How Oso changed logging in state: ‘We look at hillsides different now’

Hal Bernton, Seattle Times – March 19, 2015

Mike Janicki has spent 40 years as a logger, and his work brings him to the unstable hillsides around this upper Skagit Valley town.

During past decades, there have been large and small slides here, some on cut land and some on forested land. Those slides have damaged homes, dumped a hillside of silt into a reservoir and spilled onto roads.

Again and again, Janicki and other loggers have returned to harvest fir, cedar and other trees.

Since the Oso disaster in neighboring Snohomish County one year ago, there has been only one application to log nearby slopes behind Concrete. That compares with a half-dozen requests in the 15 months before the landslide in the same 11,520-acre area.

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The searing images of the March 22, 2014, landslide — where homes were buried by a surge of mud, logs and debris carried across the valley floor and 43 people lost their lives — gave new definition to what can happen when the land gives way.

“We look at hillsides different now,” Janicki said. “So how are we going to treat the resource now compared to a year ago? More cautiously.”

That caution extends to the state Department of Natural Resources (DNR).

The department faces lawsuits from survivors and families of those who died that assert lax regulation of logging in a groundwater-recharge zone above the slope played a role in the disaster.

In public statements during the past year, DNR officials have downplayed the possibility that logging could have contributed to the Oso slide.

But during the past year, the agency has scrambled to beef up oversight of timber harvests on unstable slopes.

Last spring, the department’s forest-practices division amended harvest applications to gather more information about logging on or near unstable slopes. In a June memorandum, a DNR division manager asked staff to identify not only homes and highways that might be at risk, but also trailhead parking lots, picnic areas, campgrounds and even hang-gliding launch sites.

DNR also has started rewriting a forestry manual to offer more guidance on best practices for logging around unstable slopes.

The manual is only an advisory document. But timberland owners are unhappy with the extent of the changes, which they think might lead to new restrictions.

“We urge going slow,” Ken Miller, a tree farmer representing the Washington Farm Forestry Association, said in November comments to the state Forest Practices Board. “We fear an overreaction or rush to judgment regarding the Oso tragedy.”

DNR is also asking the Legislature to provide funding for more extended Lidar mapping, a laser-surveying technique, to identify geologic hazard zones and $3.2 million to help restore 10 of the staffing positions lost in earlier budget cuts.

“We currently have 45 staff to check on about 10,000 approved (forestry) applications,” said Sandra Kaiser, a DNR spokeswoman. “The complexity of the work is increasing, especially with respect to landslide hazards.”

The increased oversight has been supported by environmentalists who say the state hasn’t done enough to curb logging near unstable slopes.

Earlier this year, the Washington Forest Law Center challenged one of DNR’s own proposed timber sales on state land near Index because it lacked a written report from a geologist about a potentially unstable slope. That sale was put on hold until the application was resubmitted with a report.

“We are still very concerned that DNR paid short shrift to this sale,” said Peter Goldman of the Forest Law Center.

Boundary challenge
State regulators are now focused on improving guidance for logging in groundwater-recharge zones.

But figuring out the boundaries of these areas — and the risk posed by logging that land — has been a long-standing challenge.

These recharge zones drain into areas like the site of the Oso slide, where landslides occur when the earth gives way at great depth. Those are among the most infrequent but potentially more destructive of slides.

Landslides are a natural part of the rain-soaked Pacific Northwest environment. But state timber-harvest rules are based on research showing logging sometimes can increase the frequency and size of these slides.

The state can limit cutting in the recharge zones, where trees suck up moisture and intercept rain that otherwise would end up downhill.

But those areas, which can stretch for dozens of acres, are often prime logging ground.

“Absolutely, it is some of your best timber. It’s flatter (land) and it gets water,” Janicki said, as he walked through a lush forest of fir, cedar and alder beside an old landslide north of Concrete.

The hillside near Oso was where DNR first sought to assess the hazards and limit timber harvests in these zones.

In 1988, a team led by a University of Washington geologist found that logging in the upslope-recharge area significantly increased the amount of water in the soil for 16 to 27 years. The team found the greatest slide activity had occurred within 10 to 15 years after a timber harvest.

But the team had low confidence in its ability to accurately map the boundaries of the recharge zone.

So, in 1997, another research team used new technology to remap that zone. A state-approved watershed plan called for using this map in preparing timber harvests, but it was never incorporated in the plan.

That 1997 map would have protected about 5 of the 7.5 acres clear-cut in 2004 above the unstable zone.

This is an issue in the lawsuits against DNR.

Attorneys for the victims contend the state was negligent in allowing logging within the recharge zone outlined in the 1997 map, and failing to monitor the aftermath.

In 2006, two years after the logging ended, there was another major slide.

The lawsuits allege the slide led to even more water being flushed into the unstable hillside, setting the stage for last March’s disaster.

“The 2006 landslide changed things,” said Corrie Yackulic, one of the lawyers for plaintiffs who also name Snohomish County and a landowner in their lawsuit.

The DNR, in a report released in December, concluded that the team of scientists and regulators who wrote the 1997 watershed plan for the area made a conscious decision not to use the boundaries drawn up in the study.

But the report found that “the record lacks information about what factors may have been considered in this decision, and no further clarity was provided by interviews with team participants.”

Industry concerned

The timber industry is still uneasy about DNR’s effort to rewrite the manual.

In the draft completed in late summer, the team of scientists advised the timber industry to take extra steps to examine subsurface conditions when there is a risk to public safety.

