News & Events
April 12, 2008
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: Deborah Mathis, Public Justice Communications Director, (202) 679-2652
Doug Larkin, ADAO Communications Director, (202) 391-1546
PUBLIC JUSTICE FILES TWO LAWSUITS OVER CSI TOYS CONTAINING ASBESTOS
LOS ANGELES – Alarmed that CBS Broadcasting, Inc. and Planet Toys, Inc. have refused to take appropriate action, Public Justice filed state and federal lawsuits on Friday in Los Angeles to force the companies to protect children and their families from further exposure to asbestos contained in toy science kits made by Planet Toys and licensed by CBS. The toy kits are based on the popular “CSI” television drama series, and tests of the kits’ fingerprinting powder found tremolite, one of the most deadly forms of asbestos.
Public Justice’s federal complaint, filed in U.S. District Court in Los Angeles, alleges that CBS and Planet Toys were negligent in their quality control measures and that they made consumers believe the toys were appropriate playthings for children when, in fact, the toys contained a hazardous and potentially lethal carcinogen. Because the toys were sold nationwide, the lawsuit is brought on behalf of a nationwide class of consumers who purchased or acquired the toys.
“This should be a no-brainer, said Victoria Ni, the lead Public Justice attorney in both cases. “The facts are that even small quantities of asbestos are hazardous when inhaled, that the fingerprinting powder has been found to contain asbestos, and that this powder has been marketed and sold to thousands of children who are told to spread it around and blow off the excess. It's a shame that we've had to resort to litigation to force these companies to do what they should have done in the first place to protect the American public.”
Among other things, the class action asks that the defendants provide refunds to consumers, pay for asbestos testing of toys that have been opened, and pay for appropriate medical treatment for consumers who have been exposed to asbestos.
A second suit was filed in California state court, citing violations of a state law known as “Proposition 65,” which requires businesses to give a “clear and reasonable warning” to California consumers if a product contains a chemical known to cause cancer or birth defects, such as asbestos.
The Proposition 65 complaint was filed, in part, on behalf of the California-based Asbestos Disease Awareness Organization (ADAO), which first publicly reported the presence of asbestos in the CSI: Crime Scene InvestigationTM Fingerprint Examination Kit last November. The discovery was the result of independent laboratory tests on an array of consumer goods and toys, including the popular fingerprinting kit. ADAO commissioned the study.
Further investigation found that the fingerprinting powder containing asbestos was also in other “CSI” toy kits – the CSI: Crime Scene InvestigationTM Field Kit and the CSI: Crime Scene InvestigationTM Forensic Lab Kit.
“Since December 2007 when we first met with PlanetToys and CBS, our pleas for the companies to do the right thing have fallen on deaf ears,” said Linda Reinstein, ADAO Executive Director. “It is unacceptable and unnecessary to have asbestos in toys, and especially in powder form, its most dangerous state. Most Americans falsely believe asbestos has been banned, but our recent product testing results prove asbestos remains a threat to public health.” Reinstein’s husband died from mesothelioma, a form of cancer that is almost always caused by asbestos exposure.
Both lawsuits name CBS, Planet Toys, and major retailers of the toy, some of whom continue to sell the kits. The Proposition 65 lawsuit seeks civil penalties for violations of the law, in addition to injunctive relief.
The dangers of asbestos exposure have been well documented by scientists, doctors, and environmentalists since the 1970s. There is no known safe level of exposure. If inhaled, microscopic asbestos particles can penetrate lung tissue and stay there permanently, causing serious, even deadly, respiratory illnesses or cancer than might not manifest until decades after initial exposure.
Gregory Sheffer of Brayton Purcell LLP in Novato, Calif., and Raphael Metzger of the Metzger Law Group in Long Beach, Calif., are assisting Public Justice as co-lead counsel in the Proposition 65 lawsuit. John J. Stoia, Jr. of Coughlin Stoia Geller Rudman & Robbins LLP in San Diego, Calif., and Edith M. Kallas of Whatley, Drake & Kallas, LLC in New York, NY are leading Public Justice’s litigation team in the federal lawsuit. Counsel in the class action lawsuit also include Alan R. Brayton and Peter Fredman of Brayton Purcell LLP; Rachel Jensen, Phong Tran, and Thomas O’Reardon II of Coughlin Stoia; and Joe R. Whatley, Jr., Joseph P. Guglielmo, and Elizabeth Rosenberg of Whatley, Drake.
Like Ni, Arthur Bryant, Executive Director of Public Justice, and Gregory Sheffer of Brayton Purcell are co-counsel in both cases.
Public Justice is America’s public interest law firm. Dedicated to using trial lawyers’ and other attorneys’ skills and resources to advance the public good, Public Justice is supported by – and can call on -- a nationwide network of more than 3,000 of the nation’s top lawyers to pursue precedent-setting and socially significant litigation. It has a wide-ranging litigation docket in the areas of consumer rights, worker safety, civil rights and liberties, toxic torts, environmental protection, and access to the courts. Public Justice is the principal project of The Public Justice Foundation, a not-for-profit membership organization headquartered in Washington, DC, with a West Coast office in Oakland, California. The Public Justice web site address is www.publicjustice.net.
