Asbestos News Roundup: 6.21.12 – Railway Workers & Asbestos Exposure

June 21st, 2012. By LucyC

A roundup of recent asbestos-related news and information that you should be aware of. An ongoing list of reported asbestos hot spots in the US from the Asbestos News Roundup archive appears on our asbestos map.

Railway Workers and Asbestos Risk

Many retired railway men are finding that the years they spent working in railway yards and on trains has caused them to become ill with asbestos-related illnesses. And their illnesses could have been prevented if they had been made aware of the dangers and provided with proper protective gear.

Asbestos was used to insulate steam and diesel locomotives, boxcars, cabooses and pipes. It was also used in brakes and floor tiles of passenger cars. When workers were tasked with removing the asbestos, and were not wearing protective clothing, the airborne asbestos fibers became lodged in their clothes and worse, in their lungs. As this practice went on over time – years in many cases– the accumulation of the asbestos fibers in their lungs led to fatal asbestos mesothelioma. Such is the case of the five former BNSF railway workers who are now suing the company.

Asbestos Lawsuits

Fort Worth, TX: Five railway workers have filed an asbestos lawsuit against their former employer, BNSF Railway, alleging their diagnoses of lung diseases was caused by exposure to asbestos and other hazardous materials while working for the railway.

Donald Polson, Harvey Bass, Robert Brabbin, Joe Gilliam and William King, who live in Fort Worth, Arlington and Cleburne respectively, claim BNSF managers knew that prolonged exposure to asbestos could cause illness, but that they failed to warn the employees of those dangers.

According to the lawsuit, some of the plaintiffs worked for the railroad for more than 30 years; Polson worked there 44 years, until 2001.

According to the lawsuit, the plaintiffs worked in and around engines, boilers, railroad tracks and other areas where they were exposed to asbestos and other substances without protection. As a result of their exposure to dust, fumes and vapors, the men contracted lung diseases that diminished their quality of life and reduced their life expectancy – they have been diagnosed with asbestosis and silicosis, according to their lawyer.

“At all times relevant, the plaintiffs were unaware of the dangerous propensities of the harmful/hazardous materials with which they were required to work with and around,” the lawsuit states. They were not aware of the hazards associated with exposure to asbestos and other substances until less than three years before filing the suit, it states. The lawsuit also states that although the Occupational Safety and Health Administration banned asbestos in construction in the 1970s, railroads continued using it although the companies were aware of the health risks.

The lawsuit also accuses BNSF of violating the Federal Employment Liability Act and the Locomotive Boiler Inspection Act. (star-telegram.com)

Charleston, WV: James M. Lawrentz and his wife, Sandra Lawrentz claim have filed an asbesto lawsuit naming 54 companies they allege are responsible for Mr. Lawrentz’s lung cancer diagnosis.

On April 5 Mr. Lawrentz was diagnosed with lung cancer, which, the couple claims resulted from his exposure to asbestos during his career as a millwright and laborer.

The defendants are being sued based on theories of negligence, contaminated buildings, breach of expressed/implied warranty, strict liability, intentional tort, conspiracy, misrepresentation and post-sale duty to warn, according to the lawsuit.

The 54 companies named as defendants in the suit are: 3M Company; A.W. Chesterton Company; Aurora Pump Company; Borg-Warner Corporation; Buffalo Pumps, Inc.; Caterpillar, Inc.; Cleaver-Brooks Company, Inc.; Copes-Vulcan, Inc.; Crane Co.; Duavo Corporation; Eaton Electrical, Inc.; Flowserve US, Inc.; FMC Corporation; Ford Motor Company; Foster Wheeler Energy Corporation; Gardner Denver, Inc.; Genuine Parts Company; Goulds Pumps, Inc.; Grinnell Corporation; Hercules, Inc.; Honeywell International; Howden Buffalo, Inc.; IMO Industries, Inc.; Inductotherm Industries, Inc.; Industrial Holdings Corporation; Ingersoll-Rand Company; ITT Corporation; Joy Technologies, Inc.; McJunkin Corporation; Morgan Engineering Systems; Ohio Valley Insulating Company, Inc.; P&H Mining Equipment, Inc.; Pettibone/Traverse Lift, LLC; Pneumo Abex Corporation; Reading Crane and Engineering Company; Rockwell Automation, Inc.; Rust Constructors, Inc.; Rust Engineering & Construction, Inc.; Rust International, Inc.; Schneider Electric USA, Inc.; State Electric Supply Company; Sterling Fluid Systems, LLC; Sunbeam Products, Inc.; Surface Combustion, Inc.; Swindell Dressler International Company; Tasco Insulations, Inc.; The Alliance Machine Company; The Gage Company; UB West Virginia, Inc.; United Engineers & Constructors and Washington Group International; Viking Pump, Inc.; Vimasco Corporation; West Virginia Electric Supply; and Yarway Corporation. (wvrecord.com)

Asbestos Law

Riverside, NJ: Frank J. Rizzo, 53; Michael Kouvaras, 59; and Deuteron Capital LLC, have been indicted by a state grand jury on a dozen charges related to the removal of asbestos from the former Zurbrugg Memorial Hospital.

Deuteron Capital LLC, which was doing business as South Street Fill-it Recycling of Riverside, removed asbestos from the site in an unlawful manner, without a license, and employed workers who were not trained or equipped to properly do the job, according to New Jersey Attorney General Jeffrey S. Chiesa.

Filed and announced Wednesday, the four-count indictment includes second-degree charges of conspiracy, unlawfully causing the release of a toxic pollutant, and abandonment of toxic pollutants, and a third-degree charge of violation of the Asbestos Control and Licensing Act, for all three defendants. The violation stems from the allegation that the men and their company knowingly had asbestos removal work performed without a license from the state.

The second-degree crimes carry sentences of five to 10 years in state prison and a fine of up to $150,000. The third-degree offense carries a sentence of three to five years in prison and a fine of up to $25,000. (phillyburbs.com)

Tags: Asbestos, Asbestos Exposure, asbestos lawsuit, Asbestos Mesothelioma, Asbestos Settlement, local asbestos, railroad worker

This was posted on Thursday, June 21st, 2012 at 3:41 pm and is filed under Asbestos Mesothelioma, lawsuits, Settlement . Feel free to respond, or trackback. Read our comments policy.