To get a peek underground, for example, the manual recommended the use of a range of possible tools, from augers that drill test pits to ground-penetrating radar.

Environmentalists have urged the Forest Practices Board to adopt the changes the science team proposed.

But timber industry representatives say the rewrite is too broad, sometimes confusing and borders on creating new regulations.

At a November board meeting, Kevin Godbout, a Weyerhaeuser representative, said many of the recommendations called for “expensive, time-consuming and in most cases unnecessary” analysis.

So far, the state board, composed of 13 members drawn from government and the private sector, hasn’t supported most of the changes sought by the industry. They have approved only minor edits.

Meanwhile, a new team of scientists is writing another section that will help estimate the distance that slides might travel as they run off a slope.

“This is going to be even more challenging, because there is a lot of uncertainty in the science of how you determine that,” said Wendy Gerstel, a geologist who consults on slope stability.

There is near certainty, though, that there will be more landslides.

On a slope above Concrete, Janicki points out fir trees with trunks that have bowed as the land underneath them has slowly crept downhill over decades.

In town, he notes a Catholic church steeple that he once helped fix after the ground moved, is once again tilting.

“We lost friends in that (Oso) slide, and no one in the industry wants to see this happen again,” Janicki said. “We need to know what caused it, and we need to know how to avoid it. ”

Families reach $60 million in landslide settlements

Gene Johnson, Associated Press – October 10, 2016

Survivors and family members of people killed in the nation’s deadliest landslide have reached $60 million in settlements with the state of Washington and a timber company that logged an area above the site of the collapse.

Just as opening statements were due to begin in a Seattle courtroom Monday, Grandy Lake Forest Associates agreed to settle liability claims for $10 million. The announcement came just after the state on Sunday reached a $50 million deal with the plaintiffs.

The slide on March 22, 2014, killed 43 people when it wiped out a rural neighborhood in Oso, northeast of Seattle. Survivors and relatives of the victims alleged that logging above the slide and construction of a retaining wall along a bank where the Stillaguamish River undercut the hill increased the danger, and residents were never warned about it.

Pam Sanford, whose brother was killed, called it a “huge relief” that she wouldn’t have to sit through the trial, which had been expected to last nearly four months.

“Reliving those details is something I am done doing,” she said.

The plaintiffs filled several pews in a courtroom in King County Superior Court on Monday. Judge Roger Rogoff told them that while no legal proceedings could bring the victims back, “I hope the settlement you’ve reached in this case can bring you some measure of closure.”

Some of the plaintiffs dabbed tears from their eyes.

Dayn Brunner’s sister, Summer Raffo, was buried and killed as she was driving to work along State Route 530. When her body was found five days later, her hands were still gripping the wheel.

Some of the money from the settlement will go toward a permanent memorial at the site of the slide, he said.

“My No. 1 priority was to ensure my sister’s legacy lived on,” Brunner said. “Today was an affirmation of that.”

Later Monday, Rogoff ordered the state to pay more than $1.1 million because its expert witnesses in the litigation were deleting emails that should have been preserved.

Rogoff ordered the state to pay more than $394,000 in costs and attorney fees due to the deleted emails and to pay nearly $789,000 in punitive damages.

Washington Attorney General Bob Ferguson has acknowledged one of his lawyers knew for the past year and a half that experts hired by the state to determine the cause of the 2014 slide were deleting emails among themselves.

While the settlements largely end the case as far as the state and timber company are concerned, some issues remained.

Snohomish County had been a defendant before being dismissed by the judge. The plaintiffs are appealing that decision, arguing that the county was also liable.

Washington Attorney General Bob Ferguson called the settlement “a fair resolution for all parties.”

The timber company didn’t immediately return a call seeking comment.

Corrie Yackulic, an attorney for some of the plaintiffs, said a “settlement master” will likely be appointed to oversee distribution of the settlement money.

Following the landslide, the state imposed new rules on logging in landslide-prone areas.

The slide struck after weeks of heavy rains. The neighborhood that was destroyed was a development of about 35 single-family homes, some dating to the 1960s, across the North Fork of the Stillaguamish River from a hillside in the Cascade Mountains.

The river eroded the base of the hill, as it had been doing for decades, causing numerous smaller slides. The massive slide produced enough sand and soil to cover 600 football fields, which rushed down and swept the river up with it. The highway was buried under as much as 20 feet of muck.

Families Win Suit Over Tainted Water

AP Staff, Seattle Times – August 4, 1999

A jury has awarded $545,000 to about 100 families in the south Pierce County town of Graham who complained that copper in their water made them sick and turned their hair and bathtubs blue.

The Pierce County Superior Court jury determined that Sound Water had failed to adequately treat the naturally acidic water in the English Gardens subdivision between 1993 and 1997. Last week’s decision in the class-action lawsuit concluded a two-week trial.

Most of the plaintiffs moved into the area three years ago. At that time, Sound Water served about 3,000 homes in Spanaway and Graham. Rainier View Water bought the company in 1997.

The lawsuit alleged that when Sound’s well water ran through the copper pipes of the 115-home residential development, the acidic water leached harmful amounts of copper into the tap water.

Corrie Yackulic, the attorney who represented the English Gardens residents, said Sound Water officials had known about the problem since 1993, when tests of eight of 20 sampled homes showed high levels of copper.

After the company was purchased, Rainier View fixed the problem within 18 months by treating the water with chemicals to reduce its acidity. Rainier View reached an undisclosed out-of-court settlement with the residents just before the trial began last month, Yackulic

said.

