New York City’s history and legacy are inextricably linked to Consolidated Edison, Inc. thanks to Thomas Edison’s incandescent light bulb, Birdsill Holly’s steam power inventions, and the 20th-century dominance of natural gas power. All were innovations in heating, electricity and lightening that buoyed Consolidated Edison, Inc. to become one of country’s largest companies, one of New York’s largest employers, and the brand predominantly responsible for heating and illuminating the Big Apple and its five boroughs along with Westchester County and significant portions of New Jersey and Pennsylvania.
From the insulation and fire production at Con Edison’s many New York powerhouses to the insulated steam pipes that continue to be a pivotal part of New York City’s urban infrastructure, asbestos products are pivotal to Con Ed’s enormous utility business.
At The Williams Law Firm, P.C., our asbestos and mesothelioma attorney in New York is driven to achieve justice on behalf of Con Edison employees and their families who were exposed to asbestos and subsequently developed cancer.
If you or a loved one worked for Con Ed and later became severely ill, please contact our New York City asbestos lawyer today for your free case consultation: (855) 575-6376
The utility industry relied heavily on asbestos products throughout the Twentieth Century. Con Ed powerhouses were blanketed with high-heat insulation for such machinery as turbines, boilers, tanks, pumps, steam pipes, and valves. Much of Con Ed’s public equipment also includes asbestos components.
Thousands of New Yorkers over multiple generations helped build and maintain Con Edison equipment and infrastructure. It follows that many Con Ed employees and even their families were exposed to the type of asbestos products or dust that causes mesothelioma and lung disease.
Prominent Con Ed facilities in which asbestos or asbestos-containing products were used include:
New Yorkers who may have been naive about the health hazards related to asbestos inhalation were dealt a cold wake-up call in 1989. It was August of that year when a spontaneous Con Ed steam pipe explosion on Gramercy Park South took the lives of three people, injured two dozen more, and produced what The New York Times described as a “150-foot geyser of scalding mud and steam.”
In the days immediately following this tragedy, Con Ed officials denied that the public had been exposed to asbestos particles during the explosion. However local residents and New York City health officials reached the opposite conclusion. Five years later, Con Ed officials admitted in court that they’d attempted to mask a notable public health concern as the result of asbestos being released during the Gramercy Park blast. The company’s attempted cover-up resulted in hefty fines and court-ordered probation.
By 2007, Con Edison had little choice but become more transparent about the presence of asbestos in its facilities and infrastructure. That year, a steam-main rupture at Lexington Avenue and 41st Street caused the widespread distribution of muddy, asbestos-laden debris throughout the area, according to the company’s own communications. The presence of asbestos was significant enough that Con Edison advised anyone who was in the vicinity of the blast to place their clothing from the incident in a plastic bag and deliver it to Con Edison for safe disposal by trained asbestos handlers.
Con Edison employees and their families have secured multi-million dollar settlements after these utility workers became sick as a result of their jobs. Given Con Edison’s long history in New York, as well as the lengthy latency period that often transpires between the time a victim is exposed to asbestos and the time that person develops mesothelioma, there are many more Con Edison employees who may potentially become ill and need representation from an experienced New York asbestos attorney in order to secure just compensation for all of the expenses related to long-term medical care.
HAVE YOU BEEN DIAGNOSED WITH AN ASBESTOS-RELATED ILLNESS? CONTACT OUR FIRM TODAY TO DISCUSS DETAILS DURING A FREE CONSULTATION.
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