Los Angeles Department of Water and Power and Asbestos Exposure
Many of the power plants the Los Angeles Department of Water Power (LADWP) relies on to service the greater Los Angeles area were built before workers and the public recognized the dangers of asbestos exposure. Like power plants across the country, those plants were built under contract with LADWP from the mid-1930s to the late 1970s and all contained asbestos.
Power plants used asbestos in many different forms for electrical and heat insulation. For example, Monokote was an asbestos spray foam used to insulate pipes and gaskets. Los Angeles power plants also used asbestos cement, fireproofing, gaskets and other asbestos products.
Unfortunately, the asbestos mineral that was so useful in protecting property from damage and wear due to fire and excess heat also caused untold damage in the lungs and other internal organs of hundreds of thousands of workers.
If you worked in a LADWP power plant before the 1990s, chances are that you suffered asbestos exposure. The experienced California mesothelioma attorneys at Kazan, McClain, Lyons, Greenwood & Harley, PLC can help you if you received a mesothelioma diagnosis as a result of asbestos exposure in a LADWP plant or other Los Angeles worksite.
Asbestos woes continue to haunt LADWP
In 2010, a 72-year old woman and her husband received a verdict of $208 million against LADWP and a pipe manufacturer, Certainteed. The woman had been exposed to asbestos through her husband, who worked for more than two decades on water pipe maintenance at LADWP and spent every day in the vicinity of asbestos insulation and asbestos pipes. His wife suffered asbestos exposure second-hand, coming in contact with the fibers as she washed her husband’s work clothes.
In 2008, the federal Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) fined LADWP for demolishing structures without notifying the EPA as required by law. In 2007, LADWP had demolished the buildings along Highway 111 near Niland, California without following the safeguards required by the EPA and federal law.
Choose a skilled mesothelioma attorney
The mesothelioma attorneys at Kazan, McClain, Lyons, Greenwood & Harley, PLC have dedicated their professional lives to helping mesothelioma patients as they pursue financial redress from the employers and manufacturers responsible for exposing them to asbestos. If you or a loved one are in need of a mesothelioma attorney in Los Angeles or anywhere in California, please call us at 1-866-804-2311, or contact us online. We look forward to meeting you for a free initial consultation.