Top-selling birth control pill in U.S.: Miracle drug or poison pill?

Tracy Vedder, KOMO News – June 29, 2010

Depending on who you listen to, it’s either a new miracle drug or a poison pill.

One thing’s for certain: it’s become the most widely-prescribed birth control pill in the U.S. But as the Problem Solvers discovered, many claim it is killing young, healthy women.

Laura Strothers, a dental hygienist in Smokey Point, works confidently most of the time, her hands steady and firm. But whenever she can, she avoids using her left hand, even asking her dental patients to hold her tools at times.

Strothers suffered a debilitating injury a year ago. She figures she’s lucky she didn’t die. After all, her life changed overnight.

“My left arm was completely swollen, purple, cold to the touch,” she said.

Doctors found a life-threatening blood clot in a major vein, but the diagnosis made no sense.

“I’m a healthy 30-year-old,” said Strothers, who had none of the known risk factors for blood clots.

But one thing was different.

“There was nothing to explain it except the Yasmin birth control,” Strothers said.

Like millions of women, Strothers fell for a media blitz advertising the birth control pill, Yasmin. Together with its newest form, Yaz, it’s become, in just a few years, the top-selling oral contraceptive in the U.S.

“Amazing advertising campaign,” said Seattle attorney Corrie Yackulic. “Bayer decided that this was going to be the new blockbuster birth control pill.”

It didn’t hurt that the FDA also said as long as a woman is primarily taking it for oral contraception, Yasmin is also helpful in treating acne and a serious pre-menstrual disorder.

But Yaz and Yasmin are also generating a flood of complaints and more than a thousand lawsuits about deaths and serious injuries.

“Newer isn’t safer,” said Yackulic. “Newer often means untested.”

Attorney Yackulic represents a number of women or their families who claim Yaz or Yasmin harmed them. Among them is 51-year-old Mary Robinson, a mother of two who died in June 2007.

GeriAnne Robinson – no relation, another mother of two and just 39 years old, died a year later. And 31-year-old Karalynn Bollman died just last October.

Yackulic says none of these women needed birth control.

“These were completely unnecessary deaths,” she said.

All oral contraceptives containing estrogen warn of an increased risk for blood clots, which can lead to a stroke or heart attack.

But the controversy with Yaz and Yasmin, which use a new type of hormone called drosperinone, is whether their risk is even higher. And the science is inconclusive.

Bayer, which produces Yaz and Yasmin, says its products are safe. The company sponsored a large-scale study in Europe that indicated there was no difference in the rate of cardiovascular problems or deaths in comparison to other oral contraceptives which contain a hormone that’s been in use since the 1970s.

But two other studies published in the British Medical Journal found a higher risk of blood clots. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration calls those risk estimates unreliable.

Strothers doesn’t hold much faith in FDA approval.

“FDA approval, as we now know, is no guarantee of safety,” she said.

Strothers fears her injury will cut short her career, but she knows she’s lucky to be alive. Now her goal is to warn others.

“I’ve gone through scared, and upset, angry,” she said. “Now (I’m) concerned for women, (want) to just let them know that this is something that’s very serious.”

Settlement reached after woman’s legs broken in Metro Access van accidents

Levi Pulkkinen, SeattlePI – October 2, 2010

A wheelchair-bound woman seriously injured while riding aboard Metro Access vans will receive $1.8 million from a pair of contractors hired by the King County paratransit program.

In separate incidents, the woman, now 60, broke a femur and then both lower legs during incidents in July 2006 and September 2008, respectively, in which her attorneys contended the operators of the Access vans were negligent.

The Access system is designed to provide transportation for residents who can’t use the public bus system because of physical disabilities. Shared vans are available to provide curb-to-curb transportation for county residents in need of such assistance.

Though she used a wheelchair to get around due to a medical condition, the woman had been living independently before the 2006 incident, attorney Corrie Yackulic said, announcing the settlements last week.

In July 2006, the woman was thrown from her chair after the van made a sudden stop. Her attorneys claimed the van’s driver, an employee of MV Transportation, Inc., failed to adequately strap her into her wheelchair.

Her femur broken, the woman was hospitalized for seven days before being released to a Renton nursing home, according to the lawsuit. That injury resulted in a $700,000 settlement inked in September 2009.

Just more than two years after that severe leg break, the woman suffered breaks to both legs during another incident aboard another Access van.

Having arrived for an appointment at a dialysis center, the woman fell from a wheelchair lift when the van’s driver began to lower the platform before the chair was all the way on it, according to the lawsuit. The woman was pitched from her chair and suffered injuries to both her lower legs.

“Even after the first accident, she would play bingo or participate in recreational activities with other care-facility residents,” Yakulic said. “Now, because of the pain of getting from her bed into a wheel chair, she spends most of her time in bed.

“She appreciates all that her caregivers do for her, but it is a very different life than she anticipated as a result of the injuries incurred on the buses.”

An attorney for the second driver’s employer, Solid Ground Washington, did not return a request for comment. According to the woman’s attorneys, Solid Ground has agreed to pay her $1.1 million as part of a settlement agreement.

Kathleen Kindred, another attorney for the woman, said the settlement money will allow her client — who was 56 when the first incident occurred — to live in her own home instead of spending her remaining years in a nursing facility.

“Her hope was to always get back to living in a family home,” Kindred said. “Those accidents really cost her her independence.”

The money will be used to pay for the woman’s care, Kindred added.

