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Maybe, just barely. The long view is not encouraging.

Republicans have wanted to end Social Security as we know it since its inception. They may finally get their chance.

by Kathleen McGrory and Neil Bedi

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Theresa Opalinski was warming up her border collies for their agility training one day in 2011 when she couldn’t catch her breath. Her husband, Michael, suggested they go to urgent care, and a few days later, a specialist drained more than a liter of fluid from her left lung. After ping-ponging between local hospitals, she underwent an exploratory surgery, which confirmed she had mesothelioma.

The diagnosis puzzled them. Asbestos exposure is the only known cause of the vicious cancer, which kills most people who get it within a few years. Because cases often involve occupational exposure in industries like shipbuilding and construction — and because it can take decades for the cancer to develop — mesothelioma is sometimes thought of as an old man’s disease. Theresa was just 53 and held a master’s in public administration. She had been a congressional aide, she’d managed a nonprofit, she’d worked in marketing. Never with asbestos.

Far from her mind was the fact that she and Michael had grown up a mile away from a plant in North Tonawanda, New York, that used a type of asbestos that is blue in color to make industrial plastics. The plant’s owner, OxyChem, closed and demolished the facility in the 1990s. But the company has since faced at least 10 lawsuits alleging that the plant released so much asbestos into the environment that residents of the surrounding neighborhood developed mesothelioma and other ailments associated with the toxic substance.

The blue dust settled onto windowsills and on a Little League field and atop fresh snow, lawsuits allege and residents recall. It got stuck in workers’ hair and on their clothes and wound up on the seats of their cars and inside their homes. One woman, married to a plant employee, died after years of washing her husband’s asbestos-soiled uniform, her family said.

OxyChem declined to comment on the lawsuits involving its plastics plant. Most of the cases have been settled out of court, records show. Two are pending. In some of the cases, OxyChem said it was not responsible for the plaintiff’s injuries. In at least one, the company said the lawsuit had not been filed by the legally required deadline.

The latest suits, filed earlier this year, come as the company is forced to reckon with its other uses of asbestos — and contemplate a future without it. Unlike some 60 other countries, the United States hasn’t banned asbestos. OxyChem is one of two chemical companies that import and use the potent carcinogen to make chlorine. For decades, it has maintained that the workers in its chlorine plants face no threat of exposure; in recent months, it has used that argument to fight a proposed federal ban on the substance.

But last week, ProPublica reported that asbestos accumulated in a number of areas inside and around OxyChem’s chlorine plant in Niagara Falls, New York, and that employees worked amid the dust until the plant closed late last year. They often went without protective suits or masks in the building where asbestos was removed from equipment, they said. “We were constantly swimming in this stuff,” one former employee said.

Though the two OxyChem plants that have come under scrutiny used different types of asbestos for different industrial processes, there are striking similarities between the facilities, which are 10 miles apart. Experts say both situations speak to OxyChem’s poor track record of containing asbestos in its plants, and they both illustrate the carcinogen’s long tail and broad impact.

Asbestos is a naturally occurring mineral known for its strength, durability and ability to resist heat. It was once used widely in industrial operations and construction. But its tiny fibers can also do serious damage. Once inhaled, they can settle into the lungs, abdomen and other parts of the body, where they can cause cancer and other deadly conditions.

The North Tonawanda plant was built in the 1920s, state Department of Environmental Conservation records show. It was acquired by Hooker Chemical in the 1950s, then by Occidental Petroleum, OxyChem’s parent company, in the 1960s.

The asbestos used at the plant sickened workers, some of whom went on to sue the asbestos companies that sold the material, court records and news clips show. The asbestos use also had a profound effect on the surrounding community, the lawsuits against OxyChem allege. When the plant got too dusty, the workers used air hoses to remove fibers from the facility, according to the lawsuits.

One of the plaintiffs, James Urban, played baseball on a Little League field that was regularly contaminated by dust from the plant in the late 1960s, according to his lawsuit. Nearly 30 years later, doctors found fluid between the layers of tissue lining his lungs, a condition known as a pleural effusion that can be caused by asbestos exposure. Urban declined to comment when reached at home by ProPublica.

