Asbestos Dust: Carpenter unaware of risk for mesothelioma, lung cancer, asbestosis

Asbestos dust on the job caused fatal health problems for carpenter decades later.

In recent news, a court statement written by a carpenter a week before he died from the asbestos-related cancer mesothelioma was read to a jury.

The carpenter discussed how he was exposed to asbestos dust in various work sites around New York.

He remembers being exposed to the asbestos dust ever since he first became an apprentice at a carpentry and joinery company in 1965.

The carpenter, 63, would often have to sweep up asbestos dust, cut fire doors containing asbestos and fix asbestos ceiling panels on local properties in Manhattan, Brooklyn, and Quees.

After his apprenticeship and throughout his working life, he was on a number of occasions exposed to a lot of dust, which he believed to contain asbestos.

In his statement, the father of two said: "In all my working life I was not warned about the danger exposure to asbestos dust. I was never given a mask sufficient to prevent inhalation of asbestos particles."

The carpenter and Brooklyn native started to work as a carpenter apprentice at a very early age.

He was no more than 16 or 17. He came into contact with asbestos dust. Part of his early employment involved sweeping up dust from wood and asbestos, cutting up panels, working in boiler rooms when pipes were being lagged, and putting up panels in houses.

How we can help carpenters exposed to asbestos dust

Many companies manufactured asbestos-containing products without any regard for the public. If you’d like to hold them accountable for the harm they have caused you or a loved one, please complete the form on this page for a free legal review.

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