Hundreds of homes in Portland have been demolished—many without properly removing asbestos, according to a recent report.

The Mesothelioma Cancer Alliance says that a conflict of bureaucracy has led to widespread failures of enforcement for existing asbestos removal regulations.

An estimate has come out saying that roughly one-thousand houses with asbestos have been demolished in Portland since 2002. Of these, experts estimate that 80% to 90% of demolished homes contained the toxic material, yet only a third of contractors have reported pre-demolition removal.

Several factors have come together to cause this situation. First, though the city of Portland passed ordnances requiring proper asbestos removal under the auspice of the Department of Environmental Quality, the law does not give the DEQ the authority they need to enforce the asbestos removal rules.

On top of that, there’s only one inspector position in Portland, a position which hasn’t been filled in three years. Per reports and estimates, this situation has led to many contractors ignoring the law.

The Problem With Asbestos

Asbestos is a serious concern. The material came into widespread use during the Industrial Revolution. Since asbestos is functionally fireproof and an exceptional thermal insulator, even under industrial conditions, the mineral found use in construction and other industries.

However, since the end of the Nineteenth Century, medical researchers have found increasing evidence that the hazardous material can cause serious health problems. Workers exposed to asbestos have been found to suffer from greater rates of lung diseases and cancers, including lung cancer and mesothelioma.

In the face of lung cancer and other horrific diseases associated with the toxic fibers, the US and most other western countries phased it out in the 1970s and 1980s.

Despite this, asbestos is still a serious concern for two reasons. First, it can take decades for mesothelioma and other asbestos cancers to manifest. But second—and very relevant to the situation in Portland—many old buildings still contain the dangerous substance.

In most situations, asbestos in a building is harmless, unless it is disturbed by renovation or demolition. In demolitions like those happening in Portland, destroying an old building can disturb old asbestos fibers, causing them to float into the air where they can cause mesothelioma and other diseases.

Asbestos Lawsuits

Asbestos lawsuits have been filed by people who develop lung cancer and other disease linked to the harmful material. Typically, asbestos lawsuits are filed against employers who exposed workers to asbestos or the manufacturers of asbestos-bearing products and components that exposed the people who used these products.

For example, many shipbuilders have filed suit against former employers who ordered them to work with the toxic material. Maintenance workers who worked with boilers and insulation have filed suit against employers who ordered them to work with asbestos without proper protection, or against companies that made insulation bearing asbestos.

Asbestos lung cancer lawsuits typically seek to recoup medical costs, receive compensation for lost wages, lost income potential, and to compensate surviving family members for wrongful death in cases where lung cancer or other asbestos diseases have claimed the life of the plaintiff before the asbestos cancer lawsuit could be filed.