3 broken legs, $1.8 million: Woman settles with King Co. Access bus firms

Seattle Times Staff, Seattle Times – September 29, 2010

A woman who was injured twice riding King County Access buses has been paid $1.8 million from two bus subcontractors.

The first injury occurred in July 2006 when the bus driver neglected to ensure the passenger’s wheelchair was secured, according to her attorney Corrie Yackulic. When the van came to a sudden stop, she was thrown out of her chair, breaking her leg, Yackulic said. She spent seven days in a hospital before being released to a Renton nursing home, where she lives.

The subcontractor, M/V Transportation, paid the woman $700,000 last year.

In the second accident, in September 2008, the woman was arriving at a kidney center for dialysis treatment, and the driver began to lower the van’s lift before the woman’s wheelchair was all the way on it, causing her to again fall out of her chair, breaking both of her legs, said Yackulic. That claim was recently settled by contractor Solid Ground Washington for $1.1 million.

Yackulic said the 60-year-old grandmother now spends most of her days in bed. “Even after the first accident she would play bingo or participate in recreational activities with other care-facility residents,” Yackulic said. “Now because of the pain of getting from her bed into a wheelchair, she spends most of her time in bed.”

Vietnamese American family gets more than $500,000 from the death of son and brother

James Tabafunda, NW Asian Weekly – December 2, 2010

Vinh Phan will never again walk through the front door of the Olympia home he shares with his parents.

He died on June 3, 2007, in Alaska while working aboard the F/T Enterprise, a factory trawler. According to a U.S. Coast Guard report, he was hosing fish out of a holding tank when a hydraulic door was activated, crushing his head. His parents and four siblings agreed that there was only one thing they had to do: tell their story to a judge.

“We strongly believe that the American judicial system is meant to bring out the truths and through the truths that justice and fairness shall prevail,” explained Ken Phan, Vinh’s younger brother.

“[A lawsuit was] their only recourse, and of course, it’s no substitute for their son, but it was the one thing they could do to honor him,” said Corrie Yackulic, the family’s lawyer.

In February 2009, Ken Phan, their second oldest son, served as a personal representative of his deceased brother’s estate and filed a civil lawsuit against O’Hara Corporation, owner and operator of the F/T Enterprise.

On Sept. 21, the company admitted liability, and King County Superior Court Judge Steven Gonzalez ruled in favor of Phan’s parents. “Bang Phan and Tron Bui are proper statutory beneficiaries under the Death on the High Seas Act … in the amount of $522,362.50,” wrote Gonzalez, in his final statement.

There will be no appeal.

“It will help them get their financial affairs in order because he was an important contributor to the family finances. … It’s given them some breathing room,” Yackulic said. Like other Asian cultures, the Vietnamese culture expects the oldest son in the family to ensure that his parents are financially supported and that they live with him at his own house. He (Phan) always understood his responsibility.”

“[Judge Gonzalez] did find that Vinh would have supported his parents to the end of their lives,” she said. “If he hadn’t found that, the damages would have been zero, and that’s what the other side argued.”

“I think over his lifetime, he was definitely going to support his parents,” said Yackulic. “The only issue in the case was the measure of their loss. The only witnesses that could communicate that were the family.”

Yackulic says that this issue comprises both the loss of financial support to Phan’s parents and the loss of household support [past and future] by Phan himself, including such responsibilities as grocery shopping.

The Phan family

Phan was born on February 21, 1979, in Vietnam. Bang Phan, his father, served as a lieutenant in the South Vietnamese army during the Vietnam War. Vinh Phan immigrated to the United States with his parents, sisters, Hannah Truong, Kim Phan, and Kaylie Phan, and brother Ken Phan under a law that allowed immigration to former South Vietnamese servicemen and their families.

After the fall of Saigon in April 1975, Bang Phan took his family to Cambodia and then to Thailand, where they lived in a refugee camp waiting to receive refugee status and a sponsor for immigration to the United States.

Vinh Phan was 14 years old when he arrived in the United States in 1993. He attended Black Hills High School and, at the age of 20 in 1999, graduated 63rd out of his class of 133.

Phan practiced his parents’ religion, Buddhism. According to Yackulic, his younger siblings are not Buddhist. “It was, again, evidence of his commitment to the cultural traditions of his family,” she said.

Another example of Vinh’s commitment to his family’s cultural traditions was his trip to Vietnam to marry Thuy Kim Tran. Because the couple later filed for divorce in December 2006, Judge Gonzalez concluded that their marriage was “defunct at the time of his death.”
Ken Phan said about his deceased brother’s commitment, “He was mature enough to understand and value the experiences, hardships, and sacrifice that my parents made to give us all the opportunities and have the privilege of being Asian Americans.”

After briefly attending but not graduating from Crown College in Tacoma, Vinh Phan soon started his own business selling salal plants. He hired others to package them. “They shipped [the salal] to German and Dutch florists,” Yackulic said about the first few months of the business. It failed in 2005, and in 2006 Vinh began working in Alaska’s fishing industry.

The O’Hara Corporation did not respond with a comment after being contacted.

“Having represented enough parents who’ve lost a child, I don’t think people ever really get closure,” said Yackulic.

“His room is still set aside in their house.”

Builder agrees to $2.4M settlement with 850 Redmond Ridge homeowners

King Staff, King 5 – January 13, 2012

Shea Homes last week settled a class-action lawsuit brought by 850 homeowners in the company’s Trilogy development in Redmond Ridge, part of unincorporated King County just east of the Redmond Watershed Preserve.

Shea will pay $2.4 million total to settle claims that poor construction caused mold problems at more than half the homes in the Trilogy development.

