Steel Mill Workers & Asbestos Exposure / Mesothelioma

There’s an old saying: “no-one ever went to their graves wishing they’d spent more time at work.”

The unfortunate fact is that for too many workers – especially those in industry – those jobs may be responsible for sending them to the grave prematurely. Management at these industries are not helping to improve safety; as our unregulated, hyper-capitalistic economic system becomes increasingly fixated on the “bottom line,” worker safety becomes a lower priority – and workers’ lives are needlessly sacrificed as a result (1).

According to the Census of Fatal Occupational Injuries (CFOI), asbestos disease is the leading cause of death in twelve different occupations. Interestingly, steelworkers are not indicated by name in this particular category. However, any study of industrial practices soon show that wherever high heat or fire is a hazard, asbestos is present in one form or another. In fact, according to the Asbestos Resource Center, steel and iron workers are among the highest risk of asbestos exposure (2).

Asbestos Products in Steel and Iron Foundries

Asbestos has been used for well over 3,000 years because of its heat and fire-resistant properties (3). It is actually a kind of stone, and is in the same mineral category as silicon. However, asbestiform minerals differ from other kinds of silicate rock in that they have the consistency of cotton or flax, making them very easy to weave into clothing.

Here is the irony; the greatest asbestos danger to steel and iron workers was found in the very clothing that was designed to protect them from burns, such as overcoats, gloves and fire-proof aprons, and even face masks. If and when these became worn or damaged, asbestos fibers were released from the linings of such gear (4). In addition, asbestos in steel mills and iron foundries were used for the blast furnaces, boilers and steam pipes as well as tools such as ladles.

Specific Jobs With Higher Rates of Asbestos Exposure

In any industrial operation, there are various jobs that must be performed. At a steel mill, those positions most likely to come in contact with asbestos fibers are those of pourer/caster, operator, tended, furnace operator and inspector as well as machine setter, steel lather/millwright and welder (5).

New uses of asbestos in construction were technically banned in the late 1970s; however, most of the remaining steel mills in the U.S. were built before then. Despite an ongoing program of asbestos removal, abatement and containment, there are still hundreds of thousands of buildings in the U.S. that still contain asbestos (6). An attempt at a wholesale ban of all asbestos was made by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) in 1989, but large corporate interests, working through the federal courts, managed to get the ban overturned two years later (7). In 2002, Senator Patty Murray (D-WA) again attempted to pass legislation to ban asbestos. This legislation was stalled in committee for five years by a Congress more beholden to corporate interests than social good; however, with the changes that came about as a result of the 2006 election, Senator Murray has been able to re-introduce her legislation, the “Ban Asbestos in America Act” (S. 742). So far, it has received bipartisan support, and is scheduled to come to the Senate floor in the fall of 2007.

If You Have Been Exposed

Mesothelioma has a latency period of anywhere from twenty to fifty years. Symptoms of mesothelioma – shortness of breath, chest pains, fatigue and unexplained weight loss – are similar to those of many other respiratory and cardio-vascular diseases. Only a qualified oncologist and pathologist can confirm such a diagnosis, which the necessary first step to building a successful case, should you decide to bring legal action. Once the diagnosis has been confirmed, it is important to contact a lawyer as soon as possible, as most states have a statute of limitations (usually one year from the date of diagnosis) on asbestos suits.

'Steel Mill Workers & Asbestos Exposure / Mesothelioma' Resources:

Notes

  1. Leigh, Paul J. Causes of Death in the Workplace, pp. 5 – 6
  2. Asbestos Resource Center. “Asbestos Exposure: Occupations at Risk” (2007).
  3. Bowker, Michael. Fatal Deception, pp. 45 – 46.
  4. Mesothelioma SOS. “Asbestos Exposure at Steel and Metal Works”
  5. Ibid.
  6. Bowker, p. 19
  7. Environmental Working Group. “The Failed EPA Asbestos Ban”
  8. Pope, Charles., 31 July 2007, Seattle Post-Intelligencer, "Murray’s Asbestos Bill Advances."

Sources

  1. Asbestos Resource Center. (Online Article). “Asbestos Exposure: Occupations at Risk” .
    Accessed: 31 July 2007
  2. Bowker, Michael. Fatal Deception. (New York: Touchstone, 2003)
  3. Environmental Working Group. (Web Article). “The Failed EPA Asbestos Ban” . Updated 2006.
    Accessed: 27 July 2007.
  4. Leigh, Paul J. Causes of Death in the Workplace (Westport: Quorum Books, 1995)
  5. Mesothelioma SOS. (Online Database). “Asbestos Exposure at Steel and Metal Works” .
    Accessed: 31 July 2007
  6. Pope, Charles., 31 July 2007, Seattle Post-Intelligencer, "Murray’s Asbestos Bill Advances."