NY SCHOOL LAUNCHES ASBESTOS REMOVAL PROJECT
Upstate New York school to undergo asbestos abatement before renovations begin

Government health statistics indicate an elevated mesothelioma mortality rate among elementary and secondary school teachers -- the result of spending their professional years in aging school buildings riddled with old asbestos materials. Schoolhouse asbestos creates a serious health risk for teachers, students and even the asbestos abatement workers called in for its removal.

Schoolhouse asbestos removal

December 21, 2009 - Asbestos removal will precede a four-month renovation project at an upstate New York high school auditorium because without taking such precautions, renovation would disturb aging asbestos materials and force toxic fibers into the air.

Airborne asbestos fibers can lead to deadly illnesses such as lung cancer, asbestosis and mesothelioma.

The Kingston, New York, local Board of Education has awarded a $273,000 bid to the Pleasant Valley-based Meyer Contracting Corp. to renovate the school auditorium at Kingston High School.

The renovation project began last week, and is scheduled to be completed by April 2010.

Most school buildings in the nation were built in the last century, and many before WWII, when asbestos-containing construction materials, such as asbestos ceiling tiles and asbestos heating and pipe insulation, were commonly used as a precaution against schoolroom fires. Not fully understood at the time, airborne asbestos fibers are now recognized as a serious health risk.

The truth about asbestos

Despite the fatal diseases associated with asbestos exposure, asbestos is still imported and used in the United States for its insulation properties. The United States imported and used an estimated 1,820 tons of asbestos in 2007, according to the U.S. Geological Survey.

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 asbestos exposure on jobs – and usually contracted through employers’ preference for quick profits over the expense of maintaining workplace health safety.

Weitz & Luxenberg, P.C.

Weitz & Luxenberg has protected the legal rights of asbestos-injured school workers since 1986. And in that time the firm's mesothelioma lawyers have won several billion dollars in verdicts and settlements for clients injured by occupational asbestos exposure.

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.

Please know, the firm works on a contingency basis so there is no cost to you until we obtain a verdict or reach a settlement in your favor.