Today, it is commonly known within the medical community that asbestos-containing materials used at industrial or construction jobsites led to the death of thousands of Americans who suffered from mesothelioma and other deadly diseases like asbestos-related lung cancer.
Less commonly known is the fact that asbestos can be a serious safety risk after a wildfire. The California wildfires in October of 2017, for example, burned more than 245,000, nearly 9,000 structures were destroyed and an estimated 42 individuals lost their lives. While this damage is devastating enough, the ash and debris left behind may create additional asbestos safety risks for people and the California environment alike.
How Wildfires Can Create an Asbestos Health Risk
Across California, many older buildings and even homes still remain that used asbestos containing-materials and products during insulation, drywall, roofing or flooring construction (to name just a few applications).
When wildfires set these older structures ablaze, asbestos can be disturbed when these products are ignited by fire, leading to the tiny fibers of asbestos being included in the fire’s smoke. When the fibers are inhaled or swallowed, this can cause mesothelioma and a range of other illnesses caused by asbestos.
Worse, if ash and debris polluted with asbestos toxins are followed up by large rainstorms before cleanup efforts are underway, then the toxins can flow into drainage systems and pollute nearby waterways while carrying asbestos.
The possibility of inhaling or swallowing asbestos is elevated after the wildfires based on these potential health risks, particularly for firefighters and owners of older homes who choose to perform home cleanup on their own.
Homeowners should be advised that there is significant risk involved in returning to a property that may lead to asbestos exposure or exposure to other toxins before cleanup is completed. For this reason, California officials in Santa Rosa and other northern California areas caution that there are serious health and safety risks/dangers involved with returning to the property before professional hazardous cleanup services are completed.
These warnings should not be taken lightly, as California has already suffered greatly from the harms of asbestos.
California Asbestos Exposure by the Numbers
4,295 Californians died from mesothelioma between 1999 to 2015, an alarming figure that reveals California has lost more lives to mesothelioma than any other state. The CDC also reports that California has a very high mesothelioma death rate, with approximately 11 deaths per million residents every year.
Simply put, asbestos risks are too great to ignore, as too many Californians have already passed away from wrongful asbestos exposure that occurred at their jobsite.
The Ledger Law Firm represents victims of wrongful asbestos exposure whenever such an exposure causes mesothelioma or another asbestos-related illness. We help victims hold responsible parties accountable by providing that legal wrongdoing exposed victims to the harms of asbestos unnecessarily.
This evidence is what is needed to ensure victims of wrongful asbestos exposure receive the justice and legal compensation. Contact us today to protect your legal rights if you or a loved one has been the victim of wrongful asbestos exposure and an asbestos-related illness.
