Founded in 1886 by a traveling salesman, Avon Products, Inc. is the fourteenth-largest beauty company in the world, selling cosmetics, skincare, perfume, and personal care items. Though Avon’s multi-level-marketing success empowered millions of women, in recent years it has faced numerous legal battles — many of which have been filed by women. The lawsuits are
Located in Long Beach, California, the Long Beach Naval Complex was the West Coast home port for Pacific Fleet battleships and their support ships. The shipyard, as well as the Navy barracks and other structures, contained asbestos. This led to many service members and shipyard workers later being diagnosed with malignant mesothelioma and other asbestos-related
Camp Roberts is operated by the California Army National Guard, which uses it to host annual training for both its own units and the British Army. The 42,000-acre site first opened in the years immediately before the United States entered World War II. Asbestos used in the construction of its buildings led to exposure in service members
Today’s mesothelioma victims were exposed to asbestos decades ago, with most having been exposed on the job. Most asbestos companies eventually discontinued asbestos use, but many of the sites where it was mined, processed, and used in manufacturing or as an insulating or strengthening agent were contaminated for years. Congress created a Superfund to address
After asbestos was linked to the development of malignant mesothelioma, its use diminished dramatically. But legacy asbestos used decades ago continues to pose a threat. Despite stringent regulations for handling asbestos, negligence continues to place people at risk. This week Illinois Attorney General Kwame Raoul took legal action against the owners and operators of a
Any building built before the 1980s, whether residential, commercial, or industrial, may have been built using asbestos-contaminated materials. The good news is that asbestos is generally safe if it’s undisturbed. But the minute that asbestos is sanded, sawed, torn, or damaged in any other way, its microscopic fibers are released, and you run the risk
The Quigley Company manufactured refractory products used in a variety of high-heat settings. Many of the products that it sold between the 1940s and 1970s contained asbestos, the mineral that has been linked to malignant mesothelioma, asbestos-related lung cancer, asbestosis, and other serious illnesses. The company was named in hundreds of thousands of personal injury
The Keene Corporation began as a producer of heat-sealed plastic packaging, but expansion saw it acquire new companies, including manufacturers of fireproofing material that contained asbestos. With a list of 1,415 job sites where Keene asbestos-contaminated products were used, the company was named in over 11,000 asbestos personal injury lawsuits. In 1993, Keene filed for
Kaiser Gypsum Company, Inc., and its parent company Hanson Permanente Cement, Inc., were manufacturers and sellers of several products containing asbestos. Those products sickened many workers. With 14,000 pending lawsuits and an unknown number of future claims, the companies sought Chapter 11 relief in 2016. Kaiser Gypsum Company History and Asbestos Industrialist Henry John Kaiser
Asbestos was once used to make fire-resistant and fire-retardant items, including fire-resistant clothing for firefighters, heat-resistant gloves and aprons for welders, insulation, and spray-on fireproofing. The dangers of breathing in asbestos fibers from these items through occupational exposure, as well as during renovation and demolition, have been linked to asbestos-related diseases like asbestosis, asbestos-related lung cancer,