The homeowners’ suit claimed that Shea failed … by not properly cleaning and priming the wood on the eaves and soffits … before applying the first coat of paint. And, by using damp, wet, contaminated or unfit wood.

Retired doctor Peter Wasserman paid $650,000 for his new Trilogy home in 2005. Mold started to show up two to three years after the house was constructed, he said.

Another Trilogy owner, Loren Lewis, bought his home five years ago for $600,000. Within a few years, mold started growing under the roof.

Lewis said he did everything I could to make it look better, but it’s right back the way it was, mold.

When Wasserman complained, Shea told him the mold was his fault, due to poor maintanance.

I dont think they had alot of experience building up here in the Northwest, Wasserman said. They’re out of Arizona.

Under the settlement, the homeowners will get about $3,000 each to make the needed repairs.

A Shea vice president had no comment when contacted by KING 5. The company is currently building more homes in Redmond Ridge.

New photos show extensive damage to MV Walla Walla

King Staff, King 5 – December 4, 2013

A massive charge of electricity accidentally entered a motor under maintenance on board the M/V Walla Walla on Sunday while the vessel was docked at the Washington State Ferries (WSF) maintenance facility on Bainbridge Island, known as Eagle Harbor.

No one was injured in the accident, yet a source with detailed knowledge of the event told the KING 5 Investigators that people could have easily died.

In all my years in the maritime industry I ve never seen anything like this. It sent chills up my spine because of the potential to kill somebody. I can t put enough emphasis on how close they came to killing someone, said the source who spoke on the condition of anonymity.

On Friday the WA State Department of Transportation (WSDOT) announced four separate entities are investigating to get to the bottom of what happened.

Due to the severity of the damage, the investigation has been elevated to a third party contractor, Cadick Corporation. They will be assisted by WSDOT ferries division s senior port engineers, safety systems managers, and electrical engineers. WSDOT has also reached out to the Department of Labor and Industries and the U.S. Coast Guard for assistance to ensure that all employee safety requirements were met. Detailed results of the investigation are expected within two to three weeks, said Marta Coursey, Washington State Ferries Director of Communications.

The accident caused huge chunks of steel and copper to melt, as well as holes to be blasted through what is known as the commutator portion of the motor. A commutator provides the power to turn the shaft and propellers that ultimately move the ferry.

It looks like it exploded, said the source. It has chunks blown out that look like someone took an ice cream scoop and scooped it out.

Ferries officials issued a press release on Friday saying initial findings show no actual explosion occured.

Immediately following the incident, the Washington State Department of Transportation Ferries Division started an internal investigation per standard protocol. Preliminary findings indicate that there was no explosion, said Coursey.

This is a serious incident and we re going to do a very thorough and detailed investigation into what happened, said David Moseley, WSDOT assistant secretary, ferries division. We hope to return the vessel to service as soon as possible.

WSF is working with General Electric to ascertain if a spare drive motor owned by the ferry system which is currently stored in a warehouse. If testing shows that part can be used, sources tell KING the Walla Walla would most likely be out of service for four to six additional months. If a new commutator has to be built by General Electric, the Walla Walla could be out of service for up to two years.

The vessel is part of the Jumbo Class of boats and is one of the largest in the fleet. It has been out of service for several months while undergoing maintenance, including a new paint job, at Vigor Industrial Shipyard in Everett. After the stint at Todd, the boat was towed to Eagle Harbor for additional procedures before going back into service. One of the jobs was to clean out the commutators due to excess paint, or overspray, which accidentally entered into the machinery.

That s when things went dangerously wrong. According to two sources most likely human error is to blame. KING 5 has learned this type of unexpected release of hazardous electricity would not happen if employees performing the maintenance would have employed the legally mandated safety procedures to prevent an electrical explosion or electrocution.

The U.S. Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) has termed the procedure Lockout/Tagout. When work is being performed in an electrical environment such as that, Lockout/Tagout procedures ensure the machinery is turned off and disconnected from its energy source. A padlock is used to make sure the power cannot be turned back on. Experts say the process takes about five minutes.

Ferry managers would not confirm nor deny that proper safety protocols were not in place prior to the event.

On Sunday, November 4, the propulsion drive motor on the Walla Walla failed. This failure left the vessel inoperable until the propulsion drive motor or its components can either be repaired or replaced. We are conducting a full investigation into the incident and probable causes per standard WSF protocol. We are also working with the manufacturer to trouble-shoot the problem, said Coursey.

The motor that was left in an unsecured state is located in what is called Motor Room #1 of the Walla Walla. Sources told us that on Sunday an employee on the other end of the boat turned the power on inside Motor Room #2. That would be okay if proper safety steps had been taken. Instead, massive amounts of electricity traveled across theboat from Motor Room #2 to Motor Room #1. That caused the commutator to overheat, portions of it to melt, and pieces of it to pop out. Fortunately no one was working inside the unsecured Motor Room #1 drive motor.

According to OSHA the event could have had catastrophic results. Employees can be seriously or fatally injured if machinery they service or maintain unexpectedly energizes, starts up, or releases stored energy. OSHA s standard on the Control of Hazardous Energy (Lockout/Tagout)…spells out the steps employers must take to prevent accidents associated with hazardous energy, wrote OSHA Assistant Secretary John Henshaw, in a memo outlining the Lockout/Tagout requirements.

The Walla Walla is a relief boat in the system. It can carry 2,000 passengers and 188 vehicles. It typically sails on the Seattle/Bremerton run or the Edmonds/Kingston run.

