Clapper, Patti, Schweizer and Mason

Workers at the Nassau Coliseum took their health and well-being into their own hands earlier this year and reported the presence of deadly asbestos at their workplace.  Occupational Safety & Health Administration (OSHA) inspectors came in to review their claims and discovered unhealthy levels of uncontained asbestos – a health hazard that’s responsible for roughly 3,000 new cases of mesothelioma per year in the United States alone. 

The operator of the Nassau Coliseum has been cited for 16 violations of OSHA standards and could face possible fines or other penalties as punishment for their lackadaisical approach to worker’s safety.

It is important to note that these violations only pertain to areas accessible to employees.  It is believed that all public areas of the Coliseum were and are currently safe for visitors.  

The Coliseum, officially called New York's Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum, was built in 1972 before the EPA’s Clean Air Act outlawed the use of asbestos in new construction.  Unfortunately, this has led to a health crisis at the coliseum for employees.  The crisis may cost the owners of the Coliseum (SMG) an estimated $88,000, with the possibility for more in the future.

The problem was so widespread that a handful of current employees have come forward to openly speculate that asbestos exposure caused the death of a number of their co-workers.  Roughly 80 current and former employees have filed asbestos related and mesothelioma lawsuits against SMG and the Coliseum for diseases and ailments they say were caused by unhealthy exposure at the jobsite.

Management had reportedly been notified of the health threat the exposed asbestos posed multiple times in the past, but insiders claim nothing was ever done about it.  In fact, at least one employee said that management told them not to worry about the asbestos. 

For their part, the owners of the aging building are not cooperating.  In a statement released to the press, SMG officials said they would be contesting the citation, and that they’ve already fixed the asbestos violations. 

Though this case is spectacular (mostly because the Coliseum is a public building and home to the Islanders,) it is not uncommon.  Many public and semi-public facilities across the country are in the same boat.  Jails, courthouses, government offices, and sports arenas built before the asbestos ban likely contain the toxic material.  It was a very common additive in a wide array of construction materials and as those materials age and decay the asbestos fibers can often become airborne.

There is no easy solution.  Asbestos remediation is a very expensive process and many of these cities and towns simply cannot afford it.  However, something must be done to protect the health and wellbeing of employees and the general public.