The State : Homeless Get Asbestos Jobs

Hundreds of homeless people in the Bay Area have been hired over the last three years to remove asbestos from California buildings, according to the Oakland Tribune. At least four contractors have made a practice of using destitute people for the hazardous work, the paper said, and those who did the work claimed they were not told of the dangers or given protection. Ingestion of asbestos fibers can cause cancer. While most Bay Area asbestos contractors denied endangering homeless workers, the newspaper found that homeless people made up from 20% to 90% of crews in some firms--including Bechtel-Control Asbestos Management Inc. and SOS International. The homeless were attractive hirees, some claimed, because they were considered unlikely to file health-related lawsuits in the future. “Twenty years down the line, they’re going to barely remember who they worked for,” said Terry Messman-Rucker of the Oakland Union of the Homeless. “They’re being used because they’re expendable.”