Beasley, Allen, Crow, Methvin, Portis & Miles, P.C.

While it’s possible for most people to enjoy nature without tearing through it off-road vehicles, some ATV loyalists demand the right to blaze through deserts and forests, even when their own health and safety is seriously compromised. Last year the federal Bureau of Land Management closed off the Clear Creek Management Area in central California to all public use. The 48-square-mile tract of land, known for its canyons, wildflowers, and towering rock formations, has been hailed as one of the best places in the world for ATV enthusiasts to let loose.

There’s only one problem. The park is home to the largest deposit of asbestos in the United States.

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This week a Los Angelels, Calif., county jury ruled in favor of former U.S. Navy machinist Charles H. Cundiff, saying his mesothelioma is a result of the asbestos he handled during his service from 1962-1966. The jury awarded Cundiff and his family $12.1 million in damages from two firms, John Crane, Inc. and Lone Star Industries.

According to a report by AHN Media Corp., it was determined that Cundiff, now 66, handled Insulag cement, manufactured by John Crane Inc. and distributed by Lone Star Industries, when he worked for nine months on a project to overhaul the USS Kitty Hawk during his Navy career as a machinist. The insulating cement was laced with asbestos.

Mesothelioma is attributed exclusively to asbestos exposure. It is a rare cancer that most often affects the lining of the lungs, but which can also attack the lining of the stomach and/or the heart. There is no known cure for mesothelioma at this time.

In a news release dated Sept. 30, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced it was fining the Los Angeles Department or Water and Power (LADWP) just over $9,000 for violations of the Clean Air Act asbestos regulations. In the release, the EPA says the city agency demolished structures without propertly notifying the EPA.

Although the LADWP owned the structures, located near Niland, Calif., government regulations still require that the EPA be notified of demolition before it occurs, in compliance with the Natural Emissions Standards for Hazardous Air Pollutants regulations for asbestos.

The measure is in place as a precaution, to avoid accidentally releasing harmful asbestos fibers into the air, says Deborah Jordan, director of the Air Division for the EPA’s Pacific and Southwest region. She is quoted as saying, “We can avoid creating a public health threat from airborne asbestos by following the safeguards required by law.”

The inhalation of asbestos can cause serious illness including asbestosis and mesothelioma, a deadly cancer affecting the lining of the lungs and abdomen.

The news release did not report any danger as a result of the building demolition.

A Superior Court in Los Angeles awarded former Navy sailor John R. “Jack” Davis $35.1 million in compensatory damages for his diagnosis of pleural mesothelioma, an aggressive cancer linked to asbestos. Davis was diagnosed in January 2007.

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In April 2007, the LA Weekly reported that answers were still needed for a number of important questions regarding downtown developer Meruelo Maddux Properties, Inc., accused of illegally dumping asbestos-tainted material. Los Angeles City Attorney Rocky Delgadillo filed criminal charges against the developer in the matter.

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