Kentucky OSHA Orders Asbestos Survey at Maysville, KY Health Facility Required by OSHA Regulations

In December 2009, Comprehend, Inc., a Maysville, KY healthcare facility, was issued a citation by the Kentucky Occupational Health and Safety Administration (OSHA) for their alleged failure to conduct required asbestos surveys. The surveys are required due to the risk of serious illnesses such as mesothelioma cancer, asbestos-related lung cancer and asbestosis, all of which are caused by even short term or casual exposure to asbestos.

In December 2009, the Maysville, KY Ledger Independent reported on an OSHA investigation into whether required asbestos surveys had been conducted by Comprehend, Inc. Representatives for the non-profit corporation, which provides mental health and substance abuse counseling and treatment in several counties in Kentucky, were unable to produce documentation showing that their Maysville facility had ever completed an asbestos survey.

The Maysville facility, like any one of the hundreds of thousands of thousands of commercial, business and residential buildings built in the early 1960s, would have likely been constructed using any number of asbestos-containing products or other materials (ACM).

Asbestos May Be Present in Several Areas of the Facility
The facility is required to conduct an asbestos survey to determine all locations in the facility where ACM is present, the amount of asbestos in the facility and the condition of the asbestos materials.

Asbestos materials were typically used in many areas in buildings like the Maysville facility, such as:

Ground asbestos was sometimes used in the plaster applied to the walls and ceilings in schools, hospitals and healthcare facilities. In these cases, every time an employee or maintenance staff member nails or drills a hole into walls covered with asbestos-containing plaster, dangerous asbestos dust is released into the environment.

Asbestos insulation was commonly used in boiler rooms. In buildings heated by steam, asbestos insulation was also used to cover the pipes seen in the ceilings, walls and hallways of the buildings. As the insulation ages, the dusts flake and asbestos fibers are released into the air.

Asbestos-containing cements, mastics and insulation were typically used in the bathrooms and kitchens in schools and healthcare facilities. When pipes or fixtures are repaired or replaced, there is a risk that those performing the work were exposed to asbestos.

Asbestos insulation was typically used in subflooring materials, as well as in floor tiles used in schools and hospitals. When asbestos floor tiles are damaged, cut or removed, these renovation projects place those in the area at the time the work is performed at risk to inhale asbestos dusts.

Asbestos Disease Risks
When undisturbed and encapsulated (sealed) the risk for exposure to the dangerous carcinogen (cancer-causing substance) is minimal; however, when asbestos materials are in open areas where asbestos dusts can be released into the air, all those who have worked or received treatment at the facility are at significant risk for exposure.

The time between exposure to asbestos and when symptoms of asbestos disease are first diagnosed (known as “latency periods”) is 30-40 or more years long. Because of this long latency period, those who may have been exposed to asbestos in the 1960s or 1970s may only now be experiencing symptoms of an asbestos-related illness.

This latency period is caused in part by the microscopic structure of asbestos dusts. When inhaled, the sharp, jagged edges on asbestos fibers attach to lung tissue and are not easily expelled from the lungs by coughing, sneezing or blowing one’s nose.

Many decades later, the asbestos fibers can eventually cause healthy lung tissue to scar, resulting in chronic lung disorders such as asbestosis, pleural plaques disease or chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD).

In more serious cases, asbestos can trigger the lungs to begin to product abnormal cells that can lead to lung cancer tumors or mesothelioma.

How Weitz & Luxenberg Can Help
If you or a loved one has been diagnosed with an asbestos-related disease, we may be able to help you to seek justice for your illness and file a lawsuit on your behalf.

Please complete the form on this page for a free and confidential review of your potential asbestos lawsuit or request a free copy of our asbestos sourcebook. A Weitz & Luxenberg representative will contact you as soon as possible.