Case Study - Water-district construction inspector

Marcos spent much of his career in public infrastructure work — first as a CAD operator and construction inspector for a regional water authority, where he regularly replaced old air-conditioning and water pipes wrapped in asbestos insulation, at a time before modern removal regulations existed. He went on to serve as a traffic and utility coordinator for a major Texas city, later working in utility coordination for a state transportation agency and a private engineering firm.

What began as a persistent cough in the spring of 2023 was initially misdiagnosed as allergies and pneumonia before doctors discovered fluid around his lung and, eventually, mesothelioma. Marcos is currently undergoing immunotherapy, supported by his longtime partner and children.

His decades spent maintaining the infrastructure that keeps a major Texas city running may have come at a steep personal cost.

Marcos’s work replacing aging water and air-conditioning pipes for the water authority meant regular contact with the same asbestos-wrapped insulation that plumbers and pipefitters across the state were handling during that era — work that, at the time, came with no warnings about the material’s risks. His partner and children have taken on a larger share of household responsibilities as he continues immunotherapy, determined to keep his routine as normal as possible.