Michael Opalinski used to clean a fine blue dust off the windowsills of his home when he was growing up in North Tonawanda in the 1960s and ’70s, he told ProPublica. He sometimes saw tiny blue feathers atop a fresh snowfall. He recalled at least two explosions at the plant that expelled clouds of dust into the air.

Paul Richards worked at the plant from 1962 to 1980, he said. One of his jobs was to empty 100-pound bags of asbestos and stomp the material through a grate in the floor. After a shift, asbestos would cover his face, he said. It would slip underneath his collar and inside his pockets.

Jean Richards (Courtesy of Amy Shuler)

At home, Paul’s wife, Jean, would take his dirty uniforms into the basement, shake them out and launder them. Then one day, more than a decade after Paul had left the plant, Jean was diagnosed with lung cancer. “That’s how she got sick,” he said recently. “Just from washing my clothes.” Jean battled the cancer for years, her daughter, Amy Shuler, said, undergoing chemotherapy and other treatments, often feeling too sick to eat or drink.

When Jean died in 2005 at age 62, Paul lost his high school sweetheart and longtime hunting and fishing partner. Amy lost the mother who doted on her and took her shopping and then out to lunch each Saturday. “I lost my best friend, all because my dad had worked with asbestos and mom would breathe in the dust when she would shake his clothing out before putting it in the wash,” Amy said. “No one told us of the dangers.”

For Theresa Opalinski, treatment was grueling: a surgery to remove part of the lining of her lungs, four rounds of chemotherapy. She lost weight, grew weak. The disease, Michael said, was like “putting on a cement overcoat.” “It forms a hard shell [around the lungs], to the point where you can’t breathe.” Later, Theresa participated in phase 1 trials of experimental therapies at the National Institutes of Health in Bethesda, Maryland. She pushed through them not because she expected to beat the cancer herself, but so that one day, someone else might, her husband said. She died in 2016 at age 58.

Michael Opalinksi (Rich-Joseph Facun, special to ProPublica)

Michael, who had seen a local law firm’s billboard seeking North Tonawanda residents diagnosed with mesothelioma, didn’t call until after Theresa died, he said. He told ProPublica he couldn’t say much about the lawsuit he filed against OxyChem in 2017. Records show it was settled out of court.

The Opalinskis had plans to retire early, travel the world, take the dogs to national agility competitions. Everything is different now. In 2020, he left the city where he and Theresa grew up and moved to the countryside. His new house has a big yard for the dogs. He wishes Theresa had lived to see it. He thinks about her when he’s on the back porch, listening to the wind blow through the leaves. She loved being outside, especially in the summer. “It’s tough that you can’t share it with her,” he said.

He still struggles to make sense of it: the diagnosis, her loss, how it could have happened in the first place. Even in the 1960s when Theresa was likely exposed, asbestos was a known carcinogen. “If what you are producing is very harmful and you’ve known it since the 1950s,” he asked, “why would you do it?”

Do You Work With These Hazardous Chemicals? Tell Us About It.

STLduJour(nal) ⏳ – MMXXII:298-AM JW Tue, 10/25/2022 - 08:39 STL: Tuesday, October 25, 2022 Events 📆

• Leaf-Peeping Season Is Officially Upon Us, St. Louis – RFT
• "Tom Hück: The Devil is in The Details" captures 25 years of printmaker Tom Hück’s signature style – St. Louis Magazine

BuySTL 👜

• Schnucks Launches Schnucks Now 30-Minute Delivery In All Markets – RiverBender
• St. Louis-based aerospace manufacturer acquires Connecticut firm – St. Louis Business Journal

Restaurants 🍲

• Fourth City Barbecue serves up grab-and go wood-smoked meats and sides in Benton Park – feastmagazine.com
• ‘Farewell Tour’: McDonald’s puts McRib back on the menu again, suggests it’s the last time. – r/StLouis

STLfood ⚜️

• Food Recommendations – r/StLouis
• Some Bob Evans’ Italian Sausage Has Been Recalled – RiverBender

