New York City Council Approves New Asbestos Safety Regulations

In November 2009, the New York City Council approved a new bill that would prohibit asbestos abatement and removal activities to take place concurrently with a demolition project. The legislation was enacted after two NYC firefighters lost their lives battling a 2007 fire where asbestos removal and demolition were taking place simultaneously.

In August 2007, New York City mourned the loss of two NYFD firefighters who were killed battling a fire at the former Deutsche Bank building near the WTC site. The fire, which broke out on the 17th Floor of the former 42-story structure, was found to have been caused by asbestos removal and demolition workers who had been smoking on the job.

The investigation into the fire confirmed that the demolition project increased the risk of fire at the abandoned building, and the materials required to be used at asbestos abatement and remediation projects to protect workers from exposure to dangerous asbestos dusts prevented firefighters from being able to control the blaze. In addition to the two fatalities, over 100 NYC firefighters were injured.

The bill will prohibit concurrent demolition and asbestos abatement unless the New York Department of Environmental Protection (DEP), the New York City Department of Buildings and the FDNY have inspected the site and determined that both demolition and abatement can be conducted safely. The law is scheduled to take effect in Spring 2010.

Other sections of the NYC legislation with regard to the abatement of asbestos materials include:

The establishment of an asbestos abatement permit program and enhanced abatement safeguards;

The enactment of a ban smoking at asbestos abatement, construction and demolition sites, as well as prohibiting anyone to carry tobacco products, matches or lighters at asbestos abatement job sites; and

Requirement that the DEP guide environmental contractors on how to maintain entrances and exits at asbestos abatement sites.

Serious Health Risks Caused by Exposure to Asbestos
The hundreds of thousands of workers at construction, renovation, asbestos abatement and sites in the past 50+ years all faced potential exposure to asbestos, a dangerous, cancer-causing mineral that is known to cause serious illnesses such as mesothelioma cancer, asbestos-related lung cancer and asbestosis.

When airborne asbestos fibers are inhaled, they remain in the lungs for decades. The latency period (the time between exposure and when symptoms of an asbestos disease are first discovered) can be 40 or more years long, leaving those exposed to the carcinogen many decades ago only now developing symptoms of illness.

When asbestos causes healthy lung tissue to scar, chronic illnesses such as chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) and asbestosis can develop. In more serious cases, the asbestos fibers trapped in the lungs trigger the lungs to produce abnormal cells, which leads to the development of lung cancer or mesothelioma tumors.

How Weitz & Luxenberg Can Help
If you or a loved one has been diagnosed with an asbestos 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.