Several weeks ago, soldiers in Fort Bragg, North Carolina were instructed to remove floor tiles in an old barracks storage room. One of the soldiers told his dad, Evon Colchiski, about their assignment to remove the tiles. His father immediately became concerned about the soldiers scraping the old floor tiles and removing the debris. His concern was that the tiles may contain asbestos, a fibrous mineral which was widely used in building materials prior to the 1980’s.
Exposure to asbestos damages the lungs and can cause cancers such as asbestosis and mesothelioma. Asbestos isn’t considered hazardous in it’s stable form, but when damaged or broken up, as in the case of demolition work, dust can be released creating a health risk to all those in the area.
Pvt. Jason Colchiski’s father is skeptical that the Army’s did not know about the potential danger, and claims that one of the sergeants warned the soldiers to be careful when removing the tile because it may contain asbestos. Evon Colchiski tested a sample of the tile, which showed the backing to contain asbestos above the level considered to be safe.
Jason’s father and cousin have both spoken out about their concerns and are asking for on-going monitoring of the soldier’s health, that proper training be done, and that more safety precautions be taken while performing demolition.
The British Health and Safety Executive recently revealed that every week 20 laborers in the industrial trades die from asbestos-related diseases, including mesothelioma, a fatal cancer of the lung from asbestos exposure.
Ian Wright, once a plasterer himself before he played football for Arsenal, said he was shocked when he learned that so many tradesmen were dying from asbestos exposure in their work. “I was surprised to learn that the number of deaths is actually on the increased every year,” he said. “If that was footballers dying the whole of the premiership would be wiped out in just three months.”
Steve Coldrick, director of the HSE’s Disease Reduction Programme said education is essential about how asbestos and its dangers are relevant to workers. “We want them to change the way they work so they don’t put their lives at risk,” he said.
Wright added, “I can really relate to the situations tradesmen find themselves in.”
HSE has launched a major campaign to raise awareness of the dangers of asbestos exposure because, although asbestos use has been banned, older buildings built before 2000 can present health risks to plumbers, joiners, electricians and others engaged in remodeling or maintenance.
Although Flintkote has gone bankrupt because of asbestos-related lawsuits, public health officials in Fremont, CA are asking former employees to report about any potential impacts they have had from asbestos exposure.
Between 1967 and 1979, Flintkote workers were exposed to low levels of asbestos, according to the Federal Agency for Toxic Substance and Disease Registry. The workers and their families could be at risk because employees might have carried the potentially toxic asbestos fibers home on their clothing or on their bodies. Cancer records and death records for the neighborhood reviewed by State health officials revealed scattered evidence that the number of deaths from asbestos exposure is higher than expected.
A new study by Japanese researchers suggests that people who have ever lived near an asbestos manufacturing plant are at risk of developing mesothelioma decades later. Risk was especially noted among those who lived roughly 1.5 miles downwind of the Japanese cement pipe plant.
Asbestos is not one mineral but the name given to a group of naturally occurring minerals such as vermiculite, amosite, chrysotile, crocidolite, tremolite, actinolite and anthophylite withlong thin fibers that are tasteless and hardly detectable in the air or on clothing. When inhaled they become lodged in the lungs and over time can cause inflammation, scarring and possibly a deadly form of cancer known as mesothelioma.
Asbestos is resistant to heat and fire, and was used as insulation in building materials for years before it was found to be harmful to the body. U.S. Gypsum now owns the former Flintkote site and uses the site as a reloading and distribution center.
A man in Tennessee and a nurse in Ohio are suing defendant corporations for contracting mesothelioma through second-hand exposure to asbestos fibers brought home on family members’ clothing.
In Tennessee, the Supreme Court allowed Doug Satterfield, an asbestos worker at Alcoa Inc., to sue the company after his daughter Amanda died of mesothelioma in 2005 at the age of 25. The suit claims Ms. Satterfield’s illness was caused by the asbestos dust carried home in her father’s clothing. Mr. Satterfield is seeking $10 million in punitive damages and $10 million in compensatory damages on behalf of his late daughter, claiming the employers should have known or possibly did know the hazards of asbestos exposure to their employees and family members.
In Ohio, Kathy Castle has filed an asbestos lawsuit against 13 corporations claiming her recently diagnosed mesothelioma was wrongfully caused. Ms. Castle worked from 1970 until 2008 as a home nurse, secretary, clerical worker and nurse’s aide. She believes she contracted mesothelioma through second-hand exposure to asbestos fibers on family member’s clothing.
One family member worked for five years as a construction worker and mason assistant; another worked for five years in plastic manufacturing. Both worked at various locations.
Castle alleges her mesothelioma has prevented her from continuing her normal employment and seeks punitive and compensatory damages.
Carl Mortenson has filed a 13-count lawsuit against some 100 companies for not taking precautions in his exposure to asbestos during his years as a laborer for Southern Pacific Railroad, in the U.S. Navy from 1949 until 1984 and as a laborer in the construction industry for some 15 years with Northrop Grumman.
Mortenson is seeking some $600,000 in compensation and punitive damages against Ferris Kimball Company, LLC, Sprinkmann Sons Corporation, Sprinkmann Insulation, Inc., and Young Insulation Group of St. Louis for misconduct. His suit alleges that the companies should have foreseen that his exposure to asbestos would lead to malignant mesothelioma.
Mesothelioma attorneys have known for many years that exposure to asbestos can lead to malignant mesothelioma and other asbestos-related diseases.
Mortenson claims the asbestos-related disease has caused him substantial physical pain, disfigurement, mental anguish and medical costs.
With more than 4,000 asbestos-related diseases such as mesothelioma in the United Kingdom it was a shock to residents of Rochdale, England, to learn that a retired member of parliament representing them had declared some years ago that the public at large is “not at risk” from asbestos exposure.
Sir Cyril Smith, Rochdale’s former MP (now retired), allowed the world’s largest asbestos factory, Turner & Newall, to draft the response he made in the House of Commons in 1981.Smith asked Turner & Newall how they would like him to respond to a need for “more regulation” on asbestos and other similar products known to cause asbestos diseases.The issue came to light only recently.
According to an article in the New Statesman magazine, the draft response from Turner & Newall is “identical” to what Smith said in his House of Commons speech, stressing that less regulation on asbestos should be approached with caution.Smith said that all he was doing was underscoring the arguments that “supported the factory’s side of the story” because the company was the town’s main employer.
Turner & Newall reportedly admitted as long ago as 1961 that the only really “safe number of asbestos fibers in the working environment is nil.” Smith said he knew about the dangers of asbestos to the health of the workers because many fell ill at the time but the company employed thousands that did not fall ill and were earning a living there.
Mesothelioma Blog of Clapper, Patti, Schweizer & Mason
Welcome to our blog, as expert lawyers in the field of Mesothelioma and Asbestos Cancer we will post relevant articles and news stories as they become available. We invite you to use our website and blog as a resource for news and innovations to further your knowledge. For a Free Mesothelioma Case Evaluation, please call us at 800-440-4262.
Posts