Neighborhoods 🏡

• FYI, I have created an /r/Olivette subreddit… – r/StLouis
• UPDATE: Boil Order Lifted for Edwardsville – RiverBender
• South Roxana Halloween Parade Cancelled Because Of Weather Forecast, But Trunk Or Treat Will Be Sunday – RiverBender
• 2022 LASM Trivia Night – Lindenwood Park
• Meetup At LoRusso’s – Lindenwood Park
• Wildwood’s first mayor dies after cycling accident – FOX 2

STL100 💯

• Aerie’s Resort’s new Alpine coaster offers four minutes of family-friendly thrills just outside of St. Louis – St. Louis Magazine

STL99 😱

• Corps starts testing Jana Elementary for radioactive contamination; neighbors call for more – stltoday.com
• St. Louis among cities with highest homicide rate increases – FOX 2
• Students transition to virtual learning after radioactive lead found at Jana Elementary – KSDK

CPVA Shooting

• ‘All of y’all are going to die’: Students describe coming face-to-face with school shooter – KSDK
• ‘It’s a nightmare’: Father in disbelief after daughter killed in shooting at St. Louis high school – KSDK
• ‘My God, what were you shot with?’ | Teacher recalls surviving school shooting with his son – KSDK
• ‘She was a great teacher:’ Missouri lawmaker pays tribute to former teacher killed in school shooting – KSDK
• 3 Dead After Shooting at South St. Louis High School – RFT
• All SLPS schools on ‘hard lockdown’, Central VPA students can be picked up at Gateway STEM – KSDK
• All St. Louis Public Schools on lockdown after CVPA shooting – FOX 2
• At least two dead in shooting at Central Visual Performing Arts high school in south St. Louis – stlamerican.com
• Barricaded students record sound of encroaching gunfire – FOX 2
• Central Visual and Performing Arts High School evacuated following shooting Monday morning – St. Louis Magazine
• Central Visual and Performing Arts High School In St. Louis Has Morning Shooting – RiverBender
• Classes canceled at Central VPA, Collegiate as shooting investigation continues – KSDK
• CVPA Shooter Yelled, ‘All of You Are Gonna Die,’ Student Says – RFT
• Elected officials react to St. Louis school shooting – stltoday.com
• FBI asking for photos, videos from CVPA shooting – FOX 2
• FBI looking for photos, video of south St. Louis school shooting – KSDK
• Free Mental Health Counseling on Offer After St. Louis School Shooting – RFT
• Health teacher killed in south St. Louis school shooting ‘loved her students’ – stltoday.com
• Illinois Federation of Teachers Statement on the St. Louis School Shooting – RiverBender
• Leaders react to shooting at south St. Louis high school – KSDK
• Lockdown at STLCC Forest Park campus – stlamerican.com
• Missouri senator says laws should have already been in place to prevent shooting at CVPA – FOX 2
• Pictures: Students run from a St. Louis school shooting – FOX 2
• Police: Former Student Orlando Harris Is Suspect in St. Louis School Shooting – RFT
• Police: Shooter at CVPA identified as former student; no motive discussed – FOX 2
• Politicians react to Central VPA High School shooting – FOX 2
• Shooting at Central Visual and Performing Arts High School Sends Students Fleeing – RFT
• Six people, including suspect, injured in shooting at St. Louis school – stlamerican.com
• St. Louis high school student: ‘Mom, hurry up. They’re shooting.’ – stltoday.com
• STLCC Forest Park campus on lockdown – FOX 2
• Student describes being in St. Louis school during shooting – FOX 2
• Student killed in St. Louis school shooting loved art and was ‘always smiling’ – stltoday.com
• Student texts family farewell during St. Louis school shooting – FOX 2
• Students are posting these messages on there stories about their encounters w/ 2 more active shooters. So sorry you all had to experience this type of pain 😓 – r/StLouis
• Suspect killed, 2 others dead after south St. Louis high school shooting – FOX 2
• Teacher and teen killed in shooting at south St. Louis high school. Suspect is dead. – stltoday.com
• Teacher Jean Kuczka Identified as Central VPA Shooting Victim – RFT
• Teacher Jean Kuczka killed in Central Visual and Performing Arts High School shooting – FOX 2
• Teacher, teenage girl killed, 4 other teens shot at south St. Louis high school – KSDK
• Teacher, teenage girl killed, 4 other teens shot at south St. Louis high school – St. Louis Business Journal
• Three dead, including gunman, after Central Visual and Performing Arts shootings – stlamerican.com
• Timeline: 3 dead, including suspect, after shooting at south St. Louis high school – KSDK
• Vigil held at Tower Grove Park for school shooting victims – FOX 2

