The Bronx
As the northernmost borough of New York City, the Bronx holds the distinction being the only borough that is predominantly contiguous with the U.S. mainland, rather than being an island. Typically associated with early immigrants to the United States, the Bronx has always been a blue-collar and diverse area of the New York metropolitan area. Unfortunately some institutions and development officials have not always treated residents of the Bronx fairly. One of the ways in which residents of the may have been mistreated is possible exposure to asbestos at factories, passenger or transport rail terminals, or power plants where many of the Bronx's approximately 1.3 million residents work to feed their families.
Manufacturing
As with many early immigrant communities in the United States, the Bronx's primary foundations we within the manufacturing sector. The Irish and other immigrant groups began pouring off of Ellis Island and into the city suburbs. The sprawl of the city by that time was so much that these immigrants began working in the factories to the North of Manhattan, in Bronx County. These factories were important because they provided jobs for so many of the city's immigrant citizens. Though the worker's had little choice to work in these factories, (as often, the alternative was no work!) they nonetheless were an integral cog of the developing city industrial complex.
Early manufacturing centers were dirty and oftentimes, ill maintained places of employment. The working conditions factories of the industrial age, while important economically, were a dark part of the growth of manufacturing. Immigrant populations often had to work long hours in cramped and poorly ventilated areas, where they may be exposed to toxic materials unknowingly. Most manufacturing centers in the Bronx closed in the second half of the 20th century due to a shift towards a primarily residential borough. However, while employed at many of these manufacturing plants it is possible workers were exposed to asbestos, which was used for a number of industrial purposes. Asbestos was used in insulation materials and was added to many other materials that required insulation or an agent to prevent temperature variance. Asbestos was not only used in manufacturing itself, but also was used in many of the dusty factories which covered their pipe and electrical fittings in dangerous asbestos fibers. These materials were outlawed in the last quarter century, but many residents of the Bronx who worked in the manufacturing sector may have been exposed.
Mass Transit
One of the trademarks of New York City today is the subway line, which connects all areas of the city. The subway line and other passenger rail lines were important to the growth of the city as they connect people with their jobs and their families in other areas of the vast metropolitan area. The Bronx is no exception, as it served today by six lines of the New York City subway. The rail and subway lines of the Bronx are an important asset used by hundreds of thousands each day, and employ thousands of others, making them an indispensable aspect of Bronx life today.
One of the unfortunate realities about subway lines is that they have not always been the safest places to be employed. As any subway worker can tell you, there are dangerous circumstances encountered each day in the servicing and maintenance of these lines. Some dangers are more readily apparent than others, such as high voltage situations and moving trains. However, there are some dangers that many are unaware of, such as the release of toxic materials in the catacombs of subway lines. One of the more commonly encountered toxins in rail lines is asbestos. Asbestos was used in many aspects of commuter rail lines, but was most used as insulation for exhaust pipes and electrical fixtures, which run throughout the subway lines. Sometimes, rail line workers will come into contact with these materials while repairing or maintaining the operation of the subways and railroads. These materials, when inhaled pose a serious health risk. Asbestos still permeates almost all of the New York City subway and commuter lines, with most of it being relatively harmless. However, each day many people are exposed to harmful levels of asbestos inhalation due to poorly maintained exhaust or electrical fixtures.
Construction
The whole of the Bronx used to be somewhat of an integration of low rise residences and factories, which employed its residences. However, urban sprawl resulted in many of the factories being moved or closed and more residential high-rise apartment complexes being built sometime during the middle of the 20th century. In1963, the Robert Moses Cross Bronx expressway split the Bronx in half and leveled much of few remaining low-rise residential properties in the area. From this point, a darker period in the history of the Bronx began. The Bronx became a haven for low-income housing and abandoned buildings, both of which conducive to high crime rate and property devaluation. This continued up until the early 1990's, when the Bronx began somewhat of an urban renewal. This continues today as cranes and construction efforts are what define the Bronx today to many New Yorkers.
Unfortunately, due to the abandonment of many of the buildings and factories in the Bronx, they fell into disrepair and were never modernized. These types of buildings are particularly prone to the presence of asbestos, which was used as an insulation agent in many of their materials. While in the process of refurbishment and reconstruction, it is possible many employees have been exposed to these harmful asbestos particles, which were present in a myriad of older building materials. When these older materials are ripped out of older structures, the asbestos particles may have become airborne and inhaled by those working with the material. Oftentimes, the presence of asbestos is not even known and the workers continue to inhale its deadly fibers, which have been clearly linked to several respiratory complications.
