ASBESTOS IN NEW YORK CITY

New York City’s power plants are 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. A lot of equipment and machinery inside 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.

ASBESTOS IN NEW YORK CITY

July 8, 2010 – New York City has an impressive history when it comes to asbestos, a carcinogenic material used for decades as a reliable insulator. Johns Manville, perhaps the most notorious asbestos company in the country, 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.

Shipyards are another example of local asbestos sites in New York City that present a major threat for asbestos exposure. The Brooklyn Navy Yard comes to mind.

And then there are all of the New York City sky scrapers, most built during the 20th century with tons of toxic asbestos construction materials that still lurk in their multi-storied rafters. Who can forget the asbestos scare after the World Trade Center was demolished by terrorists in 2001?

ASBESTOS IN NEW YORK CITY

But when it comes to a discussion about asbestos in New York City, perhaps the densest clusters of this long-misunderstood material are encrusted deep inside the city’s electrical power plants.

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.

New York City power plants

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 personalinjury compensation you are entitled to.