Asbestos News Roundup: 9.6.12 – Community Asbestos, Asbestos Respirators

September 6th, 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.

Asbestos Exposure in the Community

You don’t have to work with asbestos containing products to suffer its effects. It is also possible to suffer asbestos exposure by living in a community or area located near an asbestos mine or a company that manufactures asbestos or products containing asbestos. Many older buildings may also contain asbestos insulation, including schools.

Perhaps the most famous victims of community contamination in North America are the residents of Libby, Montana, an asbestos-mining town. Vermiculite, which naturally contains asbestos, was mined there between 1923 and 1991. Workers and families of workers who lived in the town sued W.R. Grace, the last company to own the mine. At one point the company reportedly faced 110,000 lawsuits for sickening hundreds of people and contributing to the deaths of 225—allegedly with full knowledge.

Other examples of community exposure include the World Trade Center site after the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001, and areas prone to damage from natural disasters like Hurricane Katrina. But it doesn’t take a disaster for asbestos exposure to occur locally in your community—our Asbestos Hot Spot Map shows locations across the US in which asbestos has been an issue and, in many instances, asbestos abatement has been needed.

Most recently, hundreds of former residents of an asbestos-mining town in British Columbia Canada are deeply concerned about their asbestos exposure. According to the CBC, an estimated 50,000 people were employed over the lifetime of the Cassiar mine, which closed in 1992. They lived with their families in the now-abandoned town, about 220 kilometers south of the B.C.-Yukon border. The employees who worked in the mine were not issued with face masks, despite asking for them.

Asbestos Lawsuits

Olympia, WA: A lawsuit brought against respirator makers by a now-deceased shipyard worker, Leo Macias, will go forward, says the Washington Supreme Court.

Macias, who worked at Todd Shipyards, developed cancer as a result of cleaning respirators worn by other workers when they dealt with asbestos and other dangerous materials. In the lawsuit, Marcias claims the manufacturers never issued warnings that cleaning the respirators could be dangerous.

The state Court of Appeals threw out his lawsuit reasoning that it was the asbestos not the respirators that caused Marcias’ cancer, and consequently he couldn’t sue the respirator makers, Saberhagen Holdings, Inc. The Supreme Court reversed that in a 5-4 decision. Chief Justice Barbara Madsen wrote that when used as intended, the respirators posed a danger to anyone who cleaned them, and thus, Macias should have been warned. (Seattletimes.com)

Pasadena, CA: Residents of Harris County are suing Betesda Iglesia Hispana International and Ruben Perez, of Pasadena over allegations they were misled into buying asbestos-contaminated property in Pasadena.

Raul Rodriguez and Jose Juan Gonzalez filed the lawsuit, Harris County District Court Case No. 2012-44020, citing fraud, conspiracy to commit fraud and breach of contract.

In their lawsuit, the plaintiffs claim that on March 23, 2011 the defendants tricked them into buying asbestos-contaminated property, located at 600 Walter St. in Pasadena. In addition to hiding the asbestos, the defendants also failed to disclose that they were leasing the property and collecting rent, even after the sale was final, according to the lawsuit. The plaintiffs are seeking attorney’s fees, court costs and damages. (Ultimateclearlake.com)

 

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

This was posted on Thursday, September 6th, 2012 at 3:20 pm and is filed under Asbestos Mesothelioma, lawsuits . Feel free to respond, or trackback. Read our comments policy.