Tour Maine-Montparnasse, also commonly named Tour Montparnasse, is a 210-metre (689 ft) office skyscraper located in the Montparnasse area of Paris, France. Constructed from 1969 to 1973, it was the tallest skyscraper in France until 2011, when it was surpassed by the 231-metre (758 ft) Tour First in the La Défense business district west of Paris's city limits. It remains the tallest building in Paris proper and the third tallest in France, behind Tour First and Tour Hekla. As of July 2023, it is the 53rd-tallest building in Europe.
Libby is a city in northwestern Montana, United States and the county seat of Lincoln County. The population was 2,775 at the 2020 census.
Ambler is a borough in Montgomery County, Pennsylvania. It is located approximately 16 miles (26 km) north of Center City Philadelphia.
Vermiculite is a hydrous phyllosilicate mineral which undergoes significant expansion when heated. Exfoliation occurs when the mineral is heated sufficiently; commercial furnaces can routinely produce this effect. Vermiculite forms by the weathering or hydrothermal alteration of biotite or phlogopite. Large commercial vermiculite mines exist in the United States, Russia, South Africa, China, and Brazil.
Mesothelioma is a type of cancer that develops from the thin layer of tissue that covers many of the internal organs. The area most commonly affected is the lining of the lungs and chest wall. Less commonly the lining of the abdomen and rarely the sac surrounding the heart, or the sac surrounding the testis may be affected. Signs and symptoms of mesothelioma may include shortness of breath due to fluid around the lung, a swollen abdomen, chest wall pain, cough, feeling tired, and weight loss. These symptoms typically come on slowly.
Chrysotile or white asbestos is the most commonly encountered form of asbestos, accounting for approximately 95% of the asbestos in the United States and a similar proportion in other countries. It is a soft, fibrous silicate mineral in the serpentine subgroup of phyllosilicates; as such, it is distinct from other asbestiform minerals in the amphibole group. Its idealized chemical formula is Mg3(Si2O5)(OH)4. The material has physical properties which make it desirable for inclusion in building materials, but poses serious health risks when dispersed into air and inhaled.
The mineral asbestos is subject to a wide range of laws and regulations that relate to its production and use, including mining, manufacturing, use and disposal. Injuries attributed to asbestos have resulted in both workers' compensation claims and injury litigation. Health problems attributed to asbestos include asbestosis, mesothelioma, lung cancer, and diffuse pleural thickening.
Carletonville is a town in Gauteng and the seat of the Merafong City Local Municipality in the West Rand District Municipality in Gauteng, South Africa, just north of the richest gold-mining area in the world. At 3,749 m, Western Deep Levels holds the record for the world's deepest gold mine.
David Goldblatt HonFRPS was a South African photographer noted for his portrayal of South Africa during the period of apartheid. After apartheid had ended he concentrated more on the country's landscapes. What differentiates Goldblatt's body of work from those of other anti-apartheid artists is that he photographed issues that went beyond the violent events of apartheid and reflected the conditions that led up to them. His forms of protest have a subtlety that traditional documentary photographs may lack: "[M]y dispassion was an attitude in which I tried to avoid easy judgments. . . . This resulted in a photography that appeared to be disengaged and apolitical, but which was in fact the opposite." He has numerous publications to his name.
The environmental movement in South Africa traces its history from the early beginnings of conservation, to the rise of radicalism and activism amongst local ecologists. Before the Chernobyl disaster and the fall of the Berlin Wall, there were very few green activist groups in the country. Koeberg Alert and the Dolphin Action and Protection Group are probably two of the oldest post-conservation groups.
The vuvuzela is a horn, with an inexpensive injection-moulded plastic shell about 65 centimetres (2 ft) long, which produces a loud monotone note, typically around B♭ 3. Some models are made in two parts to facilitate storage, and this design also allows pitch variation. Many types of vuvuzela, made by several manufacturers, may produce various intensity and frequency outputs. The intensity of these outputs depends on the blowing technique and pressure exerted. The indoor noise level caused the U.S. NCAA to permanently ban them after the February 7, 1987 Division I Men's Ice Hockey game between Brown University at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute. The noise was so extreme from the 2 ft long cherry-red plastic horns that Brown formally complained and "The RPI Rule" was universally adopted.
The International Commission on Occupational Health (ICOH) is an international non-governmental professional society, founded in Milan during the Expo 1906 as the Permanent Commission on Occupational Health.
Pomfret is a desert town, the site of an old asbestos mine, on the edge of the Kalahari desert in northwest South Africa. It was the administrative centre of Molopo Local Municipality before 18 May 2011, when the municipality merged with Kagisano to form the Kagisano–Molopo Local Municipality. Many of its inhabitants are former members of 32 Battalion, also known as Buffalo Battalion. These ex-soldiers were predominantly Portuguese-speaking Angolans who fought on the South African government side in Angola and Namibia, and after the end of the South African Border War to police the black townships. The community remains largely Portuguese-speaking.
In construction, asbestos abatement is a set of procedures designed to control the release of asbestos fibers from asbestos-containing materials. Asbestos abatement is utilized during general construction in areas containing asbestos materials, particularly when those materials are being removed, encapsulated, or repaired. Abatement is needed in order to protect construction workers and members of the general public from the many negative health impacts of asbestos.
Turner & Newall was a manufacturing business based in Manchester, United Kingdom. At its peak, it was a constituent of the FT 30 index of leading companies on the London Stock Exchange. As part of their business, the company was one of the first to industrialise asbestos, and its eventual demise in 2001 left an aftermath of asbestos litigation.
South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa, is the southernmost country in Africa. It is bounded to the south by 2,798 kilometres (1,739 mi) of coastline that stretches along the South Atlantic and Indian Oceans; to the north by the neighbouring countries of Namibia, Botswana, and Zimbabwe; and to the east and northeast by Mozambique and Eswatini. It also completely enclaves the country Lesotho. It is the southernmost country on the mainland of the Old World, and the second-most populous country located entirely south of the equator, after Tanzania. South Africa is a biodiversity hotspot, with unique biomes, plant and animal life. With over 62 million people, the country is the world's 23rd-most populous nation and covers an area of 1,221,037 square kilometres. Pretoria is the administrative capital, while Cape Town, as the seat of Parliament, is the legislative capital. Bloemfontein has traditionally been regarded as the judicial capital. The largest city, and site of highest court is Johannesburg.
Corruption in South Africa includes the improper use of public resources for private ends, including bribery and improper favouritism. Corruption was at its highest during the period of state capture under the presidency of Jacob Zuma and has remained widespread, negatively "affecting criminal justice, service provision, economic opportunity, social cohesion and political integrity" in South Africa.
Asbestos is a naturally occurring fibrous silicate mineral. There are six types, all of which are composed of long and thin fibrous crystals, each fibre being composed of many microscopic "fibrils" that can be released into the atmosphere by abrasion and other processes. Inhalation of asbestos fibres can lead to various dangerous lung conditions, including mesothelioma, asbestosis, and lung cancer. As a result of these health effects, asbestos is considered a serious health and safety hazard.
Barraba is a town in the New England region of northern New South Wales, Australia. It was formerly the centre of Barraba Shire local government area, but most of this, including Barraba, was absorbed into Tamworth Regional Council in 2004. On Census night 2016, Barraba had a population of approximately 1,400 people. It is part of the Bundarra-Barraba Important Bird Area which is important for the conservation of the endangered regent honeyeater.
Linda Reinstein is the co-founder of the Asbestos Disease Awareness Organization (ADAO), a nonprofit focused on asbestos awareness and preventing related diseases through education, advocacy, and community efforts.
