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What is an Appliance Installer?
Appliance installers install, maintain and repair various types of household and commercial appliances. They observe and test appliances that are reported to have functional issues or test them before being initially sold from the factory. Appliance installers work with a variety of appliances, including refrigerators, washing machines, dryers, stoves, and dishwashers. They connect hoses to water pipes and may have to complete some basic plumbing tasks. He or she observes cycles of the appliances to determine issues. He or she may examined valves and burners for possible gas leaks. Appliance installers also provide instructions to customers about the proper use and maintenance of their purchases.
Appliance installers may also work with smaller appliances, including slow cookers, toasters, broilers, popcorn makers and electric blankets.
How Can an Appliance Installer Get Mesothelioma by Occupational Exposure to Asbestos?
Appliance installers were exposed to asbestos usually through the appliances that they serviced. These items often contained asbestos in them as insulation or as other components of the appliance. Asbestos is fireproof and heat resistant, so it was often used to prevent products from burning. Small appliances were also often made with asbestos-containing materials. When workers disassembled these appliances, asbestos fibers could have become airborne and ingested by the appliance installers.
Some older appliances like freezers and water heaters and older portable heaters that have coil-wrapping and insulation made from asbestos are still in use today. Repairing these appliances could place the installers at risk of being exposed to asbestos.
Additionally, to install new appliances, it may be necessary to cut away walls in order to access plumbing or electrical wires. Older homes may have asbestos in walls, insulation and other construction materials. When these materials are disturbed, appliance installers could ingest microscopic asbestos fibers.
Locations in the United States for the Highest Employment Rates for Appliance Installers
According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the states with the highest employment rates for appliance installers include:
Similar Occupations as Appliance Installers
Occupations that are similar to appliance installers include:
- Electrical and electronics installers and repairers
- Heating, air conditioning and refrigeration mechanics and installers
- Home appliance repairers
- Home entertainment equipment installers and repairers
- Telecommunications equipment installers and repairers
- Small engine mechanics
Lawsuits and Settlements Involving Appliance Installers and Mesothelioma
Conglomerate appliance maker Electrolux declared in 2002 that it had been named as a defendant in 194 asbestos-related cases and had set aside millions to cover such claims. By the end of 2011, the company had more than 2,700 pending asbestos lawsuits lodged against it. Nearly 1,100 cases had been resolved during the year.
In 2012, a man named Electrolux as a defendant along with 84 other companies, claiming that he was exposed to asbestos during his working career which caused him later to develop lung cancer.
Studies Related to Appliance Installers and Asbestos
Several studies exploring the connection between asbestos and household appliances have been released, including:
- The Presence of Asbestos in Everyday Household Products examined 250 products in 2017 that were used everyday by consumers, were sold within the 18 months leading up to the study and were suspected of containing asbestos, including household appliances.
- https://www.asbestosdiseaseawareness.org/news/PZ_Product_Testing.pdf
- Evaluation of asbestos-containing products and released fibers in home appliances involved the investigation of 414 appliances that were suspected of containing asbestos. Researchers found asbestos in refrigerators, washing machines and other appliances. The research was published in 2016.
- https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/10962247.2016.1180329
Types of Asbestos Products Used by Appliance Installers
The insulating blanket in the metal cover of freezers and water heaters could have contained asbestos. Additionally, coil wrapping and insulation inside portable heaters could contain deadly asbestos. Small and large appliances could contain asbestos in their insultation, piping, gaskets or valves.
Manufacturers of Asbestos Products Used by Appliance Installers
General Electric manufactured and installed asbestos-containing appliances. Whirlpool manufactured a washing machine that contained parts made with asbestos. Sunbeam, Conair Corp. and Gillette Co. made hair dryers that contained asbestos in them and required a recall. The product Bakelite was a plastic resin that contained asbestos and was used in many appliances and was used in wall moldings that had to be removed when an appliance installer had to reshape space for a large applicance. General Bakelite Company manufactured the product.
