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What is an Assembler and Fabricator?
Assemblers and fabricators assemble finished products and the components that go into them. They use a variety of tools and machines and their own hands to make products such as:
- Engines
- Computers
- Ships, boats and other vessels
- Aircraft
- Electronic devices
- Control panels
- Toys
Many of these workers worked on assembly lines, which became commonplace during the Industrial Revolution. This new method of producing products allowed workers to quickly turn out products.
Between the 1920s and 1980s, many assemblers and fabricators helped manufacture products that contained asbestos. Asbestos is heat resistant and fireproof, making it a seemingly ideal product to serve as insulation, fireproofing material and lining for protective clothing. Other benefits of this material were that it was non-corrosive, did not conduct electricity, was lightweight and was affordable. Therefore, asbestos was used for a variety of applications and was often blended with other raw materials.
How Can an Assembler or Fabricator Get Mesothelioma by Occupational Exposure to Asbestos?
Many factories produced products that contained asbestos in them. Assemblers and fabricators sometimes worked on products that contained asbestos as their components. They blended asbestos with other raw materials, during which time they came in contact with this dangerous mineral. Once asbestos is disturbed, its fibers become dislodged and can become airborne where workers can inhale them.
Assemblers and fabricators also often worked in factories that may have contained construction materials that contained asbestos, such as floor tiles, roofing material, joint compound, drywall or insulation. When these areas were damaged or materials were exposed during maintenance or renovations, workers could have breathed in the asbestos fibers.
Asbestos was also used to wrap boilers and insulate industrial equipment, so assemblers and fabricators could have been exposed to this toxic material when working around this machinery. Asbestos was used in a variety of tools that these workers used on a regular basis.
Locations in the United States for the Highest Employment Rates for Assemblers and Fabricators
According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, states with the highest employment rates for assemblers and fabricators include the following:
Similar Occupations as Assemblers and Fabricators
Similar occupations as factory workers include:
- Production workers
- Factory workers
- Machinery maintenance workers
- Welders
- Metal fabricators
- Metal and plastic machine operators
Lawsuits and Settlements Involving Assemblers and Fabricators and Mesothelioma
Some assemblers and fabricators have successfully received verdicts or settlements in their favor after filing lawsuits against companies that were responsible for exposing them to asbestos. Some of these cases include:
- A New York jury returned a verdict of $4 million in 2017 to a former assembly worker who developed mesothelioma and lung cancer after he worked with asbestos products. The lawsuit was lodged against the company that supplied those materials.
- A California jury awarded $20.5 million to a former cement pipe manufacturing worker and his spouse in 2001 after the worker developed cancer by working at a plant to manufacture asbestos-cement pipe.
- A man who worked as an assembler, steelworker and in other professions sued more than 140 corporations and claimed that they did not use proper practices or available alternatives to asbestos. He and his family received a settlement of $6.5 million.
Studies Related to Assemblers and Fabricators and Asbestos
A variety of studies have been conducted on the relationship between asbestos and the assembly process. Some of these studies include:
- Asbestos Textile, Friction, and Packing Plant Workers (Asbestos) by the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health, published in 1998, studied more than 3,200 people during the 1970s and tracked deaths related to asbestos.
- https://www.cdc.gov/niosh/pgms/worknotify/asbestos.html
- A study of the mortality of workers in an asbestos factory was conducted in 1969. It reviewed data regarding 4,000 male asbestos factory workers. Research concluded that there was a higher rate of incidence for cancer of the lung and pleura when workers were heavily exposed to asbestos.
- https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1008987/
- Mortality from all cancers of asbestos factory workers in east London 1933-80 assessed records of more than 5,000 factory workers since their first exposure to asbestos.
- https://oem.bmj.com/content/57/11/782
- Tyler asbestos workers: A mortality update in a cohort exposed to amosite is a 2016 study published in the Journal of Toxicology and Environmental Health that analyzed data related to more than 1,000 Tyler, Texas factory workers who worked at the plant between 1954 and 1972. Researchers found that the factory workers’ risk of dying from throat or lung cancer increased more than doubled because of their work at the factory.
- https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/10937404.2016.1195319
Types of Asbestos Products Used by Assemblers and Fabricators
Assemblers and fabricators may have produced products that contained asbestos in them. In other situations, they may have been exposed to asbestos in the equipment, machinery, tools, protective clothing and other materials within the factory that contained asbestos. Some of the products that may have exposed assemblers and fabricators to asbestos include:
- Adhesives and sealants
- Automotive parts, including brake pads, shoes, drums and discs
- Building materials
- Cement powders and mortar mixes
- Drywall board and tape
- Electrical and mechanical components
- Fireproofing materials
- Gaskets, hoses and valves
- Glues and paints
- Heating and air conditioning equipment
- Insulation
- Joint compound
- Protective clothing
Manufacturers of Asbestos Products Used by Assemblers and Fabricators
Some of the largest companies that manufactured asbestos products include:
- Amatex Corporation
- P. Green Industries
- Armstrong World Industries
- Babcock and Wilcox
- E. Thurston & Sons
- Dana Corporation
- Ford Motor Company
- GAF Corporation
- Garlock Sealing Technologies
- General Electric
- General Motors
- Georgia Pacific
- John Crane
- Johns-Manville
- T. Thorpe Inc.
- Kaiser Aluminum
- National Gypsum
- Owens Corning Fiberglass
- Raybestos Manhattan Raymark Industries
- Unarco
- Union Carbide
