Many union workers exposed to asbestos have been led to believe that they have no legal options once they are diagnosed with mesothelioma. That’s not true.

The St. Louis Labor Tribune, the country’s largest union newspaper at 90,000 paid subscribers, published an article in the May 5 edition informing their readers about this misconception. The Simmons Law Firm, and myself, were featured in the article, titled “Decades later, asbestos still haunting union workers and families.”

Thousands of Missouri and Illinois trade workers have died from mesothelioma, and, as reporter Kevin Weaks wrote, “all they did was take a breath.”

So what do you do if you believe you’ve been exposed to asbestos? There are some precautionary steps that you can take.

First, educate yourself about asbestos and mesothelioma. It is a complicated topic and the Internet has just as much misinformation as it does correct information. Some reputable places to start include the Mesothelioma Applied Research Foundation andthe Asbestos Disease Awareness Organization. I’ve included additional links below to government studies and fact sheets.

Next, make a record of any of your potential past exposures. The Many companies knew about the dangers of asbestos. In the St. Louis area alone there are dozens of jobsites where asbestos exposure could have occurred. If you have records that you worked at a jobsite and used this product that contained asbestos, that’s important information.

Third, take that record to your doctor before you do anything else. Have an open conversation about your past exposure with him or her. They can help you evaluate your medical risk and make the best recommendations about what to do next.

Mesothelioma, while one of the more deadly consequences of asbestos exposure, is not the only illness linked to these exposures. Asbestos can increase your the risk of lung cancer, asbestosis, a noncancerous lung ailment, and other cancers, such as those of the larynx and kidneys.

No amount of money will give you back your health, and as firm partner Chris Guinn said in the above article, “We tell our clients that the most important thing is to focus on their treatment.”

The Simmons Mesothelioma Foundation has partnered with another major university in its quest to support medical experts and researchers working to improve the quality of life for mesothelioma patients and their families.

The foundation will be awarding the University of Pittsburgh Cancer Institute $350,000 over three years. The funding will improve UPCI’s Comprehensive Mesothelioma Program and the UPMC Cancer Centers work specifically relating to the study of mesothelioma and treatment of this deadly disease. UPCI is the only NCI designated comprehensive cancer center in western Pennsylvania.

“We are incredibly thankful for the generous gift from the Simmons Mesothelioma Foundation to expand our program, which will positively impact the lives of so many people diagnosed with mesothelioma and their families,” said Dr. David Bartlett, chief of surgical oncology, in UPCI’s official release.

Julie Gundlach, a client of the Simmons Law Firm and an inspiration for mesothelioma patients everywhere, has been included as one of the honorees for the 7th Annual International Asbestos Awareness Conference, which takes place this year April 1-3 in Atlanta.

Every year, the conference recognizes outstanding individuals from around the world who serve as a voice for asbestos victims, raise awareness about the dangers of asbestos exposure and advocate for a worldwide ban of asbestos.

Julie will be presented with the Alan Reinstein Award for her commitment to education, advocacy, and support to countless patients and families, according to the Asbestos Disease Awareness Organization, which sponsors the conference.

Julie regularly volunteers, organizes fundraisers and advocates to politicians about the need for a full ban of asbestos in the U.S. She has also repeatedly told her survival story to news organizations in an effort to help people realize that if the deadly consequences of asbestos exposure can happen to her – a mother and photographer in her 30s– it can happen to anyone.

Most notably this past summer, Julie’s story was included in an in-depth investigative piece on the dangers of asbestos by McClatchy News Service and was available for publication in newspapers across the world. She also helped promote Miles for Meso and Mesothelioma Awareness Day in the St. Louis area by speaking with reporters here and here.

I would like to congratulate Julie and her family for this recognition. Julie has worked tirelessly to advocate for an asbestos ban and to promote awareness about mesothelioma. ADAO could not have selected a better person for this honor.

