Smithsonian Employee Settles Asbestosis Lawsuit

Smithsonian Employee Settles Asbestosis Lawsuit

Rewritten Article

Smithsonian Employee Settles Asbestosis Lawsuit

Thursday, December 10th, 2009

The Washington Post letters today on a aloft display specialist who plan at the National Air and Space Building during his 28 year career with the Smithsonian Institute and who developed asbestosis as a result. Richard Pullman, 54, has acclimatized a accusation with the academy for $233,000, according to annal acquired by The Post this ages from the Department of Labor beneath the Freedom of Advice Act.

Pullman said he frequently sawed and accomplished into autogenous walls to install and amend exhibits for added than 25 years. In 2008, he and added workers were told for the aboriginal time that the walls independent asbestos, Pullman said. Asbestosis, a lung ache affiliated to breath asbestos fibers, was diagnosed in Pullman by his physicians.

This adventure bankrupt in March, causing Smithsonian Secretary G. Wayne Clough to adjustment an analysis of the facility’s abeyant asbestos acknowledgment by an alfresco consultant. The Institute chose to accomplish the address accessible because the Post had acquired a almanac of the accusation adjustment during their certificate search.

The report’s allegation cover the ascertainment that the Smithsonian bootless to accumulate a complete almanac on asbestos-containing material. Workers generally did not accept able advice on the area of asbestos or how to plan about it, according to the report. Workplace acknowledgment has after become an important affair at the museum, in ample allotment due to the account stories.

Pullman asserted that he was generally assigned the assignment of conduct through walls to arise exhibits if those walls independent asbestos or asbestos collective compound. Collective admixture acclimated for finishing out wallboard was a broadly acclimated asbestos artefact through the 1970s. In 1992 addition adviser retained by the building appear that there was 1 to 5 percent asbestos in the collective admixture acclimated in two dozen Air and Space building rooms. A akin aloft 1 percent is declared to activate worker-safety requirements; the Smithsonian has accustomed that artisan warnings rarely occurred.

The abstracts acquired by the Post appearance a arrangement of non-concern on the allotment of Smithsonian’s management. The 2007 affairs to alter the electrical arrangement addled contractors about the bulk of asbestos begin in the walls. The building maintained asbestos levels were beneath than one percent, at that time. Pullman calm dust samples from the building that showed top levels of asbestos content.

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Smithsonian Employee Settles Asbestosis Lawsuit