The former owner of the country’s largest asbestos abatement training school was sentenced to prison last week, after having fled the United States after her trial in November 2008. Albania Deleon, 41, formerly of Andover, Mass., was sentenced to 87 months in prison to be followed by three years of supervised release.

A Rochester, NY contractor who disposed of asbestos illegally, exposed untrained workers to the substance and lied to an OSHA inspector has been sentenced to six years in prison.

Mesothelioma, an exceedingly rare and lethal form of cancer, was once thought to be caused only by inhaling asbestos fibers.

Calling erionite "an emerging North American hazard," the National Institue for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) says a growing body of evidence links the substance to serious health effects includng lung disease.

The Office of Inspector General (IG) is warning the EPA to stop using unapproved demolition methods on buildings that contain asbestos -- something it said the agency is doing at multiple sites.

From the budget drama on Capitol Hill to the Fukushima nuclear disaster, the year 2011 did not lack for news about occupational and environmental health and safety.

Erionite is a naturally occurring mineral that belongs to a group of silicate minerals called zeolites. It is usually found in volcanic ash that has been altered by weathering and ground water.

Although increasingly under fire for its health risks, asbestos consumption in the U.S. has increased dramatically.

A study published online in Occupational & Environmental Medicine has confirmed "strong associations" between exposure to chrysotile asbestos and lung cancer and asbestiosis.

A New York asbestos removal contractor allowed inadequately trained workers to remove asbestos while wearing ripped and torn protective suits and no respiratory protection.