99MO 😱

• ‘It was gut-wrenching’ Wooldridge starts cleanup after fire burned down half the village – FOX 2
• Election deniers ramp up public records requests in Missouri, across the country – Missouri Independent

WW99 😱

• Vladimir Putin says the world’s energy infrastructure is at risk – Hacker News
• U.S. Claims Chinese Intelligence Seeking Confidential Huawei Information Were Duped by FBI Double Agent – Gizmodo

Pox Populi™ 🦠

• Millions of workers are dealing with long COVID. Advocates call for expanding social safety net – Missouri Independent
• From E. Coli to Flesh-Eating Bacteria, Floodwaters Are a Health Nightmare – Gizmodo

DotGov 🏛

• Armed folks intimidate voters near drop boxes in Arizona (and nobody has been arrested) – Boing Boing

CityGov 🏛

• Fight to save Rosati-Kain gets boost from St. Louis Preservation Board – stltoday.com

LocalGov 🏛

• St. Louis County Animal Control Shredding Followed $2,200 Orkin Bill – RFT

MoGov 🏛

• Missouri Lottery hires former highway patrol captain as new director – stltoday.com
• Marijuana legalization promises jobs in Missouri. But how many? – stltoday.com
• Missouri voters to decide if the state can dictate increased Kansas City police funding – Missouri Independent

FedGov 🏛

• White House asks for assault weapons ban after St. Louis school shooting – FOX 2
• White House calls for assault weapon ban after St. Louis school shooting – KSDK
• Justice Department alleges Chinese spies tried to disrupt a criminal investigation into Huawei – Engadget
• Pete Buttigieg on Elon Musk’s Hyperloop: ‘Not on Our Dime’ – Gizmodo

Jobs 📄

• Program Manager I (Family Community School Health) – Jobs
• Chemist II – Jobs

History 🦕

• Behind the Veil: The Secret Society of St. Louis Elites – History Happens Here
• Black Civil War veterans honored in ceremony at Jefferson Barracks National Cemetery – KSDK

Sustainability ♻️

• Spire Missouri’s proposed rate hike draws ire of Kansas City officials, residents – Missouri Independent
• 380 million tons of plastic are made every year. None of it is truly recyclable. – Grist
• Plastic Recycling Is a Disaster and a ‘Myth,’ Report Says – VICE US
• Plastic recycling remains a ‘myth’: Greenpeace study – Hacker News
• Plastic recycling labeled "a myth" as US rates sink to 5% – New Atlas

Infrastructure 🚽

• States are vying for money to start ‘hydrogen hubs.’ What are they? – Missouri Independent

Ecology 🦤

• Forest ReLeaf Plants 1,000 Trees Across Missouri – Terrain Magazine
• Exposure to environmental toxins may be root of rise in neurological disorders – Hacker News

WWW99 🕸

• Critical Flaws in Abode Home Security Kit Allow Hackers to Hijack, Disable Cameras – SecurityWeek
• Adobe Illustrator Vulnerabilities Rated Critical, But Exploitation Not Easy – SecurityWeek
• Most Metaverse business projects will be dead by 2025 – The Register
• Ring Cameras Are Going to Get More People Killed – VICE US

Twitter 🐦

• As Elon Gets Ready To Take Over Twitter, Bluesky Takes A Big Step Forward – Techdirt
• Jack Dorsey Unveils Bluesky Social, the Decentralized Twitter-Killer – Hacker News
• Jack Dorsey-endorsed “decentralized Twitter” protocol specified – Hacker News
• You don’t want Twitter to be a free speech zone – Hacker News

