Exposed to asbestos fibers

Demolition and remodeling activities are one of the most common ways that workers in the U.S. are exposed to asbestos fibers today. Asbestos exposure in the workplace can lead to serious respiratory diseases including mesothelioma, an incurable cancer of the lining of the lung.

New York Labor Department regulators have ordered the owner of a former paper mill in Lockport, New York to stop demolition on the structure, saying the owner knew the mill contained asbestos, yet permitted workers to continue tearing it down anyway.

According to the Buffalo News, property owner Scott Kryzanowski was cited with several violations including using a non-licensed contractor, using workers who were not certified in asbestos removal, starting demolition on the property at 89 Mill Street without an asbestos survey and refusing to allow inspectors to perform their review. Kryzanowski was told after a Sept. 3 site visit to stop demolition until the results of asbestos tests on the property were known. After the test results were returned in mid-September, state inspectors again found demolition activity at the mill. They cited the property owner and issued a stop-work order

Any kind of demolition activity can release into the air tiny particles of asbestos, a mineral fiber that was widely used in construction until the last 1970s. Unprotected or non-certified workers may unknowingly inhale the airborne fibers. Workplace exposure to asbestos is associated with respiratory diseases including mesothelioma, lung cancer, and asbestosis, a chronic scarring of the lung.

The city of Lockport had issued Kryzanowski a demolition permit without completion of an asbestos survery. Lockport’s chief building inspector said city officials they incorrectly understood that an asbestos survey wasn’t required if a commercial property owner undertook their own demolition.

A spokesman for the New York Department of Labor, said any property owner puts the community at risk when they don’t follow established rules and guidelines for removal of asbestos.