On Thursday February 28 at 12:30 PM EST, the House Energy and Commerce Committee will hold a hearing on Minnesota Democrat Rep. Betty L. McCollum’s "Bruce Vento Ban Asbestos and Prevent Mesothelioma Act" (HR 3339); a piece of companion legislation to Sen. Murray’s. The act is dedicated to late Congressman Bruce Vento, who succumbed to mesothelioma in 2000.

Introduced in August, the bill’s proponents hope to get the President’s signature during this session of Congress.

More information from the Mesothelioma Center archives:

• 2/28/07 - Leading Asbestos-Cancer Group Urges Congress to Partner with Them and Support Funding Provisions in Asbestos Ban Legislation
• 2/12/08 - Tell Congress to Ban Asbestos
• 10/4/07 - Sen. Murray’s Asbestos Ban Passes Senate
• 9/4/07 - Environmental Working Group Applauds Senate Panel’s Passage of Landmark Asbestos Legislation
• 8/3/07 - Research Group Applauds Progress on Ban Asbestos Legislation
• 8/2/07 - “Bruce Vento Ban Asbestos and Prevent Mesothelioma Act” honors former MN Congressman, ends use of deadly substance, invests in health care for victims
• 8/1/07 - ADAO Applauds Unanimous Passage of Senator Patty Murray’s Ban Asbestos in America Act by U.S. Senate Committee on Environment and Public Works
• 7/18/07 - ADAO Leadership Testified Before U.S. Senate Committee on Environment and Public Works as Part of Expert Panel on Effects of Asbestos

A jury has awarded $6 million to a Shaler couple for injuries the husband received after repeated exposure to asbestos.

The Common Pleas Court jury ordered DeZurik Inc. of Sartell, Minn., to pay the money to William and Lois Lisac.

William Lisac, 62, a member of Steamfitters Local 449 for more than 40 years, was exposed to asbestos during the 1960s and 1970s when he worked with valves, gaskets and other products that contained the material at power plants, chemical plants and steel mills. He said DeZurik never warned him that he was working with a dangerous and deadly substance.

“I’d give the money back in a minute if I could have my health back,” he said yesterday.

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