Ferry managers said they are working to get the boat back to work and that service will hopefully not be interrupted..

Our current estimates are that the vessel will be out of service for the next few months while crews work to repair the issue. There will be vessel moves throughout the system as we work to keep service levels maintained and we are working to return the Walla Walla to service as soon as possible, said Coursey.

Women sound alarm over treatments for common urinary issue

Tracy Vedder, KOMO News – May 17, 2013

Three months ago, simple movements were impossible for Robin Swenson. Excruciating pain prevented almost all normal movement.

“Any movement at all hurt,” she said. “I mean, like on a scale of one to 10, it was like an eight all the time.”

Swenson was an athletic woman with an active outdoor lifestyle. Then a year ago, Swenson says her gynecologist recommended surgery to correct what she called an “annoyance” — Stress Urinary Incontinence, or SUI.

“When I sneeze, when I laugh, you know you have the leakage,” she said.

SUI is common for women who have had children. And more and more women are turning to surgery to correct it using mesh implants to support the bladder.

In 2010, more than a quarter million women had such surgeries. And many of them, like Swenson, develop complications.

“Finally… I went to another doctor and he said the mesh is exposed — it has to come out,” Swenson said.

Two years ago, the FDA released a warning about the mesh products. This year, it directed 41 mesh manufacturers to do follow-up studies because of the serious complications.

After three surgeries, Swenson is now on the road to recovery. But Seattle Attorney Corrie Yackulic represents a number of women who aren’t as lucky.

“These complications are horrible, I mean they are completely life-altering,” Yackulic said.

She says several of her clients will never regain what they’ve lost.

“They will have to be basically re-plumbed and will urinate into a bag for the rest of their lives,” she said.

Swenson knows she’s lucky and decided to talk about her case in hopes of warning other women.

“It’s just a really, really hard, painful thing,” she said. “And if I can help one person to not have to go through it, then you make a difference.”

The FDA adds that there are non-surgical options for women including physical therapy and injections. Already more than 10,000 lawsuits have been filed against the different mesh manufacturers as a result of the complications.

Wash. man files lawsuit against Monsanto claiming exposure to Roundup caused cancer

San Francisco Chronicle – February 20, 2019

A landscaper from Duvall filed a lawsuit against the Monsanto Company, alleging their Roundup weedkiller caused his diagnosis of non-Hodgkins lymphoma with no warning label.

Leonard Tierney, 61, and his wife Christy Tierney, 59, filed the complaint Wednesday in the U.S. District Court in Seattle. Leornard said in a news conference Wednesday that he contacted Corrie Yackulic Law Firm LLC after he was diagnosed because a friend of his said it could be connected to Roundup.

The complaint said Monsanto was negligent in their promotion and labeling of Roundup products.

Leonard said he used Roundup while operating his own landscape, construction and maintenance business for 18 years, starting in 1999. He was diagnosed in May 2018.

After working as an Ephrata police officer for four years, Leonard went back to school to study horticulture.

He said that while he had employees who could take care of the construction work, he did most of the landscaping because he knew more about plants and how to work with them. He said he had only used Roundup in a backpack-style container with a sprayer. The container would leak the herbicide down his back and the spray routinely made contact with his face.

“I put it in my contracts with my clients, because we tried to be organic as we possibly could,” Leonard said. “The only product I would use, when I’d speak to my clients, is Roundup because I was of the understanding that in UV light and sunlight, it broke down in 72 hours and became inert and was safe.”

The complaint targets glyphosate, an herbicide sold under the name of Roundup and Ranger Pro. A University of Washington study published earlier this month linked the risk for non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma to glyphosate-based herbicides (GBH).

The study said the meta-analysis of human epidemiology suggested a “compelling link between exposures to GBHs and increased risk for [non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma].”

Corrie Yackulic, the attorney representing the Tierneys, said in the news conference the fact that the science is more sound and that Leonard had no other risk factors for the cancer, it made a “very strong connection” in his case it was from his work history.

Above all, the Tierneys said they’re doing this to hold the company accountable. And while Leonard said he’s not angry about the diagnosis, his wife is.

“Yeah, I’m angry,” Christy Tierney said. “When we were first given the diagnosis, it just devastated us.

“I would love to see large warning signs, I’d love to see it put out there that even weekend users need to be careful with this, this is not a safe product.”

The Bayer Corporation, who owns Monsanto now, said in an emailed statement Wednesday:

“We have great sympathy for any individual with cancer, but the extensive body of science on glyphosate-based herbicides over four decades supports the conclusion that Roundup does not cause NHL.

“The research on glyphosate and glyphosate-based herbicides, including more than 800 rigorous studies submitted to EPA, European and other regulators in connection with the registration process, confirms that these products are safe when used as directed.

“Notably, the largest and most recent epidemiologic study – the 2018 independent National Cancer Institute-supported long-term study that followed over 50,000 pesticide applicators for more than 20 years and was published after the IARC monograph – found no association between glyphosate-based herbicides and cancer.

“Additionally, EPA’s 2017 post-IARC cancer risk assessment examined more than 100 studies the agency considered relevant and concluded that glyphosate is ‘not likely to be carcinogenic to humans,’ its most favorable rating.

“Bayer stands behind these products and will vigorously defend them.”

The University of Washington study did not classify it as a carcinogen, but did associate increased GHB exposure to increased risk of non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma in humans.

The complaint said it represents Duvall residents Leonard Tierney and Christy Tierney, who suffered damages from contact with Monsanto products.

