Occupational Exposure

Through most of the twentieth century, workers were exposed to asbestos in almost every industry and trade imaginable. Asbestos was used on an enormous variety of different jobsites, from factories and shipyards to schools and hospitals. As a result, millions of people were exposed to asbestos on the job, from industrial workers to auto mechanics to janitors, dentists, even jewelers.

Working conditions varied. Sometimes multiple trades worked together in confined spaces, such as in the engine room and boiler room on ships. Other times people worked alone or in small crews in open areas such as service station garages or oil refineries. In some groups such as insulators, shipyard workers, textile or factory workers, the exposures were usually excessive and prolonged. These trades often worked with asbestos products on a daily basis. In other trades such as electricians, bricklayers and plumbers, the exposures could be intermittent. However, even these less frequent or lower levels of exposure put these workers at an increased risk for malignant mesothelioma.

Trades With Highest Levels Of Asbestos Exposure

Some of the trades with the highest levels of asbestos exposure include Navy seamen, shipyard workers, insulators, boilermakers, pipefitters, railroad workers, electricians, and construction workers. Anyone who worked in these trades between the 1940s and the 1980s was likely to have been exposed to asbestos thermal insulation on the job. They may also have worked with numerous other asbestos products, including asbestos gaskets, asbestos packing, asbestos-containing electrical parts, asbestos friction products, and more.

Workers Unaware of Health Hazard of Asbestos

Most of these workers were not aware of the hazards of asbestos at the time they were exposed. For many decades it was industry policy not to warn workers. Consequently, thousands of Americans who were exposed to asbestos on the job die every year from mesothelioma, lung cancer, and other asbestos diseases. The spouses and children of these high-risk workers were also put at a high risk due to household exposure. Even people who lived and worked near an asbestos jobsite may be at risk due to bystander exposure and neighborhood exposure.