Asbestos

W.R. Grace & Co. and five former managers go on trial today, accused of exposing a Montana community for decades to a particularly lethal form of asbestos and concealing what the company knew about the dangers. The Columbia-based chemical manufacturer has denied the allegations. Officials at the global company, which employs more than 1,100 in Maryland, say that managers worked continually to improve safety at the vermiculite mine and mill that it bought near Libby, Mont., in 1963 and operated until 1990.

ALAN STRINGER, 62 W.R. Grace executive Alan Stringer, one of seven former W.R. Grace and Co. executives accused of conspiring to conceal asbestos-related health risks posed by a Montana mine, died of cancer Feb. 24 at his home in Oak Harbor, Wash., his wife, Donna, said Thursday. In Libby, Mont., asbestos from Grace's former vermiculite mine has been blamed for sickening or killing hundreds of people. Mr. Stringer had been the general manager of the vermiculite mine, which closed in 1990.

WILMINGTON, Del. -- W.R. Grace & Co. asked the judge overseeing its bankruptcy case to bar asbestos-related lawsuits against Burlington Northern Santa Fe Railway Co. over the railroad's objections to the legal protection. Grace's effort to resolve more than 100,000 asbestos claims it faces would be more difficult if Burlington, known as BNSF, starts defending itself against 113 lawsuits involving the railroad's transportation of vermiculite ore in Libby, Mont., Grace attorney David M. Bernick contended yesterday in court.

Maryland schools officials say they could be forced to test every new tile, pipe or wall put into school buildings for asbestos, under new guidance on Environmental Protection Agency regulations. State schools have relied in the past on material safety data sheets from manufacturers to determine whether hazardous materials, including asbestos, are in the products they are buying. But the EPA said it never accepted the data sheets under asbestos regulations. After the Maryland Department of the Environment asked the EPA a "clarifying question," Maryland schools were notified in September 2006 that the manufacturer's sheets could not be used to determine whether products contain asbestos, said EPA spokeswoman Donna Heron.

Peter G. Angelos built one fortune out of asbestos. He earned a second off Big Tobacco. Could he build yet a third out of arsenic? If he doesn't, it won't be for lack of trying. The Baltimore lawyer, who parlayed his cutting-edge role representing workers who were exposed to asbestos into the ownership of the Baltimore Orioles, has placed advertisements in The Sun trolling for possible clients who might have been harmed by arsenic in South Baltimore's Swann Park. "If you or members of your family have regularly visited Swann Park or have lived near Swann Park, you may wish to consult an attorney," says the Angelos ad, which also offers a "no-charge consultation."

Orioles owner Peter G. Angelos, the state's leading attorney in asbestos lawsuits, stands to become the single largest beneficiary of proposed legislation to remove a cap on damages in such cases.The bill, introduced by Sen. Thomas A. Bromwell at the request of Angelos' firm, would exempt most asbestos cases from a cap set by the legislature on awards for "noneconomic" damages such as pain and suffering in personal injury lawsuits.The cap, set at $350,000 when the law was passed in 1986, was raised to $500,000 in 1994, with a $15,000 a year increase after that.

An ethical dilemma involving state Sen. Norman R. Stone Jr. is likely to come before a General Assembly committee again this week as he challenges its finding that he should not vote on a bill sought by his boss.The ethical problem involves a bill before Stone's committee that would increase the amount of damages plaintiffs can collect in lawsuits over asbestos-related diseases. The most ardent proponent and largest possible beneficiary of the bill is Peter G. Angelos, Stone's employer and the state's leading plaintiffs' attorney in asbestos cases.

Marjorie R. Ferguson, 69, UM journalism professorMarjorie R. Ferguson, University of Maryland professor of journalism and internationally known media scholar, died Monday of cancer at the home of a daughter in San Francisco. She was 69 and lived in Washington.In 1988, Dr. Ferguson joined the faculty at the University of Maryland, College Park, where until recently she was director of the doctoral program in the college of journalism.She taught graduate and undergraduate students and was a mentor for numerous graduate students who became faculty members, scholars, media policy makers and journalists here and abroad.

The federal investigation of two prominent State House lobbyists and a Baltimore delegate may be broader than was publicly known, with a focus on legislation dealing with asbestos litigation as well as lead paint matters.A report in The Sun yesterday disclosed that federal authorities are examining the relationship between the two lobbyists, John R. Stierhoff and Gerard E. Evans, and Del. Tony E. Fulton, a West Baltimore Democrat. Sources familiar with the investigation said this week that authorities were focusing on Fulton's move last year to introduce sweeping General Assembly legislation targeting companies that manufactured lead paint.

As armies of schoolchildren invade Gettysburg, the National Park Service will reopen a popular battlefield attraction today -- the Cyclorama Center, home of a panoramic painting of Pickett's Charge -- after tests for asbestos found safe levels.The circular hall near the visitor center closed Tuesday afternoon, said Katie Lawhon, spokeswoman for Gettysburg National Military Park, after employees opening the building found a 14-inch section of ceiling had fallen in a second-floor lobby entrance.

