Letter highlights risk to workers and first responders who may be in contact with this chemical daily
New York City Comptroller Brad Lander, on behalf of trustees of the New York City New York City Fire Pension Fund & New York City Police Pension Fund, wrote to Occidental Petroleum Corporation (parent company of OxyChem) urging the company to commit to ceasing imports of asbestos and expedite its transition to non-asbestos technology. The Police & Fire Pension Funds own a total of $61 million of OxyChem securities as of September 1, 2023.
“Given that OxyChem’s major competitors in the U.S. have already made this commitment and no longer import raw asbestos, we believe that making this commitment now is prudent and will reduce legal and regulatory risks for OxyChem and ensure that the company’s industrial chlorine production remains profitable, sustainable and safe for OxyChem’s customers, end-users, employees, and the communities in which the company operates for years to come,” the letter reads.
First responders, such as the police officers and firefighters who serve New York City, are already at a heightened risk for asbestos inhalation. When the chemical becomes disturbed or damaged by fire or fire suppression activities its particles can become airborne leading to inhalation by firefighters and other first responders. The deadly risks of asbestos are well documented, and research has shown they can directly cause cancers, including lung cancer and mesothelioma. Prolonged asbestos exposure in the line of duty has also led to members of the Police & Fire Pension Funds retiring on accidental disability pensions.
Despite the well-known deadly hazards of raw asbestos use and companies continuing to transition to non-asbestos technology, OxyChem has opposed an asbestos phase-out and has asserted that elimination of asbestos cannot be accomplished in less than 25 years. They remain the only asbestos importer in the country. In 2022 alone, OxyChem imported over 300 metric tons of chrysotile asbestos from Brazil and China to continue to employ at the company’s diaphragm cell (the chlor-alkali production method that uses asbestos) plants.
Read the Funds’ letter to Occidental Petroleum Corporation.
In addition to Comptroller Lander, the trustees of the New York City Fire & Police pension funds are as follows:
New York City Fire Pension Fund (Fire): Mayor Eric Adams’ Representative Bryan Berge, Director, Mayor’s Office of Pension and Investments; New York City Fire Commissioner Laura Kavanagh (Chair); New York City Finance Commissioner Preston Niblack; Andrew Ansbro, President, Robert Eustace, Vice President, Chris Viola, Treasurer, and Eric Bischoff, Staten Island Representative and Chair, Uniformed Firefighters Association of Greater New York; Sean Michael, Chiefs’ Rep., Joe Camastro, Lieutenants’ Rep. and Liam Guilfoyle, (Chair), Uniformed Fire Officers Association; and Peter Devita, Marine Engineers Association.
New York City Police Pension Fund (Police): Mayor Eric Adams’ Representative Bryan Berge, Director, Mayor’s Office of Pension and Investments; New York City Finance Commissioner Preston Niblack; New York City Police Commissioner Edward Caban (Chair); Chris Monahan, Captains Endowment Association; Louis Turco, Lieutenants Benevolent Association; Vincent Vallelong, Sergeants Benevolent Association; Paul DiGiacomo, Detectives Endowment Association; and Patrick Hendry, Daniel Terrelli, Albert Alcierno and Arthur Egner all of the NYC Police Benevolent Association.
About the New York City Fire Pension Fund & New York City Police Pension Fund
The New York City Fire Pension Fund and the New York City Police Pension Fund, serve 117,000 members comprising active and retired firefighters and police officers and their beneficiaries. The two Funds have a total of $68.62 billion in assets under management as of August 31, 2023.
The New York City Comptroller serves as trustee to, and custodian and investment advisor for the Funds, which are governed independently. The Comptroller’s Bureau of Asset Management oversees the investment portfolio for each System and related defined contribution funds for the Systems on behalf of the Comptroller.
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