Asbestos in Metalworking
Asbestos has had a severe impact on a wide variety of industries that have exposed their workers to this hazardous mineral. As a result of exposure to asbestos, many employees across the industrial sector of the economy have been diagnosed with a variety of asbestos-related diseases. There are few industries that have been hit harder than the metalworking industry.
One of the biggest areas of exposure has been in plants that have been responsible for manufacturing or processing steel and aluminum. These plants frequently used asbestos in any number of applications that were all designed to protect their workers and the factories themselves from the dangers of fire and heat. While trying to keep workers and property safe, factories and plants across the country unwittingly exposed their employees to another deadly danger.
Sheet metal workers, while not involved in the production or refinement of metals, were also at great risk for exposure to asbestos. Those who installed and maintained the ducts used for ventilating, air conditioning, or heating a building or similar structure were frequently in small areas that were surrounded by insulation, which was frequently full of asbestos fibers. While moving around, they were likely to have disturbed the asbestos, creating an easy opportunity for the fibers to be released into the air where they were working.
The families of metal workers were also at risk for exposure to asbestos. Workers have been known to track asbestos fibers home from work on their clothes and shoes. As a result, those who did laundry for someone who worked with asbestos may have been exposed to asbestos.
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