{"id":13871,"date":"2023-06-27T17:42:17","date_gmt":"2023-06-27T23:42:17","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.asbestosclaims.law\/?post_type=blog&p=13871"},"modified":"2023-07-25T12:13:29","modified_gmt":"2023-07-25T18:13:29","slug":"asbestos-in-the-workplace-employer-responsibility-for-employee-safety","status":"publish","type":"blog","link":"https:\/\/www.asbestosclaims.law\/es\/asbestos-blog\/asbesto-en-el-lugar-de-trabajo-responsabilidad-del-empleador-por-la-seguridad-de-los-empleados\/","title":{"rendered":"Asbestos in the Workplace: Employer Responsibility for Employee Safety"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Workers rely on their employers for many things, including workplace safety. In most states, workplace safety is a fourfold responsibility<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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If you believe that you were exposed to asbestos, even as a child, speak to a healthcare provider about tests and screening to help diagnose lung-scarring and screen for <\/strong>asbestos-related diseases<\/strong><\/a>.<\/strong><\/strong><\/strong><\/strong><\/strong><\/strong><\/strong><\/strong><\/strong><\/strong><\/strong><\/strong><\/strong><\/strong><\/strong><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n
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The four points of workplace safety<\/h2>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n
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Safe environment and equipment<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
First and foremost, employers must provide safe environments and safe equipment. They cannot cut corners in this area. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Proper Safety Training<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
Additionally, employers must teach workers how to use the safety equipment and tell them why safety matters. Employers cannot assume workers already know these things. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Ensuring safety measures are used<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
Furthermore, employers must ensure their workers use the equipment. They cannot provide it and then blame workers for not using it. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
OSHA standards<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
Finally, employers must comply with all Occupational Safety and Health Administration regulations. And other such regulations, at all times. They cannot just clean things up when inspectors drop in.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
These rules are straightforward, but egregious violations are common. Recently, a Bay City, Michigan contractor  recruited workers at a homeless shelter and paid them $50 cash per day to remove pipes wrapped in insulation made with asbestos. Most of these workers wore shorts and flip-flops while they inhaled asbestos-laced dust. This problem is widespread. One expert believes that 40 percent<\/a> of asbestos abatement workers don\u2019t have proper safety equipment.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n
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Do You Qualify For Compensation?<\/p>\n        
Quickly and easily find out how you were exposed by searching W.A.R.D., the largest asbestos database on the planet.<\/p>\n        FREE SEARCH > <\/a>\n    <\/div>\n\n\n\n
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What is Asbestos?<\/h2>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n
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This abundant mineral doesn\u2019t conduct electricity or heat. The combination of low cost and high efficiency made asbestos a staple at construction sites for many decades. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Chrysotile asbestos<\/a> (white asbestos), a substance that resembles several layers of tissue paper, is the most common kind of asbestos. This kind of asbestos is easy to wrap around pipes and wires. This substance is also very fragile. It\u2019s a little more resilient than tissue paper, but not much more. As the paper deteriorates, the dust gets everywhere.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The health risks of asbestos exposure can include:<\/strong><\/strong><\/strong><\/strong><\/strong><\/h4>\n\n\n\n
Mesothelioma<\/strong><\/td>Lung cancer<\/strong><\/td><\/tr>
Laryngeal cancer<\/strong><\/td>Ovarian cancer<\/strong><\/td><\/tr>
Stomach cancer<\/strong><\/strong><\/td>Colon cancer<\/strong><\/td><\/tr>
Pharyngeal cancer<\/strong><\/strong><\/td>Asbestosis<\/strong><\/a><\/td><\/tr>
Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD)<\/strong><\/strong><\/td>Atelectasis<\/strong><\/td><\/tr>
Pleural effusion<\/strong> <\/td>Pericardial effusion<\/strong><\/td><\/tr><\/tbody><\/table><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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The danger is real.<\/strong> A single microscopic fiber could cause mesothelioma and other serious illnesses. More on that below.<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
Asbestos is also water and sound-resistant. Cheap asbestos-laced concrete was a popular substitute for more expensive waterproof concrete. For the same reason, many builders used asbestos-laced floor and ceiling tiles instead of more expensive alternatives.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
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Because of its low cost and versatility, different workplaces<\/a> all over the country used as much asbestos as possible.<\/td>\"Image<\/td><\/tr>
\"Image<\/td>For example, the World Trade Center tower builders planned to use 5,000 tons<\/a> of asbestos.<\/td><\/tr>
Monday-morning quarterbacking is no novelty in discussing history, and  a science blogger lobbyist first claimed that asbestos alternatives killed people on 9\/11, alleging: \u201cAsbestos is the best insulator we know of and not to use it because of hysterical public health reasons is absurd.\u201d<\/td>\"Image<\/td><\/tr>
\"Image<\/td>A cohort of researchers who actually studied the data have countered the blogger, stating: “no standard treatment of the steel, asbestos or otherwise, could have averted the collapse of the towers in the extraordinarily hot and violent blaze.\u201d1<\/sup><\/td><\/tr>
The director for WTC and Port Authority for two decades said they \u201ctested the hell\u201d out of asbestos replacement materials and he did not believe that accounted for the melting steel and collapse of the buildings.

He said that both towers withstood the plane collisions, which he watched from a New Jersey plaza. Steel loses fifty percent of its strength at 1100 degrees F, and the extended burning that made them buckle.2<\/sup><\/td>		\"Image<\/td><\/tr>
\"Image<\/td>At any rate, any cavalier dismissal of asbestos\u2019 dangers as described by Irving Selikoff, MD<\/a> seems driven more by contrarian sensationalism than having treated people struggling to fill their lungs.<\/td><\/tr><\/tbody><\/table><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n
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Asbestos Health Hazards<\/h2>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n
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Asbestos is definitely a good insulator, but the \u201cpublic health\u201d drawbacks are real. Asbestos fibers are much more toxic than PFAS \u201cforever chemicals,\u201d cigarette smoke, and other hazardous substances in our environment. Proven health hazards include:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
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  • Mesothelioma<\/strong>: Only asbestos exposure causes this rare and aggressive form of lung cancer. Even given the advances in cancer treatments since the 1990s, a mesothelioma diagnosis is usually a death sentence.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  • Asbestosis<\/strong>: Asbestos fibers don\u2019t just cause malignant tumors. They also burn narrow breathing passageways in the lungs. As the scar tissue builds up, the victim experiences severe breathing problems, even at rest. The only effective treatment is a radical and risky lung transplant.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  • Colon Cancer<\/strong>: Asbestos fibers often migrate through the body to the delicate digestive system. Once there, the fibers alter cell DNA and cause tumors. Colon cancer is more treatable than mesothelioma, but not much more treatable.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  • Cardiovascular Problems<\/strong>: Heart problems and lung problems, like asbestosis, often go hand in hand. Fibrosis of the lungs increases blood flow resistance to blood flow through the capillary bed. This condition could also occur with less severe fibrotic disease, especially if chronic obstructive pulmonary disease is simultaneously present, as is often the case with asbestos workers who have been smokers.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n