Asbestos Disease Awareness Organization (ADAO) was founded by asbestos victims and their families. ADAO seeks to give asbestos victims and concerned citizens a united voice to help ensure that their rights are fairly represented and protected, while raising public awareness about the dangers of asbestos exposure and often deadly asbestos related diseases. ADAO is an independent organization funded through voluntary contributions and staffed by volunteers. For more information visit www.asbestosdiseaseawareness.org.
Physical and Emotional Stress Spur Cancer Growth
Patients diagnosed with terminal cancer undergo dramatic changes physically and psychologically. Sometimes these changes directly impact a patient’s health by spurring cancer growth. Several factors influence cancer progression such as side effects from therapy, immunosuppression, and even stress, which has both emotional and physical components.
Physical Stress
Dr. Robert Cameron, Chief of Thoracic Surgery at UCLA Medical School in Los Angeles, California warns patients about the effects of stress: “Known physical stressors associated with cancer include: pain, surgery, chemotherapy, radiation, loss of appetite and weight loss, shortness of breath, anemia, exhaustion, medication, nausea, dehydration, nutritional status, loss of muscle tone, fatigue, and decreases in both functional status and capacity.”
Patients should be aware of their physical stress and address those needs accordingly. Take appropriate pain medication if available or seek therapy to reduce pain. Even though loss of appetite and weight loss can be a common side effect following some cancer treatments, it is important to maintain a healthy diet. Eating nutritional foods and staying hydrated nourishes the mind and body. Each person is unique and maintaining one’s health should fit every one differently and appropriately.
Emotional Stress
Dr. Cameron lists known emotional stressors for terminal cancer patients: “Fear, anger, anxiety, excitement, self-esteem, body image, intimacy, sexuality, depression, dependency, adjustment disorder, phobia, sadness, disbelief, despair, worthlessness, loss of pleasure, abandonment, adjustment and panic disorder, diminished concentration, suicidal ideation, and immanency of death.”
Certainly not every patient will experience such a range of emotional stress. Nonetheless, it is important to be aware of situations that might induce emotional stress so they can be avoided or dealt with properly.
“Stressors create and escalate stress. Many types of stress activate the body’s endocrine (hormone) system, which in turn can alter the way the immune system (the body’s defense against infection and disease, including cancer) functions. As one example of the immune system’s soldiers, natural killer cell (NK cells), often are important in the body’s first defense against abnormal cells, including cancer cells that threaten one’s health, serving to destroy these cells,” says Dr. Cameron.
Biology of Stress
Dr. Cameron says, “Stress can influence the responses of the body's NK cells. Uncontrolled emotional stress may lead to fatigue and lower the cancer patient's already compromised immune system, inhibit NK cells, disrupt the body's metabolic pathways, and hasten tumor proliferation and tumor metastasis. Stress may also alter the risk of infection and other immune-related diseases, especially among patients receiving chemotherapy. When confronted by emotional or physical stress, the brain produces catecholamines, which are neurotransmitters that produce the "fight or flight" response. It directly suppresses the NK cell function and other aspects of cellular immunity that relate to innate immunity.”
Additionally when the body releases the stress hormone norepinephrine, it also stimulates production of three compounds that contribute to aggressive tumor growth. Norepinephrine causes the tumor to produce two "metalloproteinase" compounds which break down part of the tumor structure to which the cancer cells adhere. Once these cells are no longer bound to the primary tumor, the cells spread throughout the body and metastasize elsewhere, causing rapid tumor growth. Norepinephrine also increases production of the compound vascular endothelial growth factor, or VEGF. VEGF stimulates the growth of new blood vessels that feed cancer cells. Increased blood supply to the cancer cells directly accelerates the spread and growth of the tumor.
Psychological Stress
Fatigue is a common a physical feeling that many cancer patients experience. However, Dr. Cameron suggests that “fatigue is a major psychological symptom that corresponds with low NK cell function, as well. Fatigue is the most common and distressing symptom associated with cancer and cancer therapies. Fatigue has been identified as significantly interfering with quality of life (QOL) in people of all ages who have cancer, regardless of diagnosis, treatment or prognosis. Although there are established medical interventions for most cancer-related symptoms, there are only limited medical treatments for fatigue. Physical and emotional stress both contribute to a cancer patient's fatigue.”
Prolonged stress can be detrimental for cancer patients physically, emotionally, and mentally. Skills such as learning, memory recall, and performing small daily tasks may become affected. It is important to keep stress at a minimum to avoid some of these indirect problems.
*Dr. Robert Cameron’s quotes are taken from his declaration in the Michael Mikul vs. BONDEX INTERNATIONAL, INC., et al. July 13, 2005. For the County of Los Angeles.