November 20th, 2007
A major law firm that handles asbestos suits won a small victory for tenants living in a New York building. The battle was over the removal of exposed ceiling asbestos, although residents had to live with the material for several months.
Residents of a New York apartment building won a small victory this week in an ongoing legal battle between their lawyers and the building’s developers. The residents have been exposed to asbestos for the last seven months; this week, an arrangement was made between the parties to have the asbestos removed. Unfortunately, the side effects of asbestos exposure can take decades to manifest, and the residents of the building have been living with the exposed asbestos for more than half a year.
The asbestos in the building can be found in the acoustic “popcorn” ceiling texture found in each unit. The material was often used in the 1960s and 1970s, and can easily come off ceilings as it degrades. Asbestos exposure can lead to many diseases, including asbestosis, emphysema and mesothelioma, a form of aggressive lung cancer. Though all the illnesses can be deadly, mesothelioma is often terminal at the time of detection, since the condition can lay dormant for years.
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