Space 🚀

• Starlink decoded for use as GPS alternative – without Elon Musk’s help – The Register
• After Fallout With Russia, SpaceX Rival Launches 36 Satellites Aboard India’s Big Rocket – Gizmodo

DIY 🪓

• Batch transcode a folder of videos with Handbrake’s CLI – Jeff Geerling’s Blog
• A guide for getting started with self hosting – Hacker News
• Get Clear Insights Into Cloudy Water With the Open Colorimeter – Hackaday
• DIY Bike Wheels Welded With Rebar – Hackaday
• How The Art-Generating AI of Stable Diffusion Works – Hackaday
• My thoughts on the Framework laptop – Hacker News
• Show HN: IHP v1.0 – Batteries-included web framework built on Haskell and Nix – Hacker News
• Show HN: Bolt.css – Another classless CSS library – Hacker News
• Every Door – OpenStreetMap editor for POIs and entrances – Hacker News
• The Docker+WASM Technical Preview – Hacker News

Captain’s Blog 🏴‍☠️

• Tomorrow the Unix timestamp will get to 1,666,666,666 – Hacker News
• Guy turned his eye into a flashlight – Hacker News
• My next Mac might be the last – Hacker News
• Good news for Europe – Kevin Drum
• Ask HN: What Is the Hype with Docker? – Hacker News
• EU Gives Final Approval to Law That Will Force iPhone to Switch to USB-C – MacRumors
• Is There Too Much CSS Now? – CSS-Tricks
• I’m Not Sure That (If?) GitHub Copilot Is a Problem – Hacker News
• RISC-V Celebrates Upstreaming of Android Open Source Project RISC-V Port – Hacker News

Tags STLduJournal ⏳

Written by TMH Apprentices Gavin O’Neal, Ne’Vaeh Dudley, and Danielle Haynes If you live in St. Louis, you’ve probably heard of the city’s Fourth of July celebration, Fair St. Louis. Some of you may have attended it to see the parade or catch the fireworks display. But did you know that Fair St. Louis once went …

Continue reading "Behind the Veil: The Secret Society of St. Louis Elites"

Brian Meyer of St. Louis, MO joined the Real Rock Army today

Source

LGBTQIA+ communities have been contributing to St. Louis’s history for centuries. Now the Gateway to Pride virtual exhibit will begin to uncover the rarely-shared or often untold stories of St.

The post Gateway to Pride Exhibit appeared first on Explore St. Louis.

The vigil in honor of the survivors and victims from the Central Visual and Performing Arts High School shooting was held at Tower Grove Park.

The gunman was identified as Orlando Harris, 19, a recent graduate of the school. One survivor heard him say he was 'tired of everybody' in the school and that his gun jammed at one point.

A small town in Cooper County started the recovery process after a massive brush fire on Saturday burned down more than 3,000 acres, displacing dozens.

A vigil in Tower Grove Park in south St. Louis was held Monday night in memory of the victims of the school shooting.

Rishi Sunak, the new prime minister of Great Britain, apparently gets a lot of flak for marrying into great wealth: Sunak, a former banker, and his wife, Indian tech heiress Akshata Murty, have an estimated fortune of about 730 million pounds ($830 million), according to the Sunday Times Rich List. On this year’s list, published ...continue reading "Rishi Sunak is sort of mildly well off"

We know cops often can’t differentiate innocuous substances from actual drugs. These from-the-hip determinations are just the manufacturing of reasonable suspicion and probable cause, something that allows cops to perform the searches and seizures they were planning to do anyway. Whether it’s the “odor of marijuana” (something that can rarely be objectively examined in court) […]

The shooting happened at Central VPA High School, which shares a campus with Collegiate School of Medicine and Bioscience.

The group started holding the annual memorial service in 2014. This year's ceremony was held on Friday.

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers said the community around Jana Elementary School deserved a second opinion after a report showed high levels of contamination from radioactive waste from Coldwater Creek, which is near the school.

The professors said the lingering trauma from the school shooting has no timeline.