Georgia prison hospital staff claim a deep-clean of their building has exposed them to asbestos via numerous materials in the building including asbestos floor tiles. They argue that hospital management did not warn them sufficiently of the possibility that they would be exposed to the cancer-causing material.

Asbestos is a family of naturally occurring fibers that has been long used in constructor and insulation because of its heat-resistant properties. In the mid 20th century, asbestos use was severely limited and largely prohibited, as the material was found to cause cancer.

Originally, experts thought exposure to the material caused only lung cancer, but recently, asbestos exposure has been linked to the development of a range of cancers and other health problems.

Though asbestos use in construction, manufacturing, and building materials was outlawed in the United States, the material still appears in many older structures. Asbestos is not dangerous unless the fibers are released into the air and inhaled, so if an old building contains asbestos, it does not need to be torn down, but occupants must proceed with care. Currently, people can still be exposed to asbestos when an old building containing the material is remodeled, renovated, or extensively cleaned, and the asbestos fibers are disturbed. Asbestos insulation and asbestos floor tiles are two ways in which the material still appears in buildings.

There are federal and state laws that require employers to provide a safe environment for their employees, so in many cases, employees exposed to asbestos on the job may have a legal claim.

In Georgia, myAJC reports that employees at a prison hospital are claiming that an ongoing deep clean of their building is releasing asbestos fibers into the air, causing them to breathe in the harmful material. Furthermore, the employees claim that prison management neglected to sufficiently warn them of the presence of asbestos in the building, and their increased exposure to it as a result of the cleaning.

Augusta State Medical Prison is housed in an old building, which the Georgia Department of Corrections determined need to be improved. The project was extensive from the beginning, as black mold, piles of trash, and other unsanitary conditions were found within the building. More recently, asbestos was found throughout the facility, notably in an operating room, a setback that raised the cost of the cleaning project by tens of thousands of dollars.

Employees claim that prison management knew about the asbestos problem long before they notified employees, exposing them to hazardous toxins without their knowledge. One operating room wrote a letter to her supervisor stating “I have had consistent respiratory issues since March … I wanted to make you aware that I am documenting these issues,” according to myAJC.

The Department of Corrections has acknowledged the unacceptable conditions of the hospital, vowing to improve the facility going forward. However, reports allegedly suggest that hospital management have failed to address dangerous conditions.

For example, the hospital contracted a cleaning company to buffer floor tiles. Testing of the tiles revealed asbestos, and employees were exposed to the dust released from the process of buffering the asbestos floor tiles, meaning that they had been exposed to loose asbestos fibers, which is known to be extremely hazardous to human health.