Asbestos News Roundup: 3.20.14 – Work History & Asbestos Risk

March 20th, 2014. 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.

High Risk Asbestos Disease Occupations

Many workplaces in the US are now considered to have put workers at high-risk for asbestos exposure—decades ago. These include: US Navy, oil refineries, shipyards, chemical manufacturing facilities, aerospace manufacturing facilities, mines, smelters, coal fired power plants, construction work sites, auto repair shops, plumbers, welders, electricians, and most manufacturing, or industrial plants that were operating in the 1950s, 1960s, 1970s, or 1980s.

Sadly, many individuals who served in the US Navy, worked at a power plant, an oil refinery, or a shipyard decades ago are now being diagnosed with asbestos disease—the average age of diagnosis of asbestos mesothelioma is 72 years, according to the Centers for Disease Control, (CDC).

Although strict regulations about the use of asbestos have been put in place, the potential for asbestos exposure remains. In 2009, the CDC reported:

“Although asbestos has been eliminated in the manufacture of many products, it is still being imported (approximately 1,730 metric tons in 2007) and used in the United States in various construction and transportation products. Ensuring a future decrease in mesothelioma mortality requires meticulous control of exposures to asbestos and other materials that might cause mesothelioma. Recent studies suggest that carbon nanotubes (fiber-shaped nanoparticles), which are increasingly being used in manufacturing, might share the carcinogenic mechanism postulated for asbestos and induce mesothelioma, underscoring the need for documentation of occupational history in future cases.” The full report can be accessed at the CDC’s webpage. http://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/preview/mmwrhtml/mm5815a3.htm

Asbestos Lawsuits

Jefferson County, TX: The family of recently deceased William Ray Furlong have filed an asbestos lawsuit against EI DuPont De Nemours and Co. alleging the company is responsible for Mr. Furlong’s asbestos illness and subsequent death.

Virginia Furlong, wife, and Helen Furlong Moity, daughter, allege Dupont knowingly exposed William Furlong to toxic and carcinogenic dusts including asbestos during the time he worked at Dupont’s Works Facility in Beaumont.

According to the suit, William Furlong developed mesothelioma from which he died in 2012.

The Furlongs are seeking more than $100,000 in damages. (setexasrecord.com)

Asbestos Settlements

Erie County, NY: A $3 million settlement has been awarded to the family of a man who contracted and died from asbestos mesothelioma. According to the lawsuit, the deceased, Gerald Suttner, worked at the GM Powertrain Facility in Tonawanda, New York, and involved repairing valves manufactured by Crane and other manufacturers, valves which contained asbestos gaskets and packing materials. It wasn’t until after Suttner had retired from the GM plant that he was diagnosed with pleural mesothelioma. He passed away just 12 months later, at the age of 77. Suttner’s family subsequently sued the companies which made asbestos-containing products.

The plaintiff’s surviving family filed suit in the Supreme Court of Erie County, New York for product liability and wrongful death. The plaintiffs sought recovery for compensatory and punitive damages against Crane and numerous other manufacturers of asbestos-creating products the decedent had been exposed to. The plaintiff asserted that Crane had known as early as the 1930s of the hazardous qualities of asbestos and failed to warn the deceased. (jvra.com)

Philadelphia, PA: A $75,000 award for damages has been granted in a whistleblower lawsuit. Filed by a city police officer, the lawsuit claimed that the police officer’s superiors retaliated against him after he complained of shoddy asbestos removal at the Police Athletic League center he managed in Philadelphia.

The judge hearing the case ordered that Zenak, 44, a 23-year veteran officer, be returned to his job as manager of the PAL center at Wissinoming United Methodist Church, 4419 Comly St., and reimbursed $75,000 for 2711/2 days of leave he used after suing and $411 in medical expenses.

In 2012, Zenak filed suit under Pennsylvania’s “whistle-blower” law, naming the city, Police Department, PAL, church and J. Bailey Builders, the New Jersey-based contractor, as defendants.

According to the lawsuit, Zenak had managed the PAL center since 2008. In 2011, the contractor doing renovations told him there was exposed asbestos wrapping 60 feet of pipe hanging in the room where children did homework. Several weeks later, after Zenak found the pipe insulation gone and a layer of dust everywhere, he complained to his superiors, and he got the first of several reprimands, the PhillyNews reports.

A civil suit is pending which seeks medical monitoring for nearly 100 children who might have been exposed to asbestos while attending programs at the Wissinoming PAL center. (phillynews.com)

Tags: Asbestos, asbestos lawsuit, Asbestos Mesothelioma, asbestos risk, Asbestos Settlement

This was posted on Thursday, March 20th, 2014 at 9:42 am and is filed under Asbestos Mesothelioma, lawsuits, Settlement . Feel free to respond, or trackback. Read our comments policy.