.
American ambivalence about government has left the courts to play an outsized role responding to public health crises like lead poisoning, asbestos-related illnesses and now, the coronavirus pandemic.
Jeb Barnes, USC Dornsife College of Letters, Arts and Sciences
Asbestos litigation is the number one source of tort claims in the US, with many people decrying the filing of so many claims. But there’s a reason the claims persist. Asbestos isn’t going anywhere.
Taxing a food product like meat, which has been entrenched in our culture for so long, is silly. We should let the market evolve and allow consumers to make their own choices.