More than 42 NYPD officers have filed reports in the aftermath of the 2004 Republican National Convention claiming that they, too, were exposed to diesel dust, black oil and asbestos fibers.

Lawsuits have already been filed by the detainees who were admitted into Pier 57 during the convention and are also claiming that they were exposed to harsh solvents.

Lawsuits Filed by Detainees

Reports, which have been obtained from the Environmental Justice Law Project, are supposedly consistent with the plaintiffs’ testimony for those who have filed suit against the city of New York and the Hudson River Park Trust.

The plaintiffs claim that the NYPD held them in unhealthy conditions at the pier for an average of 33 hours.

They report that they were put into metal cages and the floors were covered in an oily substance.

Officers Show Concern

After many of the detainees reported having health problems following their time at the pier, many officers began to grow concerned about their own health.

Some officers filled out forms regarding the detainees cases after seeing signs throughout the facility warning of asbestos problems.

Others were reportedly already feeling the effects of the asbestos they had been exposed to during the time that they spent at the pier.

“In the years that I worked there, it became my belief-and it still is my belief- that there was a cluster of cancer cases at the depot,” explains James Mahoney, a former dispatcher.

He adds that even with normal operations, there were exposure issues.

“There were always oil leaks, rivers of oil, in the basement down below, where they washed the buses. A number of chemicals were there, in leaking barrels. It was a mess,” reported Mahoney.

(Source: Chelsea Now)

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