Former firefighter trainees at the Old Naval Training Center (NTC) located north of the San Diego International Airport might be at risk for asbestos related disease, according to an NBC San Diego report.

For several years, thousands of firefighters have trained at the facility and were exposed to asbestos and even lead which was part of the flooring, wallboard, insulation and ceilings.

The NBC reports that they gained access in the course of their investigation to the City of San Diego Fire Department’s internal records. Records allegedly revealed that the department was aware of the presence of asbestos and postponed total abatement of the NTC for about 15 years.

In 2018, the Fire Department’s Cancer Awareness and Prevention Program Manager submitted a scientific paper outlining the risk for asbestos disease that NTC trainees were shouldering. He claims that shortly thereafter he was conveniently eliminated from the asbestos abatement project.

The risk for asbestos related disease is directly proportional to the length of exposure, as indicated in the NBC article.

A civil litigator who is well-versed in the various asbestos health issues claims that mesothelioma—an asbestos cancer that attacks the lining of the lungs, pericardium, abdomen, and sometimes testes—is without a doubt deadly and that patients so diagnosed typically are exposed and succumb to the disease within 18 months.

While further investigation supports the notion that average life expectancy from diagnosis to death is 18 months, exposure to airborne asbestos fibers can increase the risk for asbestos disease that doesn’t become active for an average of 35 to 40 years.

This is known as its latency period. During this time, the fibers are quietly causing irritation and even DNA changes.

With this latency period in mind, the exposure former firefighter trainees at the NTC have had may not result in medical consequences for decades. According to a Firehouse article, the president of the local firefighters union was indignant when he discovered how the department had allegedly disregarded the exposure to which recruits had been subjected.

He claims that they put stop gap solutions in place, but never fully addressed the problem in its entirety.

The City converted the NTC to a fire and police training facility at least 20 years ago, according to NBC.

As part of firefighter training, recruits would drag heavy equipment across asbestos-laden floor tiles and crawl on their hands and knees where they could easily breathe in fibers released by the tools. Each trainee would spend several hundred hours at the facility in this manner.

Records uncovered revealed that the Fire Department was aware of the presence of asbestos since at least 2002 and only engaged in spot removals—ostensibly to save money.

In 2015, an assistant instructor at the NTC finally weighed his personal risk for asbestos related disease against the value of his position and made the decision to quit. He blamed his growing concern over the state of the NTC and the presence of asbestos. Damaged tiles in the building were located shortly after he left his position.

Although training resumed after removing these tiles in the building, it wasn’t until last summer that the facility was closed until complete asbestos abatement can be completed. This final closure was allegedly due to pressure from the firefighter’s union.