Pier 70, nearly 70 acres large, is part of San Francisco’s waterfront and steeped in history.

The site was dedicated to the shipbuilding and manufacturing trades, with ships being built there as far back as the Gold Rush. In the 1880s it was the first site on the West Coast to build a Navy Ship and Union Iron Works built several famous ships there which went on to take part in the Spanish American War.

It continued to be involved in much heavy industry, including steelworks and it now to be the site for new investment preceded by a multimillion dollar environmental cleanup effort.

In the near future, the land south of Mission Bay could be developed as housing for 1,000 San Francisco residents, waterfront parks, new space for artist studios, and manufacturing and retail services.

Before work begins, however, an environmental review must be carried out, as an investigation by the Port several years ago revealed that soil contaminants could pose a risk to future site users because the decades of shipbuilding and heavy industry have contaminated the soil, which contains naturally occurring metals and asbestos from the previous operations.

If you or someone you know is suffering from an asbestos related disease, such as mesothelioma, asbestosis, or lung cancer, contact the Law Office of Brayton Purcell, LLP  at  (800) 598-0314 immediately, or contact us online for a free consultation. You may be entitled to an asbestos payout as part of an individual or class action lawsuit.

According to a new study, there are new areas of naturally occurring asbestos minerals which are more widespread than thought beforehand. They have been found in areas which were not thought to be at risk and not where people thought to look.

The areas contain natural asbestos which is called fibrous iron sodium amphiboles and fibrous actinolite. It has been discovered in Clark County, Nevada and it forms where several geographic features come together. In the case of Clark Country there was groundwater, which interacted with rock salt and a cooling body of magma way below the surface of the earth. These three things together created a type of rock and made its way to the surface as naturally occurring asbestos. Once affected by the wind and the rain it can be dispersed into the atmosphere and brings with it the risks of people breathing in the fibers which are known to cause lung cancer, mesothelioma and other lung conditions.

There are many regulations created to protect people from exposure to mined and refined asbestos, but this naturally occurring asbestos is unregulated and nor it is classified as toxic under federal law even though it can be just as harmful.

If you or someone you know is suffering from an asbestos related disease, such as mesothelioma, asbestosis, or lung cancer, contact the Law Office of Brayton Purcell, LLP  at  (800) 598-0314 immediately, or contact us online for a free consultation. You may be entitled to an asbestos payout as part of an individual or class action lawsuit.

The world asbestos figures have been released by the United States Geological Survey with production in 2013 being 2,019,000 tons, roughly the same as 2011 and 2012. The major producers of asbestos kept the same market share more or less, with Russian staying as the biggest supplier of raw asbestos fiber. China and India have ceased their rapid growth in consumption but Indonesia continues to increase its consumption unabated. In addition consumption is on the rise in countries where the use of asbestos has been lower in the past, specifically Bangladesh, Turkmenistan, and Pakistan.

However there are indications that some countries are beginning to look for substitutes for asbestos with the number of countries consuming more than 500 tons a year down from 37 in 2012 to 33 in 2013. It appears that support is growing to ban asbestos with discussions taking place at government and judicial level in Thailand, Vietnam, the Philippines and Brazil.

Asbestos consumption in Ukraine and Thailand are now falling rapidly following significant increases between 2000 and 2005. Annual consumption for both nations is now less than 30 percent of what they were in 2000 and 60 percent less than 2005.

If you or someone you know is suffering from an asbestos related disease, such as mesothelioma, asbestosis, or lung cancer, contact the Law Office of Brayton Purcell, LLP  at  (800) 598-0314 immediately, or contact us online for a free consultation. You may be entitled to an asbestos payout as part of an individual or class action lawsuit.

A recent study published the journal, Health Affairs, has highlighted which factors contribute towards our health.

It found that environmental factors contributed around 5 percent. It is estimated that 90,000 deaths a year are caused by microbial agents such as bacteria and 60,000, some 3 percent, by toxic agents such as asbestos. The World Health Organization estimates that 3 percent of deaths in high-income countries are attributable to environmental factors such as air pollution, unsafe water, poor sanitation, asbestos and lead exposure.

The study goes on to say that around 10 percent of the deaths in the U.S. were attributable to poor medical care, and about 20 percent to genetics, or at least some genetic component.

Around 30 percent of deaths were accounted for by social factors such as racial segregation and low education and about 35% to behavioral factors such as smoking, around 19 percent of deaths in the U.S., poor diet and physical activity 15 percent and alcohol 4%.

Although behavior, genetics and social and economic factor are key determinants of health, so is the environment we live in, and exposure to asbestos plays a part in that.

If you or someone you know is suffering from an asbestos related disease, such as mesothelioma, asbestosis, or lung cancer, contact the Law Office of Brayton Purcell, LLP  at  (800) 598-0314 immediately, or contact us online for a free consultation. You may be entitled to an asbestos payout as part of an individual or class action lawsuit.