Exposure to Asbestos Growing Concern

Long Island, NYEddie B. has polyps and scarring on his lungs and so does his mother. Eddie's father was Captain of a New York fire department in the 70s: he received a small settlement years ago due to asbestos exposure. Another firefighter and friend of the family wasn't so fortunate: he died from mesothelioma before receiving a dime from the settlement.

Understandably, Eddie is concerned that, due to his exposure to asbestos, he might develop asbestos-related cancer or mesothelioma. "My father thought he was doing the right thing when he refurbished our basement back in the 70s," says Eddie. "He put in a drop ceiling which was the highest fire retardant rating you could get—which meant it was coated with asbestos. Back then, nobody knew about asbestos exposure and I can't blame my father—he was only looking out for us.

Of course I am worried about second hand exposure to asbestos. One of my dad's jobs was to rip out walls and ceilings and he carried asbestos dust home with him. You come home and hug your dad, sit on the same furniture, wash your clothes in the same machine, dry them in the same dryer—like most families.

"Me and my older brother Ronnie had our bedrooms in the basement. He always has chronic bronchitis and respiratory problems. I remember waking up and seeing dust all over my bedspread. Just vacuuming this stuff up was hazardous and that is probably why my mum also has nodules on her lungs with scarring. My mum is the same as me--a non-smoker, yet always getting bronchitis.

Now I have developed severe asthma and allergies—both food and airborne. I have had several CT scans done of my lungs and they are positive for three polyps and lung scarring. I have never smoked and I have never had any other respiratory problems. All of a sudden, at the age of 40, I develop pneumonia every time I get a chest cold and can barely breathe.This has been going on for the past seven years. Everybody says to me why are you wheezing? And I'm tired all the time, I can walk but need frequent rests.

When my father retired about five years ago, he received a partial settlement through the firefighters' union. All firefighters who worked in the 60s, 70s and 80s were advised to get a medical evaluation and if it was determined that they had any long term damage, most of them opted in to a lawsuit. Back then, so many New York City firefighters had some asbestos-related illness. I remember when dad's co-worker passed away from mesothelioma…

Lately, I have been researching lung scarring on the web and it makes for scary reading. I don't know what is going to happen down the road for me. Luckily I have great benefits through work and that enables me to get tests and any medical care that I need. But it doesn't stop me from worrying about it.

As an aside, I used to be a legal systems coordinator for Pfizer, the pharmaceutical company, and that is when I first learned about asbestos. They knew that talc mining causes asbestos issues. [In the late 90s, hundreds of talc workers were found to have work-related respiratory disabilities.] They just funneled money away in an account so they could settle claims."