The lawsuit accuses the Monsanto Company and their owners the Bayer Corporation of negligent and wrongful conduct in connection with the labeling and sale of Roundup, containing the active ingredient glyphosate.

Wash. man files lawsuit against Monsanto claiming exposure to Roundup caused cancer

Alex Halverson, SeattlePI – February 28, 2019

A landscaper from Duvall filed a lawsuit against the Monsanto Company, alleging their Roundup weedkiller caused his diagnosis of non-Hodgkins lymphoma with no warning label.

Leonard Tierney, 61, and his wife Christy Tierney, 59, filed the complaint Wednesday in the U.S. District Court in Seattle. Leornard said in a news conference Wednesday that he contacted Corrie Yackulic Law Firm LLC after he was diagnosed because a friend of his said it could be connected to Roundup.

The complaint said Monsanto was negligent in their promotion and labeling of Roundup products.

Leonard said he used Roundup while operating his own landscape, construction and maintenance business for 18 years, starting in 1999. He was diagnosed in May 2018.

After working as an Ephrata police officer for four years, Leonard went back to school to study horticulture.

He said that while he had employees who could take care of the construction work, he did most of the landscaping because he knew more about plants and how to work with them. He said he had only used Roundup in a backpack-style container with a sprayer. The container would leak the herbicide down his back and the spray routinely made contact with his face.

“I put it in my contracts with my clients, because we tried to be organic as we possibly could,” Leonard said. “The only product I would use, when I’d speak to my clients, is Roundup because I was of the understanding that in UV light and sunlight, it broke down in 72 hours and became inert and was safe.”

The complaint targets glyphosate, an herbicide sold under the name of Roundup and Ranger Pro. A University of Washington study published earlier this month linked the risk for non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma to glyphosate-based herbicides (GBH).

The study said the meta-analysis of human epidemiology suggested a “compelling link between exposures to GBHs and increased risk for [non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma].”

Corrie Yackulic, the attorney representing the Tierneys, said in the news conference the fact that the science is more sound and that Leonard had no other risk factors for the cancer, it made a “very strong connection” in his case it was from his work history.

Above all, the Tierneys said they’re doing this to hold the company accountable. And while Leonard said he’s not angry about the diagnosis, his wife is.

“Yeah, I’m angry,” Christy Tierney said. “When we were first given the diagnosis, it just devastated us.

“I would love to see large warning signs, I’d love to see it put out there that even weekend users need to be careful with this, this is not a safe product.”

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The Bayer Corporation, who owns Monsanto now, said in an emailed statement Wednesday:

“We have great sympathy for any individual with cancer, but the extensive body of science on glyphosate-based herbicides over four decades supports the conclusion that Roundup does not cause NHL.

“The research on glyphosate and glyphosate-based herbicides, including more than 800 rigorous studies submitted to EPA, European and other regulators in connection with the registration process, confirms that these products are safe when used as directed.

“Notably, the largest and most recent epidemiologic study – the 2018 independent National Cancer Institute-supported long-term study that followed over 50,000 pesticide applicators for more than 20 years and was published after the IARC monograph – found no association between glyphosate-based herbicides and cancer.

“Additionally, EPA’s 2017 post-IARC cancer risk assessment examined more than 100 studies the agency considered relevant and concluded that glyphosate is ‘not likely to be carcinogenic to humans,’ its most favorable rating.

“Bayer stands behind these products and will vigorously defend them.”

The University of Washington study did not classify it as a carcinogen, but did associate increased GHB exposure to increased risk of non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma in humans.

The complaint said it represents Duvall residents Leonard Tierney and Christy Tierney, who suffered damages from contact with Monsanto products.

The lawsuit accuses the Monsanto Company and their owners the Bayer Corporation of negligent and wrongful conduct in connection with the labeling and sale of Roundup, containing the active ingredient glyphosate.

Duvall landscaper claims Roundup caused his cancer

Amy Clancy, KIRO 7 – November 23, 2019

For nearly 20 years, Leonard Tierney of Duvall strapped-on a backpack full of concentrated Roundup mixed with water to eradicate weeds in his clients’ yards.

He believed Roundup was the safest weed-killing product on the market “because I was of the understanding in UV light and sunlight, it broke down and became inert,” Tierney told KIRO 7 Wednesday.

However, according to Tierney’s just-filed civil complaint — and the growing number of similar lawsuits being filed against Monsanto and parent company Bayer — Roundup is not safe.

“The connection between Roundup exposure and non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma has been known by Monsanto for decades,” said Tierney’s attorney, Corrie Yackulic, of Seattle.

Just last week, the University of Washington released a study that links the herbicide in Roundup — glyphosate — to a more than 40% increased risk for some cancers. The study analyzed more than 54,000 people who work as licensed pesticide applicators, like landscaper Tierney.

Study author Lianne Sheppard Ph.D. told KIRO 7 even weekend gardeners should rethink using Roundup.

“Those of us who want to control our risks can change our behaviors to reduce the exposures that we think are going to potentially affect us,” she said.

Tierney was diagnosed with non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma last May and has since stopped using Roundup.

Nine months later, he’s done with chemotherapy but will always be at risk for the cancer’s return.

Despite that, he’s not angry with Monsanto or Bayer.
“I was more concerned with the fact that I had cancer rather than what the source was at the time,” he said.

His wife Christy, however, is angry.

“When we were first given the diagnosis, it just devastated us and I would like to see large warning signs.
I’d love to see it put out there that even weekend users need to be careful with this.
This is not a safe product,” she said.

