ASBESTOS IN SCHOOL
Deteriorating asbestos materials in old school buildings contribute to high mesothelioma mortality rate among teachers, say Feds

Asbestos in school: A case study follows

October 19, 2009 – School teachers and asbestos. Government health statistics indicate an elevated mesothelioma cancer mortality rate among elementary and secondary school teachers – the result of spending their professional careers in aging school buildings laced from ceiling tiles to basement pipes with asbestos.

Most school buildings in the nation were built in the last century, when asbestos-containing materials (i.e., ceiling tiles, heating pipe insulation, etc.) were commonly used.

In a 2003 report by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency titled, “The ABCs of Asbestos in Schools,” the federal agency disclosed that “there are asbestos-containing materials in most of the nation’s primary, secondary and charter schools.”

CASE STUDY: Asbestos dangers in school

New York personal injury law firm Weitz & Luxenberg recognizes the disturbing incidences of asbestos-related mesothelioma among the nation’s school teachers.

The firm often receives communications like the one we received, below, from the colleague of a North Carolina University professor who died from occupational asbestos exposure.

Intake operator's notes: Deceased worked as a teacher and professor his entire career. Started teaching in the 1950s at a high school in Ohio. He was a college teacher in Amherst. He came to North Carolina in 1964 and started teaching in North Carolina University. He did not smoke. Diagnosed with mesothelioma September 10, 2008. Died five weeks later on October 23, 2008.

Letter begins: “I am the partner and executor of the estate of Dr. ___________.

“He was in great physical health up to that point, and everyone was shocked when they heard the diagnosis.

“He taught at many schools through his career, but we know that one day while he was working at his last job of 27 years, the asbestos wrapped heating pipes in his office burst. The school suggested that he continue working in his office until the burst pipes could be repaired. That was at least 20 years ago.

“I remember all his office art work got wet from the spraying steam that was leaking from the asbestos pipe insulation, and he had to bring all the office art work and paintings home to dry out. He continued working in this office with the burst pipes and steam spraying out for at least 4 days before they could get the problem corrected with the burst pipes.

“He worked at that same job for over 27 years before retiring, and he had that same office for most of that period of time. We suspect that is where he contracted the disease and I do have some pictures of the pipes that were in his office.”

The truth about asbestos

Government sources estimate that in the next decade more than 35,000 people nationwide will be diagnosed with the deadliest form of asbestos-related cancer, mesothelioma.

Mesothelioma is most often the result of occupational asbestos exposure – and usually contracted through employers’ preference for profits over the health and safety of their workers.

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.

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 win a settlement or a verdict.