ASBESTOS FLOORING

Watch your step when it comes to working with asbestos-based flooring materials

September 27, 2010 – Before Congress enacted the Asbestos Hazard Emergency Response Act (AHERA) in 1986, many building products on the market contained asbestos – a cancer-causing naturally occurring fiber unwittingly used for decades to strengthen and fireproof common building construction materials, such as asbestos flooring products.

Before AHERA, asbestos flooring tiles contained up to 30 percent asbestos. When asbestos tile setters went about their installation work cutting, trimming and fitting asbestos flooring (often for years throughout a career), they unknowingly placed their health and their lives at risk on a daily basis.

That’s because the root of occupational asbestos exposure starts with accidental inhalation of airborne asbestos fibers, in this case those fibers dislodged during floor tile installation or removal projects. Asbestos is so toxic, the diseases it causes kills 90,000 people worldwide every year, with 10,000 dying in the United States alone, says the U.S. Centers for Disease Control.

Mesothelioma is an insidious cancer. Floor tile setters who worked with asbestos flooring decades ago are only now being diagnosed with asbestos disease because of mesothelioma’s long latency period. Twenty to 50 years can elapse after occupational exposure before the initial symptoms of a deadly cancer like mesothelioma appear.

Thousands of workers have been blindsided late in their careers, and even in their retirement, by an unexpected medical diagnosis of cancer attributed to their work with asbestos decades ago.

Other hazards of asbestos flooring

Additional hazards of working with asbestos flooring include the adhesives used to set the tiles. Flooring adhesives also contained asbestos. Asbestos exposure can occur during remodeling activities like ripping up old asbestos floor tiles or scraping the encrusted floor of brittle, dry asbestos-based adhesives. That’s when toxic asbestos fibers become airborne and are known to enter workers’ lungs.

Prior to the 1980s, linoleum and floor tile installers were kept in the dark by contractors and product manufacturers and basically unaware of these health dangers. Many floor tile installers went about their work without a respirator, which is required by law today. In fact, the removal of old asbestos flooring materials must now be conducted in accordance with strict government regulations enforced by the U.S Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA).

Asbestos flooring still lingers in old buildings

Though asbestos flooring materials have been removed from the market, miles and miles of it are still embedded in homes, government buildings, and even school buildings constructed before the 1980s.

Today, asbestos is more widely recognized as the deadly carcinogen it is, and only to be removed by professional asbestos abatement contractors in accordance with the law.

Seek justice through a compensation award

Thousands of asbestos-injured workers have filed asbestos claims and obtained substantial verdict and settlement awards as compensation for their work-related illnesses. The New York City-based law firm of Weitz & Luxenberg is recognized coast to coast for providing the very best in mesothelioma legal support.

The firm specializes in asbestos-injury litigation and is known for obtaining record-setting compensations on behalf of clients who have fallen ill from job-related asbestos exposure. If you worked with asbestos flooring in the past and you’ve been diagnosed with mesothelioma, asbestosis or asbestos-related lung cancer, you may be eligible for significant financial compensation.

For a free review of your case, use the communication form on this page. There is no obligation. The information is free and will help you make informed decisions at this strategic time for you or your loved ones.

Let us protect your family’s financial future today.