The Tierneys hope their lawsuit will lead to financial compensation for their medical costs and suffering.

They’d also like Monsanto/Bayer to put a label on Roundup packages warning about the risks, or a ban of the product altogether; something their lawyer believes may happen if enough people pursue legal action.

“Until they lose a certain number of cases, I think they are going to continue to argue that the product is safe,” Yackulic said.
“As long as they are making money on it, they are not going to admit there’s a problem.”

When asked for comment, Bayer’s director for U.S. external communications released the following statement:

“There is an extensive body of research on glyphosate and glyphosate-based herbicides, including more than 800 rigorous studies submitted to EPA, European and other regulators in connection with the registration process, that confirms that these products are safe when used as directed. Notably, the largest and most recent epidemiologic study – the 2018 independent National Cancer Institute-supported long-term study that followed over 50,000 pesticide applicators for more than 20 years and was published after the IARC monograph – found no association between glyphosate-based herbicides and cancer. Additionally, EPA’s 2017 post-IARC cancer risk assessment examined more than 100 studies the agency considered relevant and concluded that glyphosate is ‘not likely to be carcinogenic to humans,’ its most favorable rating.”

“Bayer stands behind these products and will vigorously defend them.”

Johnson & Johnson recalls baby powder after asbestos found

Jessica Glenza, The Guardian – October 18, 2019

Company said 33,000 bottles will be recalled amid lawsuits alleging they knew the baby powder was contaminated

Johnson & Johnson has voluntarily recalled a single batch of its baby powder after US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) regulators found trace amounts of asbestos in the product. The company said 33,000 bottles of talcum powder will be recalled “out of an abundance of caution”.

The recall comes amid thousands of lawsuits alleging the company knew its baby powder was contaminated with asbestos, a carcinogen. Johnson & Johnson strenuously denied the claims. This is the first time the company has recalled its leading baby powder product.

The same day, the Arizona attorney general announced a $116m settlement against the company, related to its transvaginal mesh implants. The company is also being sued over its role in the US opioids crisis, in a challenging period for its reputation as one of the most trusted brands in the world.

Johnson & Johnson said in a statement that tests conducted by the FDA found sub-trace levels of chrysotile asbestos contamination at concentrations not exceeding 0.00002% in a single bottle purchased from an online retailer. The recall applies to lot #22318RB.

The company said it could not confirm whether the sample was cross-contaminated, whether the product’s seal was intact, or whether the sample was taken from an authentic bottle of Johnson & Johnson talcum powder.

The company said it has conducted “thousands of tests over the past 40 years repeatedly to confirm that our consumer talc products do not contain asbestos”.

Although pediatricians have advised against using talcum powder on infants for decades, arguing there is a risk of inhalation and infection to babies, talcum powder has remained Johnson & Johnson’s best-known household staple. The product is made from pure talc, a mineral which often appears in veins alongside asbestos in the earth.

“Our talc comes from ore sources confirmed to meet our stringent specifications that exceed industry standards,” the company said. “Not only do we and our suppliers routinely test to ensure our talc does not contain asbestos, our talc has also been tested and confirmed to be asbestos-free by a range of independent laboratories, universities and global health authorities.”

Concerns have also been raised about the health impacts of talc itself. For decades, talc was routinely used as a dry lubricant in condoms and latex gloves, until physicians raised health concerns about talc, particularly for women.

In a series of investigations by the New York Times and Reuters, internal documents from Johnson & Johnson revealed some company executives worried about the talcum products, including possible asbestos contamination, further government regulation and public backlash over health concerns.

Johnson & Johnson Recalls Batch of a Baby Powder After Trace Asbestos Found in Bottle

Linda A. Johnson, Time – October 18, 2019

Johnson & Johnson on Friday recalled a single batch of its baby powder as a precaution after government testing found trace amounts of asbestos in one bottle bought online.

The recalled lot consists of 33,000 bottles which were distributed last year.

J&J said the U.S. Food and Drug Administration found minuscule amounts of asbestos in one bottle during routine testing and notified the company on Thursday. J&J said it immediately began investigating with the FDA.

“The FDA’s testing on prior occasions, and as recently as last month, found no asbestos,” said spokesman Ernie Knewitz.

J&J said it was checking where the bottles were shipped, if the tested bottle is counterfeit or authentic and whether the sample might have been contaminated during testing.

The recall comes as J&J fights thousands of lawsuits in which plaintiffs claim its iconic baby talcum powder was contaminated with asbestos and that it caused ovarian cancer or mesothelioma, a rare cancer linked to inhaling asbestos fibers.

At multiple trials, J&J’s expert witnesses have testified asbestos hasn’t been detected in the talc in its baby powder in thousands of tests over the last 40 years. Several juries have reached multimillion-dollar verdicts against the company, nearly all of which are being appealed or have been overturned on appeal.

Talc, the softest of minerals, is mined from deposits around the world, which can be contaminated with asbestos. J&J says the company and its talc suppliers routinely test their talc to ensure there’s no asbestos. The talc is then crushed into a white powder and purified for use in personal care products to absorb moisture.

The recalled lot of 22-ounce bottles is #22318RB. Consumers who have a bottle from that lot should stop using it; refunds are available through the company’s website .

The company’s shares dropped 5% to $129.33 at midday Friday, following the recall news and, just a day earlier, the announcement of a $117 million settlement with 41 states over allegations the company deceptively marketed its pelvic mesh products by concealing risks.