Asbestos Exposure | Steel Workers

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Asbestos Exposure and Mesothelioma Cancer Among Steel Workers 

The malignant repercussions of asbestos exposure have been observed and chronicled for hundreds and even thousands of years. As far back as the first century A.D., Roman historian, author and naturalist Pliny the Elder noticed that slaves working in the asbestos mines of Rome contracted severe respiratory problems and died far before their time. By the time of the Industrial Revolution, as asbestos played an ever-greater part in manufacturing processes that required heat shielding, physicians and even scientists connected the sickness that would eventually come to be called mesothelioma cancer (then called asbestosis) with daily asbestos exposure. By the twentieth century, physicians were warning factory owners that their employees were being placed at great risk because they were not being protected against inhalation of asbestos fibers. As is often the case where profit is concerned, these warnings were ignored, downplayed, or kept secret from the workers who were being exposed to the fibers of the mineral asbestos.

Steel workers face exceedingly high risks of exposure to asbestos due to the nature of their work. Because of the intense heat required in the manufacturing process of steel in its many forms, asbestos has been used as heat shielding in factory fixtures and machinery. Furthermore, protective garments for steel workers, such as gloves, leggings and aprons, were often made out of asbestos due to its innate heat resistance. Between the fibers released into the atmosphere of steel factories from machinery and fixtures that were often coated with asbestos, and the asbestos garments worn very close to workers’ bodies to protect them from extreme heat conditions, it’s no surprise that mesothelioma cancer has been well-documented in men and women involved in the steel-making industry. Worse, asbestos fibers often stuck to the clothing of workers and were transported home to be inhaled by their spouses and children.

Today, more than 30 years after the United States government issued warnings about the lethal nature of asbestos in industrial workplaces such as those encountered by steel workers, people are still being diagnosed with diseases and conditions related to asbestos exposure, such as pleural mesothelioma  or mesothelioma cancer in general. Because there is a lengthy latency period for those exposed to asbestos that will develop mesothelioma cancer, many individuals do not develop symptoms until the latter stages of the disease, when treatment options are reduced to palliative procedures to reduce pain and suffering since the time to cure the disease has long passed.

If you feel you have been exposed to asbestos during your work history, particularly if you know of others who have contracted mesothelioma cancer with whom you once worked, it is recommended that you seek counsel about your health condition and options. The Simmons firm cares and wants to help you with guidance and information. For the past decade we have been assisting clients afflicted with mesothelioma – we understand the pain a mesothelioma diagnosis can cause and truly desire to be of assistance to victims and families struggling with this disease. Contact us today to learn more about treatment and diagnosis options.