DuPont-Victoria, Texas, sold their Textile and Interiors business to Invista for $4 billion on April 30, 2004.  Less than a month after the sale, Invista claims it discovered serious environmental hazards and public health risks, and as a result of these findings they have now has filed suit for $800 million.  Among the first finds was the benzene treatment unit which the lawsuit claims DuPont had operated illegally since 2000.

            According to the lawsuit, Invista had to act swiftly and report the violations and avoid criminal prosecution.  Invista, EPA and the Department of Justice have agreed to a consent decree in which the company will pay a civil penalty of $1.7 million and install major pollution controls at its various plants to resolve DuPont’s failures.          Invista has filed suit in the U. S. District Court Southern District of New York which also seeks punitive damages “because DuPont knew of several of the more dangerous safety and environmental violations, knew those violations placed its workers and the public at risk, took no action to rectify them, and failed to disclose them to Invista.”

          Short-term benzene inhalation could cause drowsiness, headaches and irritation in humans, while long-term exposure could include blood and reproductive disorders, according to the Environmental Protection Agency website.  Long-term exposure to high levels of benzene in the air can cause leukemia.

A $30.3 million award is believed to be the largest award for a mesothelioma lawsuit in the state of New Jersey. The lawsuit was filed on behalf of a 50-year-old man who died from mesothelioma caused by asbestos exposure. The man was exposed to asbestos fibers from the clothes his father and brother wore while they were employed in a parts warehouse owned by GM.

The case illustrates how asbestos can put anyone at risk for mesothelioma. It is not something that only effects construction, automotive and mine workers. The families and friends of workers who have been exposed to asbestos can be unknowingly exposed and put at risk for serious diseases.

Mesothelioma attorneys are currently working on cases involving those who have fallen seriously ill due to asbestos exposure.

A fire in November 2007 forced more than 200 residents of the Bellerive senior housing complex in Houston, Texas to evacuate. Four months later, the tenants have discovered that their possessions are now contaminated with asbestos.