Occupational Asbestos Exposure

According to the National Institute for Occupational Health and Safety, more than 75 occupational groups are known to have exposed workers to asbestos. The effect of daily exposure over the span of a career has led many workers to develop asbestos related diseases, including mesothelioma and asbestosis. One study estimated that over half of the workers who were occupationally exposed to asbestos between 1940 and 1970 may be currently living with an asbestos-related cancer.

Asbestos is virtually ubiquitous in America. Because it is a mineral that exists naturally in a fibrous form that is resistant to heat, water, chemicals and electricity, it has literally been woven into the very fabric of modern civilization. Throughout the twentieth century, asbestos was incorporated into thousands of construction, commercial and household products including fire retardant coatings, concrete and cement, bricks, pipes, gaskets, insulation, drywall, flooring, roofing, joint compound, paints and sealants. It exists in electrical appliances, plastics, rubber, and even mattresses, flowerpots, hats and gloves, and lawn furniture. Asbestos can still be found everywhere across the country in buildings, roads, homes, schools, factories, ships, trains and automobiles.

The Mesothelioma Center offers a free informational packet that covers asbestos exposure and the diseases that exposure can cause. To learn more about occupational asbestos exposure, fill out the form below to get your free and comprehensive packet in the mail.

Occpuations Most Exposed to Asbestos

The most dangerous profession, with the greatest potential for debilitating asbestos exposure, is that of mining. Although asbestos is no longer mined in the U.S., many American miners over the years have suffered from asbestosis, lung cancer and mesothelioma because the substances they were mining were contaminated with asbestos.

This contamination occurred most egregiously in W.R. Grace and Co.'s vermiculite mine in Libby, Montana where hundreds of vermiculite miners and their families died of asbestosis and mesothelioma, and the R.T. Vanderbilt talc mines in upstate New York, all of which had dangerous levels of tremolite asbestos interlaced with the excavated minerals.

After mining, asbestos exposure is most widespread in the so-called "traditional" industries where workers labor in tight quarters in an atmosphere thick with asbestos fibers. According to the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health, almost one-quarter of worker deaths caused by asbestosis between the years 1990-1999, were in the construction trades, by far the most dangerous industry in terms of asbestos exposure.

The next most hazardous industries for those years, in descending order were:

• Ship and boat building and repairing
• Industrial and miscellaneous chemicals
• Railroads
• Miscellaneous nonmetallic mineral and stone products
• General government (not elsewhere classified)
• Blast furnaces, steelworks, rolling and finishing mills
• Other manufacturing industries
• Electrical light and power
• And elementary and secondary schools.

All other industries combined accounted for about one half of asbestosis-related deaths.

Other occupations where asbestos exposure was common include:

• Painters
• Powerhouse workers
• Floor coverers
• Pot tenders
• Refinery workers
• Paper mill workers
• Tile setters
• Brake and clutch manufacturers
• Machinists
• Packing and gasket manufacturing workers
• Protective clothing manufacturers
• Rubber workers
• Warehouse workers
• Mixing operatives
• Sawyers
• Tinsmiths
• Weavers
• Excavator
• And technicians

In addition, because asbestos was commonly used in the building of battleships and destroyers throughout most of the last century, a large number of World War II Navy veterans were exposed to asbestos either as shipbuilders or sailors.

Workers in other industries who did not handle asbestos directly, but who were exposed to it because it was present either in the atmosphere or in the products with which they came in contact include:

• Textile workers
• Paper and glass factory workers
• Aerospace workers
• Building engineers
• Longshoremen
• Building inspectors
• Road builders
• Automobile mechanics
• Job and die setters
• And contractors and building managers.

The large number of teachers who have been exposed to asbestos is less surprising when one considers that not only was asbestos commonly used as a building material for school construction, but traces of it have been found, as well, in blackboards and even crayons.

The latest groups of workers at risk for asbestos exposure are those who are engaged in asbestos remediation and decontamination. As older buildings that have asbestos in their walls, floors, attics, ceilings and roofs continue to be torn down, demolition crews, bulldozer and crane operators, and other assorted laborers can become immersed in asbestos-laden dust. Also, many of the first responders, notably firefighters and police, who rushed onto the scene after the Twin Towers collapsed on 9-11, are developing symptoms of asbestos-related diseases, as the destruction of the buildings propelled toxic asbestos particles into the air that they breathed.

To reduce the risk of occupational asbestos exposure, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) enacted laws that limited the presence of asbestos to 0.1 fibers per cubic centimeter at any jobsite. However, before these standards were enacted in 1997, numerous workers were exposed to asbestos at their place of employment.

More recently it was discovered that mechanics and operators of Linotype machines, used in large-scale printing operations, are susceptible to asbestos exposure. Several unlikely occupations also posed an asbestos threat to workers, such as teaching, baking and painting.

Blue-collar occupations were more heavily associated with asbestos exposure, with one study finding that 32 percent of blue-collar workers but only 12 percent of white-collar workers harbored at least 100 asbestos bodies in each gram of lung tissue.

What to Do When Occupationally Exposed to Asbestos

The elevated risk of developing an asbestos-related disease should prompt employees of at-risk occupations to watch for any health changes that could be symptoms of a serious illness. These may indicate that you have developed mesothelioma and should seek treatment right away. A Patient Advocate, who can be reached by calling (800) 615-2270, can help you locate a treatment center in your area where a mesothelioma specialist can diagnose or treat asbestos-related diseases.