West Virginia University has reached a settlement class-action case that affects up to 5600 current employees and former employees may have been exposed to asbestos, the school announced Tuesday. As part of the solution and pay WVU to launch a program of health surveillance will be implemented for 20 years. WVU also agreed to pay a $ 1,000,000 to cover potential claims and legal costs. The court must approve the agreement before it becomes final. The hearing is scheduled for December 22.
University employees continued in 2000 and sought medical monitoring for potential health problems related to asbestos after working in university buildings containing asbestos insulation. The workers, including teachers, custodians, secretaries and other staff, alleged that asbestos in campus buildings to put them at increased risk of cancer. The university said in a statement that the agreement has been reached in the compromise.
WVU maintains that all practices recognized standard for asbestos removal have been observed in recent years, and that the population of workers through routine monitoring of buildings and air samples are safe from any harmful effects of materials containing asbestos, said University. Until the 1970s, asbestos was widely appreciated for its resistance to fire and heat. Since then, the medical community has warned that asbestos, when inhaled can cause diseases such as mesothelioma, a rare and little in the form of lung cancer. It will also cause asbestosis, an irreversible scarring of the lung and other lung diseases.