CALIFORNIA ASBESTOS
Asbestos scare halts Fresno Police Department construction project

Nation’s asbestos epicenter: California and Los Angeles. California and Los Angeles have the highest rates of asbestos-related deaths than any state or any city in the country, according to the EWG Action Fund, a Washington, D.C.-based nonprofit environmental research group.

Asbestos in California

September 22, 2009 - A construction project inside the facilities of California’s Fresno Police Department was halted abruptly yesterday when it was learned that about 90 employees may have come in contact with asbestos-containing construction materials.

A city spokesman told The Fresno Bee yesterday that workmen installing fire-suppression equipment next to the department’s communications center discovered that some of the asbestos may have been disturbed during the project, which can release minute asbestos fibers into the air.

If airborne asbestos fibers are inhaled they can become lodged in the lungs. Long-term asbestos exposure is linked to certain deadly cancers, including asbestosis, lung cancer and mesothelioma.

Facts about Mesothelioma

Health authorities report that mesothelioma kills 3,000 Americans every year, and that it is primarily an occupational disease.

Victims and their surviving family members are often eligible to obtain large restitution awards through a mesothelioma lawsuit to help pay for medical bills, lost wages and damages.

Fresno, California, asbestos project

About 90 police department employees had been in the contaminated area during the construction work. The project was immediately delayed and the department's communications center was relocated off-site without disruption to Fresno's emergency 911 systems, according to news reports.

The Fresno Bee reported that some employees entering the equipment rooms may have unknowingly carried asbestos-containing debris into the communications center on their clothing. Employees have the option to seek medical attention on their own and to file a claim with the city, a spokesperson told the media.

Time to seek justice

Weitz & Luxenberg has protected the legal rights of workers since 1986. And in that time the firm's mesothelioma lawyers have won several billion dollars in verdicts and settlements for clients injured by job-related asbestos exposure.

If you have been diagnosed with mesothelioma and seek a free case review, please notify us through the communication form on this page. We will pursue your claim with vigilance to help you pay for medical bills, lost wages, and suffering.

Because the firm works on a contingency basis, there is no cost to you until we obtain a settlement or a verdict in your favor.