Law Offices of Thomas J. Lamb

  • Free Case Evaluation
  • Mesothelioma & Asbestos Diseases
  • Legal Compensation
  • Asbestos Overview
  • Common Questions
  • About Our Firm

A dying wish for schools

May 14, 2020 By Thomas Lamb

Teacher Lea DiRusso knows she won’t survive mesothelioma, but hopes Philadelphia schools makes good on its promise to protect students and staff from asbestos.

Lea DiRusso stared at the form in front of her, stuck on the words her doctor wrote to explain why she had to retire early from her career as a Philadelphia School District teacher: incurable mesothelioma.

“Incurable, incurable, incurable,” DiRusso said Tuesday. “It was echoing in my head.”

DiRusso, 51, spent her 28-year teaching career at two South Philadelphia elementary schools with known crumbling asbestos that the school system had largely papered over for decades. It’s been nearly nine months since she was diagnosed with an aggressive cancer caused by asbestos.

She became the public face of the school district’s failure to protect teachers and students from environmental hazards inside its aging buildings. DiRusso wants her death to mean something, her diagnosis to be an impetus for Philadelphia finally ridding its schools of the carcinogen.

But she worries that the district’s continued shoddy containment and removal work imperils that possibility.

“It’s like holding a grenade in your hand, and you’re pulling the pin out,” DiRusso said. “Do people not understand that this is deadly? Let me tell you, it is.”

Last month, workers began to remove asbestos fireproofing from steel beams that support the ceilings inside Bethune Elementary School….

Test results showed alarming levels of asbestos inside the gym. Worse, air samples taken outside the sealed work area, including in a hallway that leads to the school’s cafeteria and a food pickup spot, tested even higher — in fact, air samples ranged from five to 10 times higher than what city health officials deem safe, according to air-sampling logs and laboratory results.

[Article continues at original source]


 Asbestos & Mesothelioma Information

  Asbestos-Mesothelioma Case Evaluation
Free.  Confidential.  No Obligation.

Filed Under: Asbestos, Exposure, Mesothelioma Tagged With: asbestos, mesothelioma, Schools, Teachers

Do I Have A Possible Case?

If you have a possible asbestos disease or mesothelioma lawsuit, you can get a free, confidential, and no obligation case review from asbestos lawyer Tom Lamb.

Main Navigation Menu

  • Who Was Exposed to Asbestos
  • NC Asbestos Exposure Sites
  • Asbestos-Contaminated Talc
  • Asbestos Diseases
  • Legal Compensation
  • Free Case Evaluation
  • Frequently Asked Questions
  • About Our Law Firm
  • Attorney Tom Lamb
  • Collection of Articles
  • Sitemap

Attorney Tom Lamb

TJL@LambLawOffice.com

Phone: 800-426-9535

Lumina Station, Suite 225
1908 Eastwood Road
Wilmington, North Carolina

Please know that you can use our Quick Contact Form to tell us about your case.

Lamb Law Office Newsletter

Lamb Law Office Newsletter provides periodic updates about some of the cases that we are working on for clients, as well as an information resource you might find helpful.

Subscribe using Form below.

Subscription Form

* indicates required

Our Other Website

Lamb Law Office

Contact Information

Law Offices of Thomas J. Lamb, P.A.
1908 Eastwood Road, Suite 225
Wilmington, North Carolina 28403
910-256-2971 | 800-426-9535
TJL@LambLawOffice.com

  • Home
  • Disclaimer and Copyright Notices
  • Sitemap

Copyright © 2023 · Law Offices of Thomas J. Lamb, P.A.