08/19/2010
Broward County FL, Mesothelioma News – The asbestos-laden pipes in a closed mobile home park have got to go, according to the Judy Paul, mayor of Davie, Florida. She cites concerns that the pipes, part of a shuttered mobile home complex scheduled for redevelopment into a park, pose a risk for deadly asbestos-related diseases.
Mayor Paul isn’t alone in her concern. Across the country, asbestos lawyers and experts have long warned any work that disturbs the material, still present in countless structures, could release asbestos fibers that can be easily inhaled by those nearby. That’s worrisome because those fibers can later trigger diseases like lung cancer and mesothelioma, a cancer of the protective lining covering many of the body’s organs.
While mesothelioma lawyers have been successful in obtaining large settlements and jury awards from those who have improperly used and handled asbestos, medical researchers have fared less well: Mesothelioma is nearly always fatal.
Town staffers had previously contended that the asbestos-cement pipes, which used to function as drinking water and sewer lines for the Palma Nova mobile home park, were safe enough to provide drinking water for a future park. But during a town council meeting in August, Mayor Paul said she’d rather not take any chances.
“There is something I want to put to rest,” Paul said. “When the Palma Nova land is developed as a park, I want it on record that we will remove and replace the [asbestos] pipes. It’s just the right thing to do.”
Locating and removing the asbestos-laden pipes will cost more than $30,000, according to town officials. That raises a point that has dogged efforts to handle and remove asbestos responsibly: Because asbestos inspections and the safe removal of the cancer-causing material can be costly, developers and others often avoid or improperly perform the necessary work, which raises the risk of asbestos-related diseases like mesothelioma down the road.
Such behavior has led not only to much preventable disease but has kept the courts busy, too, with mesothelioma lawyers filing and often winning asbestos lawsuits on behalf of stricken clients and their families.
Four of Davie’s council members have said they did not know the land contained asbestos pipes when they agreed to buy it in December for $12.5 million.
The plan to remove the pipes requires official approval from the town council. No vote was taken during August meeting.
This news story was brought to you by the mesothelioma lawyers at Cooney & Conway. For more than half a century, we’ve brought relief and recovery to those injured by the negligence or harmful actions of others. In the process, we’ve litigated some of the country’s most significant asbestos lawsuits, helping victims of mesothelioma, lung cancer, and other asbestos-related diseases get answers and justice.