The other 2011 ADAO honorees are as follows:

U.S. Senator Max Baucus will be presented with the Tribute of Hope Award for his steadfast commitment and determination to ban asbestos. 

Environmental Information Association will receive the Tribute of Unity Award for its committed work to increase asbestos awareness in efforts to prevent exposure and disease.   

Guadalupe Aguilar Madrid, M.D., MSc, Ph.D., will be recognized with the Dr. Irving Selikoff Lifetime Achievement Award in honor of her dedicated research into the social and medical impact asbestos has had on humankind in Mexico and around the world. 

Sugio Furuya will be presented with the Tribute of Inspiration Award for being a bridge of hope and strength to victims of asbestos exposure in Asia and across the globe.  

Visit www.adao.us for more information about the conference or to register online.

For me, December and the holiday season has always been a time to reflect on the past year. A time to remember the challenges we’ve overcome; the projects we’ve spearheaded; and the goals we’ve achieved. Below I’ve compiled highlights from 2010.

Throughout the year, our attorneys continued to fight on behalf of victims of mesothelioma and their families. This summer, we secured a favorable appeal in Simpkins v. CSX Transportation for all Illinois families impacted by a mesothelioma diagnosis. The Appellate Court of Illinois ruled that employers do have a duty to inform their employees’ family members about the dangers of take home asbestos exposure. The ruling established an important precedent for mesothelioma victims and their families.

The firm’s success did not stop with our mesothelioma practice. This spring the commercial litigation department secured a $32 million dollar settlement in an antitrust lawsuit. Then throughout the year, the intellectual property department secured two preliminary injunctions in separate cases, including one involving camouflage sports apparel and vampire welding helmets. This year once again proved that partnering with clients, instead of billing exorbitant hourly rates, gets better results, faster.

Our pharmaceutical litigation department gained momentum early on in 2010 by attaining leadership roles in the Yaz and Chantix cases, both examples of high-visibility litigation the firm has handled over the years. I expect momentum to only increase as our phrama team continues to advocate for consumer rights and investigate drugs pulled from the market by the Food & Drug Administration through 2011.

The mesothelioma community made great strides in 2010 by ramping up efforts to improve awareness of mesothelioma and the dangers of asbestos. We were pleased to celebrate several victories with our friends at the Asbestos Disease Awareness Organization and the Mesothelioma Applied Research Foundation. In April, the U.S. senate passed a resolution declaring the first week of April as National Asbestos Awareness Week. Then, in November, after many months of hard work educating congressional leaders about the need for more awareness about mesothelioma, the U.S. House passed a resolution making Sept. 26, National Mesothelioma Awareness Day. The mesothelioma community has also moved into the social media world. You can now fan the Simmons firm, Miles for Meso, Ban Asbestos Now! and ADAO & MARF on Facebook.

In 2010, the firm tripled our own ongoing efforts to promote awareness of mesothelioma by becoming the national sponsor of Miles for Meso, starting the Simmons Mesothelioma Foundation, and celebrating the opening of the Simmons Cancer Institute.

The firm’s non-profit endeavors did much during 2010 to help our community and cancer patients across the county. The Foundation formed critical partnerships with leading medical mesothelioma experts throughout the country, which provides mesothelioma patients with cutting-edge treatment options regardless of where they’re located in the United States. In addition, the firm hosted the Second Annual Alton 5K Miles for Meso Run & Walk, and sponsored additional Miles for Meso races in Florida, Indiana and Virginia. The three races combined raised approximately $40,000 for mesothelioma research and drew just under 1,000 participants.

I’m also proud of the work our employees, through the Simmons Employee Foundation, have done this year to improve life in our local community. This spring, they hosted their 4^th Annual Dinner Auction, which raised more than $200,000 for two area charities. Then this fall, the employee’s annual golf tournament raised just over $15,000 for two other local charities. These two events, while the most visible, represent only a portion of the work and donations the firm’s employees contributed to their communities throughout this economically difficult year.