MISSOULA, Mont. -W.R. Grace & Co. and three former executives were acquitted Friday of federal charges that they knowingly allowed residents of northwestern Montana town to be exposed to asbestos from its vermiculite mine. Attorneys for some residents of the town of Libby blame tremolite asbestos from the vermiculite for about 2,000 cases of illness and about 225 deaths in and around the community. Miners carried asbestos home on their clothes, vermiculite used to cover school running tracks in Libby and some residents used vermiculite as mulch in their home gardens.

Baltimore is rated 3rd-best city for recent grads Baltimore ranks third on a list of best cities for recent college graduates compiled by Apartments.com and CBcampus.com, the groups announced Wednesday. Indianapolis was at the top of the list, followed by Philadelphia, Baltimore, Cincinnati and Cleveland. The rankings were determined by rating U.S. cities on the bases of highest concentration of young adults, inventory of jobs requiring less than one year of experience and the average rent cost for a one-bedroom apartment.

W.R. Grace & Co. said it may be forced to delay its exit from bankruptcy because it cannot get acceptable terms for a $1 billion loan the company says it needs to help to pay creditors. Grace, a specialty chemicals and construction materials company based in Columbia, made the disclosure in a filing yesterday with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. Grace, in bankruptcy since 2001, has promised to pay creditors and people hurt by its asbestos products $3.9 billion under a reorganization plan the company plans to submit to a court for approval this year.

W.R. Grace & Co. and five former managers go on trial today, accused of exposing a Montana community for decades to a particularly lethal form of asbestos and concealing what the company knew about the dangers. The Columbia-based chemical manufacturer has denied the allegations. Officials at the global company, which employs more than 1,100 in Maryland, say that managers worked continually to improve safety at the vermiculite mine and mill that it bought near Libby, Mont., in 1963 and operated until 1990.

The U.S. Supreme Court refused yesterday an appeal to limit the asbestos-related criminal charges against Columbia's W.R. Grace & Co. and six former executives. It was the last obstacle preventing the three-year-old, oft-delayed case from going to trial. "We are disappointed," Grace spokesman Greg Euston said. "We take this seriously. When [U.S. District Court] Judge [Donald] Malloy sets a trial date, we will be prepared to defend ourselves." In February 2005, a federal grand jury indicted the chemical company and seven executives, one of whom has since died, on multiple charges alleging they knowingly endangered residents of Libby, Mont.

Officials from the state's largest union say they have filed a complaint with a state health agency on behalf of employees at the city's child welfare services office, 1510 Guilford Ave., citing reports of active asbestos found in the building over the weekend. Joe Lawrence, a spokesman for the Maryland chapter of the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees, said contractors worked on the building and found what they believed to be asbestos on pipes. But Brian Wilbon, deputy secretary for operations for the Department of Human Resources, said no contractors worked on the building this weekend, and that the building was inspected twice in the past year and no asbestos was found.

The enormous settlement in the protracted litigation involving W. R. Grace & Co. and thousands of asbestos victims offers something positive for all sides. Even at an estimated cost of more than $3 billion, the deal should help move the company out of Chapter 11 bankruptcy, where it sought protection in 2001. And while no amount of money can end the pain of losing a loved one or suffering poor health because of exposure to toxic products, at least victims and their families will receive some compensation.

W.R. Grace & Co. said yesterday that it has reached a deal that could be worth more than $3 billion to settle thousands of lawsuits by people who say they were sickened by exposure to the company's asbestos products. The deal potentially clears a path for the Columbia-based chemical maker to emerge by year's end from one of the most complex bankruptcy reorganizations in U.S. history. The accord, which would depend on approval by a bankruptcy judge in Pittsburgh, would establish a trust fund to pay current and future asbestos claims, which date back decades to when the company produced and sold products containing the substance.

W.R. Grace & Co. this week asked for a two-year extension of its $250 million bankruptcy loan while a federal judge weighs how much the Columbia-based specialty chemicals maker will have to pay to settle its asbestos-related claims. Grace is asking the U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Wilmington, Del., to extend the line of credit through April 2010. The loan, which is scheduled to expire April 1, has been amended several times since it was first approved in 2001. By extending the financing agreement, Grace avoids "substantial expenses" in obtaining a replacement loan, the company said in papers filed with the court Monday.

A Baltimore jury ordered a sealant company yesterday to pay a 73-year-old man $15.3 million after determining that he developed mesothelioma from exposure to asbestos-containing products made by the company, the plaintiff's lawyer said. George J. Linkus worked at Key Highway Shipyard from 1952 to 1959, said his lawyer, David L. Palmer. In 1954, Linkus moved to the machine shop and worked on lining valves using rope made by the defendant, John Crane Inc. The jury found that the rope used by Linkus contained asbestos, Palmer said.