| Asbestos, Quebec, Seeks a Healthier Name Not Linked to Cancer
July 14 (Bloomberg) -- Yves Legault says it would be easier attracting employers to his Quebec hometown if its name didn't make people think of cancer. ``It's a real hurdle,'' said Legault, head of industrial promotion for the town of Asbestos. He said a window maker decided last year against opening a plant in the community because its main U.S. client said, ``If you build in Asbestos, we're not interested.'' That attitude is pushing Mayor Jean-Philippe Bachand to propose dropping the Asbestos name, a move that some of its 6,700 residents oppose. The asbestos mine owned by Mine Jeffrey Inc. is the biggest employer in the town, which is about 175 kilometers (110 miles) east of Montreal. ``Asbestos as a name doesn't sell,'' said Bachand, who plans to hold a public debate by the end of the year and then put the matter to a vote.
Asbestosis Like Mesothelioma Can Kill
But deaths from the cancer, largely of former workers from the long-closed Turner Brothers in Hindley Green, may have now peaked in the town.Seven local people died in 2003, latest figures in a Parliamentary written question reveal, compared with 11 the previous year and nine in 2001 and the illness claimed a high of 13 Wiganer's lives in 1999. Newcastle remains the main place for asbestosis in Britain with 101 people currently receiving treatment. The statistics were announced as Secretary of State for the Department of Work and Pensions (DWP) John Hutton gave new details of how the system for compensating sufferers and their survivors would be improved and speeded up. He said that interim measures would be put into action and he was also determined to put a long-term solution into place.
ECONOMIC FORUM / Social responsibility not just saying sorry
The number of cases of carbon monoxide poisoning allegedly caused by Paloma Industries Ltd.'s water heaters has risen to 27--an increase of 10 cases from the previous figure released by the Economy, Trade and Industry Ministry. The death toll in the case has now risen to 21. The disclosure of the incidents was followed by the Kumamoto prefectural police's move against Toyota Motor Corp. The police have sent documents to public prosecutors pertaining to three Toyota employees suspected of professional negligence resulting in the injuries of five people. Specifically, the police charged the trio with failing to recall defective vehicles in the Hilux series. In the Paloma case, the real cause of the CO poisoning tragedies remains unknown. In the case of Toyota, its president, Katsuaki Watanabe, bowed deeply and said, "I would like to offer my sincere apology for worrying our customers and the trouble it has caused." However, he stopped short of taking any personal responsibility.
Statins May Help Treat Mesothelioma
NEW YORK JUL 12, 2006 (Reuters Health) - Statins reverse doxorubicin resistance in human malignant mesothelioma cells in culture, a finding that may lead to new clinical strategies to improve doxorubicin efficacy in this hard to treat cancer. "The mechanism of statin-mediated inhibition of small G-protein function is the molecular basis of the drug-elicited reversion of doxorubicin resistance in human malignant mesothelioma cells," Dr. Amalia Bosia from University of Torino, Italy told Reuters Health. Dr. Bosia and colleagues investigated the ability of statins to reverse resistance to doxorubicin in drug-resistant primary human malignant mesothelioma cells and the molecular mechanism behind the reversion, according to their report in the July 1st issue of the International Journal of Cance Mevastatin and simvastatin significantly increased the intracellular accumulation of doxorubicin in the mesothelioma cells and increased the cytotoxicity of doxorubicin, the authors report.
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