Looking back, the firm has had a very busy 2010. Yet, looking forward, life at the firm is going to get even busier. If you haven’t heard, the firm is relocating its headquarters to Alton, Illinois. Since the summer we’ve been renovating the old Jefferson Smurfit building in downtown Alton. It’s a beautiful location surrounded by historic brick streets and stunning views of the Clark Bridge and Mississippi River.

 As we literally move into 2011 and into our new building, we’ll continue to fight for the rights of patients and their families. We’ll work to raise awareness about mesothelioma, generate funds for mesothelioma research, and call for legislation banning the use of asbestos. We are grateful for 2010 and look forward to the challenges of the coming year.

Andrew Schneider has written a 4-part series for AOL News focusing on the dangers of asbestos-riddled zonolite insulation and the massive failure of the EPA to inform and protect the public. It’s called “Killer in the Attic.”

You may recall that Schneider, a former Post-Dispatch reporter, helped break the Libby story. More on him below. In the article Dr. Miller, former medical director for the EPA, issues a powerful statement about how children can be exposed to asbestos:

"It's particularly important to understand the risks for children who have higher breathing rates and will inhale more of the fibers," said Miller, a father of two. "Children, especially young ones, tend to spend much of their time on the floor playing with the ornaments and toys, breathing the asbestos-contaminated dust, and have many years for the asbestos fibers that lodge in their lungs to eventually cause disease."

In the second part of the series, the story covers an EPA investigation that details how mundane activities like sweeping the floor or just watching TV can spread dangerous Zonolite insulation fibers through an older home. Miller, once again, issued a powerful statement highlighting the silent dangers of asbestos exposure.

"The asbestos levels found in the testing and sampling of the Pueblo house were very high and just makes many of us even more concerned about the hazards that exist in millions of other homes where people have no clue about the danger from Zonolite in their attics," Dr. Aubrey Miller told AOL News.

The third installment recaps the Libby, Mont. story but provides fresh insight into how the EPA approached the environmental disaster. Schneider writes that an EPA boss sent three agents to the town after his initial story appeared, not to help the residents, but to disprove his report that thousands of people were dying from exposure to the mine’s asbestos.

Instead, they found that the tragedy was true. What’s more disturbing in this new article is Schneider’s revelation that the EPA knew that the insulation could possibly kill people 17 years before the first story was reported. He writes:

“The agency had hired a group of scientists to evaluate the amount of asbestos exposure received by miners on Zonolite Mountain, the people of Libby and those who worked and lived near the hundreds of vermiculite-processing plants Grace had built throughout the country.

The EPA contractors measured wind direction and speed, the volume of dust thrown into the air and proximity to the processing plants. They turned in a lengthy, detailed report showing that thousands of people were likely receiving asbestos exposure that could sicken if not kill them.

But the agency apparently stuck the report in a file at its Washington headquarters, never once warning anyone of the dangers. It was three months after the EPA team arrived in Libby that a researcher found a copy of the 1982 report…”

The final installment covers how politics have prevented a total ban on asbestos. The EPA and other organizations have repeatedly implanted bans – the most recent effort conducted by Sen. Patty Murray, D-Wash. – but they’ve been watered down because of lobbying efforts by the corporations who poisoned so many people. Schnedier provided insight into why:

“Some Senate staffers -- those who do the behind-the-scenes, but vital, machinations that get legislation to the floor for a vote -- privately admitted that corporate campaigning against the proposed ban was intense and consistent…

…The why was simple, senior staff members privately said, explaining that billions of dollars were in play. Insurance and actuarial firms projected that trial lawyers will eventually file suits on behalf of almost 1.5 million people injured or killed by exposure to asbestos. That could cost the industries that sold or used asbestos in their products as much as $300 billion in settlements.”

To read the full series click here.

