Widow files suit as former teacher dies of asbestos related lung cancer

By Brian Cole

Published on May 31, 2006

Caswell’s widow claims that her husband was exposed to asbestos during the 34 years he was employed as an English teacher at Plainville High School. School officials have never contested the fact that there is asbestos at the school, as is common in buildings constructed in the 1960s. Materials such as adhesive, floor and ceiling tiles, and insulation were commonly made of asbestos.

Since the dangers of asbestos were discovered in the 1970s, several projects have been undertaken to try and rid the school of the potentially fatal carcinogen. According to the school business manager, Alan Schutz, this was done my removing the majority the materials containing asbestos.

Mesothelioma is a lung cancer that affects the outer lining of the lungs and chest cavity. According to Chris Hahn, executive director of the Mesothelioma Applied Research Foundation in Santa Barbara, California, this type of cancer has a nearly 100-percent fatality rate.

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