Asbestos News Roundup: 4.12.12 (Spotlight: Boiler, Furnace Workers Asbestos)

April 12th, 2012. By LucyC

A roundup of recent asbestos-related news and information that you should be aware of. An ongoing list of reported asbestos hot spots in the US from the Asbestos News Roundup archive appears on our asbestos map.

Boiler and Furnace Technicians Asbestos Disease Risk

According to the Environmental Protection Agency, insulation blankets (the outside covering or shell), door gaskets, duct insulation, and tape at duct connections of furnaces and boilers can all contain asbestos. Technicians who worked on repairing boilers and furnaces in the past would have been at risk for asbestos exposure.

Asbestos was used between 1930 and 1972 as high-temperature insulation for oil, coal, or wood furnaces, generally found in older homes. Steam and hot water pipes were insulated with asbestos-containing material, particularly at elbows, tees, and valves. Pipes may also be wrapped in an asbestos “blanket”, or asbestos paper (which looks very much like corrugated cardboard). Asbestos-containing insulation has also been used on and inside round and rectangular furnace ducts. Sometimes the duct itself may be made of asbestos-containing materials.

Anthony Lamano worked for years as a boiler technician. He recently died from asbestos-related lung disease, but his family was successful in their pursuit of damages against the companies that manufactured the asbestos-containing materials. You can read about his asbestos settlement below.

Asbestos Lawsuits

Charleston, WV: Gay and Barbara Williams have filed an asbestos lawsuit following Gay’s recent diagnosis of asbestos-related lung cancer. Diagnosed with the potentially fatal disease on January 25, Mr. Williams alleges he was exposed to asbestos and/or asbestos-containing products during his employment as a laborer from 1966 until 2005. The couple is suing 58 companies they claim are responsible for a lung cancer diagnosis.

The Williams are suing the defendants based on theories of negligence, contaminated buildings, breach of expressed/implied warranty, strict liability, intentional tort, conspiracy, misrepresentations and post-sale duty to warn.

The 58 companies named as defendants are: A.W. Chesterton Company; Air & Liquid Systems Corporation; Beazer East, Inc.; Bechtel Corporation; Catalytic Construction Company; Cleaver-Brooks Company, Inc.; Copes-Vulcan, Inc.; Crane Company; Dravo Corporation; Eaton Electrical, Inc.; Flowserve US, Inc. f/k/a Durco International, Inc.; Flowserve US, Inc. f/k/a Flowserve FSD Corporation; FMC Corporation; Foster Wheeler Energy Corporation; General Electric Company; Goulds Pumps, Inc.; Grinnell, LLC; Hercules, Inc.; Howden North America, Inc; IMO Industries, Inc.; Inductotherm Industries, Inc.; Industrial Holdings Corporation; Ingersoll-Rand Company; ITT Corporation; Hammel Dahl Valves; Joy Technologies, Inc.; McJunkin Corporation; Metropolitan Life Insurance Company; Morgan Engineering Systems, Inc.; Nagle Pumps, Inc.; Nitro Industrial Coverings, Inc.; Owens-Illinois, Inc.; Ohio Valley Insulating Company, Inc.; P&H Mining Equipment, Inc.; Reading Crane and Engineering Company; Riley Power, Inc.; Rust Constructors, Inc.; Rust Engineering & Construction, Inc.; Rust International, Inc.; Schneider Electric USA, Inc.; State Electric Supply Company; Sterling Fluid Systems (USA), LLC; Sunbeam Corporation; Superior Combustion Industries, Inc.; Surface Combustion, Inc.; Swindell Dressier International Corporation; Tasco Insulations, Inc.; The Alliance Machine Company; The Gage Company; UB West Virginia, Inc.; United Engineers & Constructors and Washington Group International; Viacom, Inc.; Electric Corporation; Viking Pump, Inc.; Vimasco Corporation; West Virginia Electric Supply Company; Yarway Corporation; and Zurn Industries, Inc. (westvirginiarecord.com)

Asbestos Settlements

New York, NY: Three asbestos lawsuits were successfully settled this week against major asbestos and manufacturing corporations.

The lawsuits all allege that the plaintiffs—long-time workers in industries that exposed them to toxic asbestos insulation—ultimately developed asbestos-related cancers that led to their deaths. The settlements will pass to the families of the deceased. 

One of the three plaintiffs, Anthony Lamano, served in the Navy from 1955-57, then worked for years as a boiler technician in Long Island before developing lung cancer. His lawsuit was filed and reached the jury selection phase before the defendants named in the complaint agreed to settle.

Two other clients’ cases were filed alongside Mr. Lamano’s. Lawrence Johnson worked for major power houses and construction sites as an insulator, later developing mesothelioma, a cancer for which the only known cause is asbestos. And, William Barthold worked as a pipefitter after serving in the Navy from 1942-46. He also died of lung cancer.

Asbestos Hot Spots

Marshalltown, IA : City officials in Marshalltown are urgently working to remove asbestos-laden debris, currently cluttering 135 E. Main St. And, the City Council has approved the filing of an asbestos lawsuit against building owners F&H Properties Corp. to mandate the cleanup.

According to a report in the Times Republican, city attorney, Curt Ward, said the city filed suit claiming that the rubble is a nuisance. The lawsuit would allow the court to seize the amount of money for the cleanup from F&H, owned by Charles Fairall and Ed Hughes, and hand it over to the city. (timesrepublican.com)

Tags: Asbestos, asbestos lawsuit, Asbestos Settlement, asbestosis, asbestos_mesothelioma, Boiler Workers, Furnace Workers, mesothelioma, Occupational Asbestos Exposure

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