For literally 2,000 years, experts and others have been documenting the dangers of working with asbestos. Even ancient Roman philosophers and naturalists recognized the health hazards of the toxic mineral, noting that slaves who toiled in the mines that produced the mineral had ongoing breathing problems and died at an early age.
Problems with asbestos continued through the centuries, though many dubbed it a miracle substance and uses for it continued to increase through the Industrial Revolution and into the 19th and 20th centuries. As the years progressed, more and more individuals worked with asbestos and asbestos-containing products daily while they labored at their jobs. Most never realized that their health was being compromised.
Direct Exposure
Asbestos possesses many admirable properties, including excellent resistance to heat and fire, so its dangers were often overlooked in favor of its useful attributes. And while it’s true that many were unaware of its dangers, records that date back decades show that many company executives and plant owners were well aware of the dangers of inhaling asbestos but allowed their workers to continue using the mineral or the products that contained it and workers were rarely provided with protective gear while on the job.
The early to mid-20th century was a particularly dangerous time for those who were working with asbestos. During these decades, asbestos use was rampant and thousands of employees encountered it on a daily basis. It was deemed to be especially useful in the ships and planes that defended America during World War II. This, of course, was also a time when America’s workforce was at its largest, so thousands upon thousands were exposed to the hazardous mineral.
Jobs that were of particular concern include:
- Shipyard workers, including shipfitters, pipefitters, boilermakers, and others
- Construction workers
- Contractors
- Electricians
- Plumbers
- Power plant workers
- Railroad employees
- Oil refinery workers
- Drywallers
- Glazers
- Grinders
- Welders
- Millwrights
- Auto mechanics
- Iron workers
- Bricklayers
Secondary Exposure
If you didn’t work with asbestos on a regular basis but had family members who did, you were also at risk for developing asbestos-related diseases. Today, more and more cases of secondary exposure to asbestos have been cropping up in the courts. These include lawsuits involving wives, mothers, and daughters who regularly washed the asbestos-covered clothes of their husbands, sons, and fathers, and developed asbestosis and mesothelioma decades later.
Some secondary cases also include community members who lived near jobsites where the use of asbestos was rampant. Fibers were leaked into the air and inhaled by those living near factories or mines. Today, these same individuals are dying from asbestos-related diseases.