Do the brakes on your car contain asbestos fibers? The U.S. Geological Survey reports that domestic imports of asbestos brake materials have increased by 300% in the past decade. Last year, the country imported $208.9 million of asbestos products, of which $124.6 million were of asbestos brake materials, according to figures released by the U.S.G.S.
Asbestos […]

Bayer AG said it had paid $614 million to settle 1,683 cases over its recalled anti-cholesterol drug Baycol out of court, which was linked with over 100 deaths in August 2001.
“We will continue our settlement policy. We try to agree on fair compensation for anyone who experienced serious side effects from Baycol on our own […]

Asbestos companies and insurers have agreed to a proposed $114 billion asbestos fund, which would eliminate all asbestos litigation and instead compensate asbestos cancer victims from a set schedule based on their disease.
The office of Senate Republican Leader Bill Frist brokered the plan, after support for an asbestos bill eroded among Republicans, who questioned whether […]

WellPoint Health Networks Inc. says it will not reimburse people for use of Crestor, a statin drug by AstraZeneca due to safety concerns.
“There is a level of nervousness, and we’re being conservative and we’re being cautious” said Dr. Robert Seidman, chief pharmacy officer for WellPoint “We’ve already been Baycolled”.
During clinical trials rhabdomyolisis turned up in […]

Australia’s October newsletter for Adverse Drug Reaction Advisory Committee (ADRAC) warns that commonly prescribed drugs for arthritis, depression and epilepsy have been linked to a variety of potentially adverse health effects including heart attacks, convulsions and birth defects.
The newsletter contains warnings about the arthritis drugs Celebrex and Vioxx, the anti-depressant mirtazapine (marketed as Remeron, […]

After The Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry (ATSDR) concluded that former employees of Western Minerals Products Company facility in Denver were exposed to elevated levels of asbestos, the EPA has begun to replace soil with clean fill where soil contains 1 percent or more of asbestos.
Libby Asbestos was found up to 12 inches […]

The Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry (ATSDR) concludes that former employees of Western Minerals Products Company facility in Denver were exposed to elevated levels of asbestos.
ATSDR, a public health agency of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, recommends that former employees of this facility and those who lived in their households […]

A federal appeals court has ruled that the Federal Trade Commission can enforce its national do-not-call list against telemarketers. The ruling, by a three-judge panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 10th Circuit, allows the FTC to fine violators up to $11,000 for each incident as it appeals a lower court decision that […]

ATSDR, a public health agency of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, recommends that former employees of W.R. Grace/Zonolite Company site at 12340 Conway Road in Beltsville, Maryland and those who lived in their households learn more about asbestos and see a physician regarding potentially adverse health effects.
The former W.R. Grace/Zonolite Company site […]

Federal Communications Commission will enforce a national do-not-call registry starting today even though their ability and authority to enforce the program has been limited by a federal judge’s ruling.
Michael K. Powell, chairman of the FCC, said to a Senate committee yesterday that the agency would enforce its National Do-Not-Call rules against telemarketers that have obtained […]