State gets asbestos money

By Kevin Dayton
Advertiser Capitol Bureau Chief

After eight years of skirmishing in court, the state has received $63.4 million in settlements from five companies that manufactured building materials containing asbestos that were installed in hundreds of schools and other public buildings.

Of that money, the state spent more than $30 million on court costs, expert witness fees, lawyers' fees and other expenses related to the lawsuit, said Deputy Attorney General Dorothy Sellers.

"This is one where you have to specifically prove the manufacture of every square foot of asbestos in every building," said Sellers, adding the lawsuits were "very, very difficult cases."

The state sued W.R. Grace & Co. and United States Gypsum Co. in 1993 over asbestos in state buildings, and a year later added Kelly-Moore Paint Co., Inc.; Kaiser Gypsum Co., Inc.; and Highland Stucco & Lime Products, Inc.

The suit alleged those companies manufactured products such as spray-on acoustical plaster and fireproofing material that was found to contain asbestos, which can cause cancer.

The asbestos was installed in 151 state buildings such as schools, Honolulu International Airport, the State Capitol and housing projects during a boom in construction of public buildings from the 1960s through the 1970s.

State officials estimate about two-thirds of the asbestos has been removed, including almost all of the asbestos in public schools. The rest has been sealed off.

David Fairbanks, one of the lawyers hired by the state to pursue the cases, said the state's total claims in connection with the identification and removal of asbestos in those state buildings may be more than $120 million.

The state has also collected more than $4 million in money from other companies that manufactured asbestos and later went bankrupt under the weight of multiple lawsuits.