WALLBOARD ASBESTOS

Workers risk asbestos exposure handling wallboard fortified with asbestos fibers

WALLBOARD AND ASBESTOS

May 17, 2010 – More than 5,000 building products containing asbestos have been used in the U.S. construction industry in the last century – including wallboard.

A deadly carcinogen, asbestos was integrated into these products to add strength and help prevent building fires. But workers who manufactured the products and consumers who lived with wallboard made with asbestos were at risk for developing fatal asbestos-related diseases that include mesothelioma and asbestosis.

Wallboard made with asbestos is not necessarily dangerous. It becomes dangerous when it ages, deteriorates, or is man-handled during renovation and demolition activities.

When physically disturbed, wallboard, which is made with asbestos cement, releases toxic fibers into the air, threatening work-site personnel with asbestos exposure.

How does that happen? When workers cut, sand or drill asbestos wallboard, microscopic asbestos fibers are dislodged and become airborne. When inhaled, these toxic fibers embed themselves in lung tissue and develop into tumors years later (sometimes decades later due to asbestos diseases’ long latency period).

Weitz & Luxenberg, champion to American workers

Many manufacturers of wallboard made with asbestos cement knew about the health dangers associated with their product but withheld this vital information from their own employees, as well as the public, to reduce overhead expenses and boost profit margins.

Thousands of retired workers diagnosed with job-related asbestos disease have filed asbestos claims against asbestos product manufacturers and obtained substantial compensations for their injuries.

Weitz & Luxenberg is New York’s preeminent asbestos-injury law firm, and is recognized in the legal community for obtaining record-setting verdicts and settlements for clients.

Protect your family’s financial future today. Use the communication form here to contact an asbestos cancer attorney at Weitz & Luxenberg for a free appraisal of your case and to determine your eligibility to receive financial compensation.