Congoleum Corporation (AMEX:CGM) reported today that it has executed certain amendments to the settlement agreement it entered into on April 10, 2003 with attorneys representing more than 75% of the known present claimants with asbestos claims pending against Congoleum and certain ancillary agreements relating to that settlement agreement. The amendments provide additional time for parties to review and respond to information required in order to participate in the settlement.

I thank Chairman Hatch for calling this hearing on the asbestos litigation crisis, the third that the Committee has had since I convened the first one last September. Last fall, I hoped to begin a bipartisan dialogue about the best means for providing fair and efficient compensation to the current victims and those yet to come. My message today is simple: To end this crisis we need to re-start negotiations among the stakeholders and interested Senators to finish hammering out the details of an effective national trust fund for victims of asbestos-related disease. 

 Vermiculite is a mineral that expands when rapidly heated. Expanded vermiculite is used in construction and consumer materials (e.g., loose-fill insulation, acoustic finishes, spray-on insulation, and concrete mixes for swimming pools), agricultural and horticultural products (e.g., potting mixes and soil conditioners) and in industrial products (e.g., brake shoes and pads, drilling muds, furnaces, and insulation blocks). Expanded vermiculite granules are shaped like small accordions, and vary in color from silver/gold to gray/brown.

 Asbestos compensation legislation introduced by Senator Hatch is a regressive measure that relieves manufacturers, employers and insurers of liability and fails to provide fair compensation to victims of asbestos disease.

The AFL-CIO is deeply disappointed by Senator Orrin Hatch’s decision to introduce a weak asbestos bill at this time, when negotiations between the interested parties were continuing. The business and insurance communities had promised to make a new offer to the AFL-CIO in negotiations today, but announced this morning that they have been instructed by Senator Hatch to cease their private negotiations with the labor movement. 

 The federal government today launched a national consumer awareness campaign to provide homeowners with important information on vermiculite attic insulation, which may contain asbestos. This new campaign, coordinated by EPA and the Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry (ATSDR), instructs homeowners on how to identify vermiculite attic insulation and recommends that people make every effort to not disturb it. Since some vermiculite attic insulation can contain very low levels of microscopic asbestos fibers, it is important that consumers are aware of the precautions they can take to protect against disturbing and inhaling the asbestos fibers.

Asbestos Verdict in California Case Worries Insurers A jury verdict in California may lead to a wave of new asbestos litigation that would greatly increase costs for insurance companies,industry experts and plaintiffs' lawyers said yesterday.  

North American Refractory Company Asbestos Containing Products

 North American Refractories - settlement agreement

 CASE: SURVELLIANCE VIDEO NOT RELEVANT TO DEMONSTRATE ERROR. Convicted felon held totally disable. Smith v. Polk (1sD Ct App. FL 4.16.03) 

 List of Approved Job Sites for North American Refractories.

1900 Asbestos recognized as a cause of occupational disease (asbestosis) in Charing Cross Hospital, London. A presumptive connection is established.
1918 Insurance companies, including Prudential, refuse to sell insurance to asbestos workers.

 The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) calls asbestos “a commercial designation for any mineral products composed of strong and flexible fibers, resistant to heat, corrosion, abrasion, and that can be woven.” Despite all of these remarkable properties, known since the time of Aristotle, controversy has followed asbestos due to numerous and well-documented adverse health effects. Various federal and state agencies and private sector organizations grapple with continuing public health concerns, such as the legacy of the Libby, Montana vermiculite mine, possible asbestos risks from the World Trade Center collapse and other related issues. They also continue to address current developments regarding the safety and efficacy of substitutes.

An estimated 1.3 million employees in construction and general industry face significant asbestos exposure on the job. Heaviest exposures occur in the construction industry, particularly during the removal of asbestos during renovation or demolition. Employees are also likely to be exposed during the manufacture of asbestos products (such as textiles, friction products, insulation, and other building materials) and during automotive brake and clutch repair work.

 LOZANO v. FRANK DE LUCA CONSTRUCTION,--Appellate Division, A-2730- 01TI, March 27, 2003, not approved for publication. Denial of the petitioner mason's motion for medical and temporary disability benefits for injuries that he sustained while driving a go-cart when he was working for the respondent construction company affirmed; the petitioner was not entitled to workers' compensation benefits because he was "engaged in a recreational activity that did not arise out of or in the course of his employment"; moreover, the findings of the judge of compensation were supported by substantial and credible evidence.

Congoleum Corp. (CGM) plans to seek bondholder approval to help resolve its asbestos liabilities. Congoleum Corp. (CGM) traces its history in the flooring business to Nairn Linoleum Co., which began operations in 1886. The company produces both sheet and tile floor covering products, with a wide variety of product features, designs and colors. Sheet flooring, in its predominant construction, is produced by applying a vinyl gel to a flexible felt, printing a design on the gel, applying a wearlayer, heating the gel layer sufficiently to cause it to expand into a cushioned foam, and, in some products, adding a high-gloss coating.

Corning Incorporated (NYSE:GLW) today announced that it has reached agreement with the representatives of asbestos claimants for the settlement of all...

 Workers can inadvertently carry hazardous materials home from work on their clothes, skin, hair, tools, and in their vehicles. As a result, families of these workers have been exposed to hazardous substances and have developed various health effects. Health effects have also occurred when the home and the workplace are not distinct -- such as on farms or in homes that involve cottage industries.

The court rejected Norfolk’s proposed instructions, which would have (1) ruled out damages for fear of cancer unless the claimant proved both an actual likelihood of developing cancer and physical manifestations of the alleged fear, and (2) required the jury to apportion damages between Norfolk and other employers alleged to have contributed to an asbestosis claimant’s disease.

 Zurich, Switzerland, February 17, 2003 – ABB Ltd. said today that its U.S. subsidiary Combustion Engineering, Inc. (CE) has filed for Chapter 11 in the Delaware bankruptcy court, based upon CE’s previously announced pre-packaged plan of reorganization.