As U.S. Senate leaders negotiate a trust fund for Americans sick or dying from asbestos, new facts are transforming the debate. Despite what many Americans believe, asbestos is still being used, and continues to cause new public health problems.
Newsday reports that a study headed by Mt. Sinai Medical Center's Dr. Phillip Landrigan finds that the collapse of the World Trade Center towers sent an "intensely toxic" cloud onto New Yorkers fleeing the site and rescue workers trying to help. In addition to glass shards and cement dust, the cloud contained asbestos, lead and PCBs.
Meanwhile, Florida Times-Union reporter Steve Patterson has investigated widespread corner-cutting and fraud by contractors removing asbestos from homes, needlessly worsening the public health problem.
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