What type of person is most commonly at risk of mesothelioma?

The people most at risk for developing asbestos-related diseases such as mesothelioma, lung cancer, and asbestosis are workers of all sorts of skills and trades who worked in a wide variety of job sites during and prior to the mid-1970s. From the 1940s to the 1970s, many workers around the world were exposed to asbestos fibers and dust at their jobs.

Family members of people who worked with or around asbestos have contracted mesothelioma by inhaling asbestos fibers that their relative brought home on his work clothes. People exposed to "tear-out" (the removal of asbestos products from a facility during a remodeling or asbestos abatement project) are also at risk if the tear-out was conducted without proper safety measures.

The trades and jobs listed below are just some examples of how people were typically exposed to asbestos. It is important to remember that you did not have to work directly with asbestos to be at risk for developing mesothelioma.

Insulators (Asbestos Workers)

Asbestos was used in a considerable number or construction materials prior to 1975. Workers who insulated furnaces, steam pipes, ovens or any other high temperature vessel cut, sawed and applied asbestos block insulation, pipe covering and cements. Even after asbestos was banned as a construction material in 1975, insulators still were involved in repair and maintenance work of asbestos already in place.

Prior to the 1970's, the use of asbestos in the insulating trades was so prevalent that insulators in days past were simply known as "asbestos workers."

Maintenance Workers

Asbestos already in place has created a hazard which remains even today. In the maintenance and repair of facilities with asbestos in place, the material may be disturbed and release asbestos into the air.

Boilermakers

Boilermakers built and repaired boilers and heat containment vessels containing asbestos.

Steel Workers

Asbestos has been used heavily in the steel industry.

Ship Fitters

In past decades, ship piping, boilers and furnaces were insulated with asbestos. Since fitting out a ship involved cutting and installing asbestos in often small, poorly ventilated spaces, the risk of exposure to asbestos was high.

Brake Mechanics

Asbestos was used in automobile brakes for many years. High levels of asbestos dust were created by the grinding of brake shoes during installation. Dust would also accumulate in the brake drum area and become airborne during the replacement of old brake shoes. Often brake drums were cleaned with air hoses, releasing asbestos fibers into the air. Some brake shoes, even today, contain asbestos.

Pipe Fitters

Steam pipes used to be insulated with asbestos block and cement. Gaskets contained asbestos. A pipe fitter would often repair and replace pipes covered with asbestos. Further, pipe fitters often had to remove asbestos gaskets that would adhere to pipe flanges or valves. Often a wire brush driven by an electric motor was used to clean off gaskets. This removal process sent asbestos particles airborne thus creating high dust levels which increased the risk of exposure to and inhalation of asbestos.

Secondary Exposure

Persons who experience secondary exposure from working around the above listed crafts, housewives who have been exposed to asbestos fibers in their family's clothing and those who have lived in the vicinity of an asbestos manufacturing plant are also at risk for Mesothelioma.

Other Jobs and Trades

Other professions that had a high risk of asbestos exposure include, but are not limited to: Naval Officers, Electricians, Painters, Auto Mechanics, Bricklayers, Railroad Workers, Custodians, Carpenters, Factor Workers, Plumbers, Lathers, Loggers, Power Plant Employees, Drywall Installers, HVAC Workers, Demolition Workers, Longshoremen, Welders, and Stone Masons.

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