Articles Posted in Asbestos Exposure

A recent news feature from The Harvard Crimson explains how asbestos was recently detected in an undergraduate dormitory known as Winthrop House and has caused at least one student to have to move out of his room and relocate to another dorm room.

The problems began last year when the student returned to his dorm room and found that a large piece of plaster form the ceiling above his closet had fallen and covered his clothing in dust during the process. This student contacted the residence hall staff, and a repair worker was dispatched to his room. When the worker arrived, he was concerned about asbestos and had a sample of the plaster tested at a materials lab. The lab confirmed the existence of asbestos. Continue reading

Many buildings in Boston, the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, and the rest of the United States were built during an era when asbestos was used in virtually every aspect of production. While the asbestos was very dangerous to those who manufactured the products and to the workers who installed them, residents and occupants of the building are usually not at risk.

The reason for this is because asbestos is only dangerous when it is inhaled, and, if there is asbestos in the walls, for example, there is not much risk of inhaling the deadly fibers. However, if the fibers are disturbed, the asbestos can become friable, which means that it is capable of being crushed by the pressure of the human hand. Once this happens, it becomes very dangerous. Asbestos can become disturbed by neglect that allows a building to crumble, and it can be disturbed in the process of conducting renovations or demolition. Continue reading

Palmer v. 999 Quebec, Inc, a case from the Supreme Court of North Dakota, involved a plaintiff who was born in 1955 and was raised in Duluth, Minnesota. He was diagnosed with malignant mesothelioma in 2011. He died four years later in 2015.

Kuettel, a predecessor in interest to the named defendant, supplied and installed insulation that contained large amounts of asbestos. Plaintiff’s father worked for this company for several years in the 1960s and 1970s when plaintiff was a child. Plaintiff alleged that he was routinely exposed to deadly asbestos fibers when his father would come home from work still covered with dust from the asbestos insulation products he was installing at commercial sites. Continue reading

Asbestos abatement (removal) must be performed by a certified contractor with employees that are properly trained in asbestos safety and who are provided with proper protective clothing including respirators or ventilators. All asbestos abatement must be done after obtaining permits from the Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection (MassDEP). Once proper permits are in hand, the work must be done in such a way that insures workers and those in the surrounding community are not exposed to deadly asbestos fibers.

There are a lot of ways to accomplish this. The area is generally tented off or otherwise sealed, and asbestos material itself may also be sealed prior to removal. In some cases, the asbestos removal workers will paint the material with a thick coat of industrial sealant to make sure the fibers cannot escape. This is similar to lead paint removal on bridges and other outdoor structures.   Once the asbestos debris is removed, it must be kept wet at all times to prevent dust from flying into the air, and then it must be secured in approved plastic containers. These containers must be kept sealed and transported to an approved hazardous waste facility. Even though it happens all the time, asbestos dust should never be placed in ordinary construction dumpsters. Continue reading

Residents of Westford, Massachusetts are proud of the Roudenbush Community Center building that has brought so much enjoyment to the area after it was converted to a community center in the mid 1970s. It was originally built as a private school, and, at the time, the designers spared no expense. The building was intricately designed and filled with architectural treasures. Even the railings on the staircases feature detailed carvings done entirely by hand.

While the building has been added to the historic registry, it has become a victim of its age, and it is starting to deteriorate to the point where it is causing safety concerns among residents and town officials.   For this reason, town residents are pushing their elected officials to allocate enough money from budget to restore the building to its former glory. However, due to the high cost and amount of work involved, the town officials are not sure what they will be able to do, according to a recent news article from Wicked Local Westford. Continue reading

While asbestos has not been used in construction in the United States for over two decades, it is well known that many older buildings in the greater Boston area contain large amounts of deadly asbestos fibers. For the most part, these fibers are not a threat to the occupants of the buildings unless the buildings are in a deteriorating state or building owners perform renovations or demolition work.

However, it is up to the building owners to make sure they are not exposing the occupants or general public to the deadly asbestos fibers. Unfortunately, they know that it generally takes between 20 and 50 years for the asbestos fibers to cause malignant mesothelioma, and the victims often have no idea that they are sick. Continue reading