Asbestos News Roundup: 12.27.12 – Welder, Pipefitter Asbestos Risk

December 27th, 2012. By LucyC

This week’s asbestos news roundup includes all the 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.

Asbestos Risk for Welders, Construction Workers and Millwrights

Many of the materials used in construction, including welding, pipefitting, and millwright work, contained, or in some cases still contain asbestos. By the mid-20th century asbestos was being used in fire retardant coatings, concrete, bricks, pipes and fireplace cement, heat, fire, and acid resistant gaskets, pipe insulation, ceiling insulation, fireproof drywall, flooring, roofing, lawn furniture, and drywall joint compound.

It wasn’t until the 1980s that the knowledge of the dangers of asbestos exposure and related asbestos disease became more widely known amongst the general public. Consequently, millions of men and women likely worked on or around asbestos without any protection for decades.

It would not be uncommon for people to work with asbestos-containing products, either installing or removing them, which would send asbestos fibers into the air. The fibers are inhaled, and settle on people’s clothing—and that’s how asbestos disease begins. People who become ill from asbestos are usually exposed to it on a regular basis, hence the hundreds of asbestos lawsuits we are seeing now. Just such a situation is currently being reviewed by the Workers’ Compensation Board of West Virginia, as we detail below.

Asbestos Lawsuit

St. Clair County, IL: An asbestos lawsuit naming B.F. Goodrich and Michelin North America as defendants has been filed by the widow of the recently deceased Herbert Carmon.

According to the asbestos lawsuit, Carmon was employed by B.F. Goodrich in Jefferson County, where he was exposed to asbestos dust and fibers. “As a result of such exposure, Herbert Carmon developed an asbestos related disease, pleural disease and mesothelioma/lung cancer, from which she died a painful and terrible death on July 24, 2011,” the lawsuit states.

The lawsuit accuses the defendants of negligently failing to warn employees of the dangerous of asbestos. Carmon’s widow is suing for exemplary damages. (setexasrecord.com)

Asbestos Workers’ Compensation

Charleston, WV: A decision by the West Virginia Workers’ Compensation Board (WCB) has been overruled by the state Supreme Court, in a case of occupational pneumoconiosis.

In his Workers’ Compensation claim, Jeffrey Murray alleges that as a result of his exposure to dust during his employment with Alcan Rolled Products he now suffers from occupational pneumoconiosis.

A Mr. Merrifield, an industrial hygienist for Alcan, acknowledged the presence of “asbestos, refractory ceramic fibers, and fiberglass” that had the potential of becoming airborne at the plant during the time of Murray’s employment. However, Merrifield claimed the levels of airborne fibers were not at such a level so as to be harmful to Murray after February 13, 1994.

The judges hearing Murray’s case found the data used to back up Merrifield’s assertions did not fully meet the criteria demanded by the applicable state statute. Specifically the judges wrote “there was no sampling data covering the area where Mr. Murray worked when he was employed in the finishing department from February 14, 1994, to March 7, 1994, or when he was employed in the plate department from November 21, 2002, to January 19, 2003.”

The panel of WBC judges also found a “lack of consistency in the time period between sampling conducted in each department” and that these failures triggered a statutory presumption that Murray’s respiratory issues were due to occupational hazards at Alcan.

However, the Board of Review has overruled the Board of Judges, asserting that Alcan was in compliance with OSHA’s dust limits during the times in question and Murray was therefore not entitled to the statutory presumption that his illness was caused by his employment hazards. Specifically, the Supreme Court found fault with both the Board of Judges and the Board of Review. At issue was the amount of time Murray was allegedly exposed to asbestos. They have remanded the case back to the board for proceedings consistent with its opinion. (wvrecord.com)

Asbestos Law

Anchorage, AK: An Alaska company has been fined $70,000 and placed on three years of probation for releasing asbestos into the air in Anchorage.

Chief US District Court Judge Ralph R. Beistline (BISTE’-line) last week also ordered Copper River Campus to hire an environmental consultant to make sure it commits no more violations. Copper River Campus owns and manages buildings used by Copper River Seafoods on East 5th Avenue.

The US Attorney’s Office says the company knew buildings contained dangerous asbestos but ordered them to be demolished or renovated in March 2010.

Inspectors from the Environmental Protection Agency halted the work. Prosecutors say the work put friable chrysotile asbestos, the most common variety, into the air. (insurancejournal.com)

Tags: Asbestos, Asbestos Exposure, asbestos law, asbestos lawsuit, Asbestos Mesothelioma

This was posted on Thursday, December 27th, 2012 at 5:17 pm and is filed under Asbestos Mesothelioma, lawsuits . Feel free to respond, or trackback. Read our comments policy.