Asbestos in New York: What you should know

Among its many notable distinctions, New York City, the "Big Apple," the "City that Never Sleeps," also has a tragic and longhistory when it comes to the hazardous carcinogen, asbestos. Perhaps the most notorious asbestos company in the country, Johns Manville, was founded here in 1858 as the H.W. Johns Manufacturing Co., and specialized in the production of asbestos-based roofing, textiles, and insulation materials. For decades, asbestos was used in many of the city’s pipes, boilers, skyscrapers, and shipyards.

When you were wrapping the pipes with asbestos in the basement of the Pam Am buildings, or spraying the Empire State Building with asbestos solution, you were exposed to a highly toxic substance. The companies who employed you most likely knew that when you cut the asbestos drywall to install in the Chrysler building that the dust that flew up into your face was a powerful carcinogen. While you were mixing a cement-asbestos slurry or fiddling with those asbestos floor tiles, did you have proper protection? No.

Similar to you, these construction workers throughout New York City worked with a large range of industrial products containing asbestos such as insulation, ceiling and floor tiles, paints, coatings, roofing and fireproofing materials.

It does not matter to Weitz & Luxenberg whether you were wrapping boilers in asbestos at 30 Rockefeller center or in some basement in an office building in Queens, we can help. As one of the nation’s leading law firms, Weitz & Luxenberg has worked in asbestos litigation for over two decades, and achieved $3 billion in verdicts and settlement for clients in major asbestos cases. We are dedicated to providing the public with important information regarding asbestos-related diseases and what can be done legally to hold the companies who caused you or your family member’s illness accountable. Please continue to browse this website for further information.

Asbestos exposure in New York shipyards

Shipyards are another example of local asbestos sites in New York City that present a major threat for asbestos exposure. The workers at these shipyards who were exposed to asbestos were at significant risk of developing serious lung diseases such as mesothelioma, lung cancer, and asbestosis.

Shipyards in New York include:

The Bethlehem Steel Staten Island Shipyard
The Brooklyn Navy Yard
The Derecktor Shipyards
The GMD Shipyards
The New York NSY Shipyard
The United Shipyards Staten Island Shipyard

Shortly after the inception of the firm in 1986, Weitz & Luxenberg represented former Brooklyn Navy Yard employees who developed malignant mesothelioma after being exposed to asbestos in the 1940s and 1950s.Founding senior partner Perry Weitz was personally involved in this case, which represented 36 clients, and ended up securing verdicts of $75 million for their pain and suffering, as well as that of their family members.

New York City’s power plants: hotbeds for asbestos exposure

A discussion about asbestos in New York City would be incomplete without a look at the city’s major power plants. Perhaps the densest clusters of this long-misunderstood material are encrusted deep inside the city’s electrical power plants. A large amount of equipment and machinery inside the power plants were lined with asbestos to reduce accidents involving heat and fire. Ironically, this use of asbestos in New York City power plants has killed dramatically more workers than it ever saved from heat or fire.The Astoria Powerhouse in Queens and the Arthur Kill Powerhouse in Staten Island, both previously owned by Consolidated Edison, Inc. (Con Ed)are recognized for their extensive use of asbestos.

They are two of Con Ed's largest plants, and are responsible for exposing many workers to such asbestos-related diseases as asbestosis and mesothelioma.

The elevated amounts of heat generated in a New York City power plant demands a durable and reliable insulation material for safety purposes, and for decades asbestos insulation was the material of choice.

Power plants can be extremely dangerous places to work, even without the threat of toxic exposure. Giant generators and turbines are traditionally lined with asbestos. Workers who maintain this machinery are very likely to be exposed to its toxic fibers.

Asbestos-related diseases have a long latency period and can take up to 50 years before symptoms of mesothelioma develop. As a result, power plant workers, many of them retired, are only today being diagnosed with mesothelioma.

Asbestos-saturated power plants in New York City include the two big Con Ed plants discussed above (Arthur Kill Powerhouse and Astoria Powerhouse), the Charles Poletti Power Project in Queens, and the Hudson Avenue Generating Station in Manhattan.

Legal options for asbestos injury

If you worked inside any one of these at any time in your career and you have been diagnosed with mesothelioma, asbestosis or asbestos-related lung cancer, consider contacting a mesothelioma lawyer at Weitz & Luxenberg.

The consultation is free and the information you receive will be invaluable to you in your decision making at this difficult time. There are no obligations. But if you decide to move forward with an asbestos claim, please know we will pursue the maximum personal injury compensation you are entitled to.

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