Harvard Will Be Asked To Join Asbestos Suit

Harvard and other universities will be asked to join a class action lawsuit against asbestos companies, a lawyer for the plaintiff said yesterday.

The lawsuit was originally filed in 1987 by Central Wesleyan College in South Carolina on behalf of colleges that had "friable asbestos," which can crumble, creating health hazards.

Last month, the Fourth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals backed up a lower court ruling approving class action status for the lawsuit.

The plaintiffs in the lawsuit will be seeking damages from the companies for the cost of removing dangerous asbestos and replacing it with less harmful substances.

Asbestos has already been found at Harvard's 29 Garden St. building, which houses the police department and about 150 first-year students.

A University-commissioned report obtained by The Crimson last month said asbestos was found in 29 Garden St. residences, the freight elevator and two trash and laundry rooms.

The asbestos found is non-friable, but according to the report, routine activities such as hanging plants and moving furniture can make it friable and release the asbestos into the air.

Edward J. Westbrook, the attorney who filed the petition for Central Wesleyan College, said the court would offer the chance to participate in the lawsuit to Harvard and other institutions within the next 120 days.

Harvard and other colleges would be eligible to join the class action suit depending on which asbestos products they were using and from whom they bought the products. He said that Harvard helped him with filing the original lawsuit and with getting the suit's class action status certified.

However, University Attorney Allan A. Ryan Jr. could not be reached for comment on whether Harvard would join the suit.

Westbrook said some of the more prominent companies to be targeted in the lawsuit include W.R. Grace, United States Mineral Company and Owens-Corning Fiberglass.

Elizabeth R. Sudheimer, spokesperson for Owens-Corning Fiberglass, said the company's legal department "did not think a final decision had been made as to the class status of the suit."

She added that "well-maintained asbestos is not a health threat," according to Owens-Corning and the Environmental Protection Agency.

W. R. Grace representatives did not respond to repeated phone calls yesterday. An executive of the United States Mineral Company who refused to give her name said she knew nothing about the case.