In Merced County, California, three former executives with the nonprofit organization Firm Build have been accused of exposing high school students to asbestos, a known carcinogen. Asbestos exposure is conclusively linked to the development of mesothelioma, a rare form of cancer.

The disease typically lies dormant for up to fifty years before an individual begins to suffer from mesothelioma symptoms, and the majority of patients lose their battle with this cancer in less than two years following a mesothelioma diagnosis.

According to the Merced County District Attorney’s Office, as many as eighty teenagers enrolled in a worker training program were likely exposed to asbestos. Two of the accused, Rudy Buendia III and Patrick Bowman, turned themselves into law enforcement, and the third man, Joseph Cuella, turned himself in at a slightly later date.

"We are simply at a loss to understand why the appropriate safeguards would not have been taken," Merced County District Attorney Larry Morse II said. "These kids never bargained for this kind of a problem. The sad fact of the matter is that some of these students, who were kids when they participated in these programs, may spend the rest of their lives wondering whether they will develop cancer or lung damage. It is frankly appalling that anyone would play Russian roulette with the health of teenagers simply to cut corners on a construction project. But that’s what appears to have happened."

Morse added that he hopes to interview as many alleged victims as possible. "We will want to interview them, obviously, and we will make appropriate referrals," Morse said.

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