Document XeRbB64y7ENO4pKmeZ7gq3Eg

FILE NAME: Chevron (CHV) DATE: 1998 Dec 3 DOC#: CHV004 DOCUMENT DESCRIPTION: Legal Declaration of Barry Castleman 1 DECLARATION OF BARRY CASTLEMAN, Se.D. 2 3 I, BARRY CASTLEM AN, declare: 4 5 1. I am an environmental consultant. I have personal knowledge of the 6 facts referred to herein and if called upon to do so, I could and would competently testify 7 to these facts. I have been designated as an expert witness in the trial of the Ronald 8 Corbat action and my deposition will be taken next week by Chevron's attorneys, on 9 December 8,1998. 10 2. i anticipate that the opinions i will be asked to render in this case will 11 be similar to those offered previously by me in asbestos litigation. My area of expertise is 12 occupational and environmental health, generally, and the history of knowledge about 13 asbestos in particular. I have testified in over 100 asbestos trials as an expert witness in 14 both state and federal courts throughout the United States over the fast ten years. 15 3. My opinion is that it was well known in industrial medicine and indus 16 trial circles in the 1930`$ that the inhalation of asbestos dust was associated with asb esto 17 sis, a lung disease capable of causing disability and death. This information was pub- 18 fished in medical journals, medical texts, other medical publications, engineering m aga 19 zines, safety m agazines, trade publications, insurance publications, legal publications, and 20 general encyclopedias. 21 4. Illness among employees of companies using asbestos was also 22 known to companies in the industry through medical examinations, workers compensation 23 claims, confidential research studies, and other sources developed within companies and 24 within the Industry, 25 5. The cancer hazard Of asbestos exposure received Increasing atten 26 tion in occupational health circles in the 1940's and was established as an additional risk 27 of asbestos work by the end of the 1940's. 28 /// Aj&r/i/corbaH'.dec o f CasB em an 12/03/98 16:41 TX/RX NO.3138 P.002 | 1 6. The victims of asb&stoeis and cancer fn the t930's and T940's includ 2 ed among their numbers users of asbestos insulation products in addition to workers in 3 asbestos mining and manufacturing facilities. 4 7. Com panies using asbestos as a raw material should have been aware 5 that asbestos use was a mortal hazard from the 1930's onwards, and should have refor 6 mulated their products to eliminate asbestos in favor of safer materials and/or applied 7 strong, prominent labels warning product users of the hazards and the means to reduce 8 them during the product use. 9 8. The plaintiff in this case, Ronald Corbal, was exposed to serious 10 occupational disease risks that were known in the Industry and that were preventable had II Chevron carried out its responsibility. It is my opinion that Chevron was negligent in failing 12 to advise workers exposed to the asbestos fibers in Som astic, and such negligence was a 13 substantial factor in causing Mr. Corbel's mesothelioma. 14 The documentation supporting these opinions consists of published IS and unpublished source materials cited in m y book, Asbestos: M edical and Legal Aspects, 16 which is in large part identical to my doctoral thesis, Asbestosis: An Historical Case Study 17 o f Corporate Response to an Industrial Health Hazard. 18 19 I declare under penalty of periury under the law of tire State of California that 20 tire foregoing is true and correct. 21 Executed this -r-r day of December. 1998, at Baltimore, Maryland. 22 23 24 S T l EMAN, S c.D .. Declarant 25 26 27 28 - 2- /uar/1/eorbal:deeof Caattwnw 12/03/98 16:41 TX/RX N O .3138 P.003