One week after reporting on asbestos contamination in OxyChem’s Niagara Falls chlorine plant, Pro Publica has revealed that neighbors of another of the company’s New York plants have been sickened by malignant mesothelioma and other asbestos-related diseases. The publication reports that since the 1990s, the company has been named in multiple personal injury lawsuits, many of which they have settled out of court.
Mesothelioma Victims Recall Blue Dust on Windowsills and Ball Fields
According to mesothelioma victims and their neighbors quoted in the Pro Publica story, OxyChem’s industrial plastics plant was located just a mile from their North Tonawanda, New York neighborhood. Residents recall blue dust that regularly settled on windowsills, feathery blue material laying on freshly fallen snow, and blue material littering a Little League ball field where children played. People found the asbestos inside their homes and on the seats of their vehicles.
Pro Publica found that the majority of the mesothelioma lawsuits filed against OxyChem by these neighbors have been settled out of court: the company has consistently denied responsibility for victims’ injuries. The company has also denied mishandling of asbestos in its Niagara Falls, New York chlorine plant, which is located just ten miles from the plastics plant. Last week Pro Publica detailed how asbestos accumulated within that plant and the lack of protection offered to employees.
Plastics Plant Had Been Named in Mesothelioma Lawsuits by Former Employees
According to lawsuits filed by victims, when asbestos dust accumulated within the plastics plant, workers were instructed to use air hoses to blow them out, which is how residents believe the toxic material reached their neighborhood. Workers sickened by the material have previously filed suit against the plant. Today, many former employees recall the 100-pound bags of asbestos that they worked with, and how the material would cover their faces and coat their work clothes.
Negligent handling of asbestos like that described in the Pro Publica article has been blamed for mesothelioma diagnoses for decades. If you or someone you love has been a victim, contact the Patient Advocates at Mesothelioma.net today at 1-800-692-8608.
