A NASA Glenn Research Center union has expressed concerns over the number of workers that have been diagnosed with cancer. However, studies have been carried out that put death rates due to cancer within normal limits.

Leaders of the Lewis Engineers and Scientists Association have asked members of Congress to initiate an investigation into the incident of cancer among workers at the Glenn Research facility. The union is also concerned about what it believes is reduced safety at the plant due to reduced shifts for night-time safety workers.

According to Dennis Pehotsky, a spokesperson for the Lewis Engineers and Scientists Association, approximately 40 out of 100 workers on the Developmental Engineering Building’s third floor have been diagnosed with cancer in the last three to four years.

Among other things, the union is concerned about the release of airborne asbestos and mold through a ceiling hole, as well as hygiene problems such as dirty filters.

Asbestos is often an issue at facilities built between the 1940s and 1980s, due to the enormously widespread use of the substance during these decades. Many commercial, residential and industrial buildings constructed during the era of peak asbestos use contain the substance in insulation and other building materials.

The fibrous mineral is an excellent insulator but is also highly toxic. It is a known carcinogen that can cause disease at relatively low levels of exposure. The mesothelioma cancers caused by asbestos are difficult to diagnose and highly lethal.

However, a report from the Ohio Department of Health and the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health that was released on March 26 says that cancer rates at the NASA Glenn Research center are within normal limits.

State and federal experts compiled the report using data taken from a confidential questionnaire completed by workers at the facility, which was built during the 1960s.

Dennis Pehotsky believes that the report’s results are invalid because some workers opted out of answering the questionnaire because they feared being identified.

The Glenn Research facility safety director, Thomas Hartline, said tests had shown the building was safe, and that the facility wanted to avoid paying for major repairs because it would be razed in 2010.

U.S. Rep. Dennis Kucinich, who represents the district where the research facility is located, said his staff will take the matter seriously and investigate if necessary.

This entry was posted on Tuesday, April 22nd, 2008 at 1:16 pm and is filed under Asbestos Exposure. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS feed. Responses are currently closed, but you trackback from your own site.