Simmons Law Firm advocates for veterans who died from asbestos related diseases

On this Veterans Day, please remember to light a candle in memory of those who gave their lives to protect ours; to say a prayer for those who are still overseas protecting us; and to thank those who served and came home to a nation they made great. 

As a firm that specializes in asbestos-related diseases, many of our clients are veterans. Today, we’d like to advocate on behalf of those who passed away from lung cancer and mesothelioma due to their asbestos exposure during their time of service.

Throughout the twentieth century, the US military made widespread use of asbestos, a dangerous mineral linked to a number of diseases like lung cancer, asbestosis and mesothelioma. Asbestos was popular because of its heat-resistant properties, making it especially useful for fireproofing living quarters and seagoing vessels.  

According to the US Department of Veteran Affairs, there are approximately 23 million veterans living in the country today. Thanks to the military’s decades of uncontrolled asbestos use, many of these veterans were unknowingly exposed to asbestos throughout their years of service. Navy veterans who worked on and around ships built before the mid 1970s are especially at risk, since they may have been exposed to concentrated doses of asbestos below deck. Since the firstsymptoms of mesothelioma normally do not appear until decades after exposure, many of these veterans have only recently been diagnosed with this fatal disease.

Despite this, close to 1,700 metric tons of asbestos was imported to the United States in 2008. It’s not banned, and – although it’s highly regulated – asbestos is still found in household products like insulation, shingles and siding.

America’s veterans who have been diagnosed with an asbestos related disease don’t back down from a fight. They don’t waste time feeling sorry for themselves or being resentful about something they know they can’t change. They remain proud of their service to their country and the time they spent in the Navy, Army, Air Force, or Marines. Like any hardworking American, though, they deserve a chance to be heard.

The same goes for any veteran who has fallen upon hard times. One of our attorneys, Mike Stewart, a veteran himself, volunteers with Madison County’s veteran court. It’s a court program run by veterans for veterans. The special court helps honorably discharged veterans who are struggling with legal problems resulting from drug, alcohol or mental health problems.

Here’s a great article about Madison County’s veterans court program that ran in yesterday’s St. Louis Post-Dispatch.

On behalf of the Simmons law firm, I would like to thank past, present and future U.S. veterans around the world for the sacrifices they made on behalf of our country. We are forever proud of the men and women who continually risked their lives to protect ours. We hope through their example we will be inspired to become better people and a better nation.

Officials canceled last night’s game at Madison Square Garden against the Orlando Magic because “asbestos-related” material fell from the building’s attic and landed on the arena. The asbestos material was dislodged because the attic had been cleaned earlier for routine maintenance.

Further testing later last night revealed that the dust was not asbestos. Despite this, credit is due to Garden officials for reacting with caution and taking asbestos exposure seriously. Too often, this is not the case, as many people wrongly believe asbestos is banned, making it an outdated safety topic.

Last night’s events illustrate all too clearly that asbestos exposure is a very current and very real safety concern for the 21^st century. Being exposed to asbestos can happen to anyone. What if that dust had fallen during the game? The World Health Organization has stated there is no standard for safe exposure, meaning its possible one breath could create an exposure incident severe enough to develop mesothelioma, an aggressive cancer with no cure.

Yet, the public unfortunately remains uninformed about asbestos exposure and its dangers. More than 10,000 Americans die every year from asbestos-related disease like mesothelioma, lung cancer and asbestosis, according to the Asbestos Disease Awareness Organization. Since 1940, millions of workers have been exposed to asbestos including individuals involved in the rescue, recovery and cleanup of 9/11 World Trade Center attacks, according to the National Cancer Institute.

The Madison Square Garden incident, thankfully, was only a scare. That said, it is also an opportunity to ignite more public awareness that asbestos is a current safety concern that needs to be addressed. It surrounds us. In our attics, shingles, plumbing and cement. So how can we keep the conversation going? How can we make more people aware of an unnecessary disease like mesothelioma? Do you have any ideas? If you do, we'd love to hear from you.