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How Can a Construction Worker Get Mesothelioma by Occupational Exposure to Asbestos?
Construction workers are employed in a field that the Occupational Safety and Health Administration considers the most hazardous industry in the nation. In addition to the possibility of falls and injuries from heavy machinery, construction workers may also face dangers from microscopic asbestos fibers that float in the air and attach to their clothing while working.
Workers in nearly every type of construction job face an elevated risk for being exposed to asbestos and developing diseases related to this exposure, including mesothelioma, asbestosis, cancer and lung disease. Asbestos was used in thousands of construction products before asbestos began to be regulated in the 1970s and some products that are produced today still contain these materials. Most occupational health organizations unanimously agree that building products contaminated with asbestos increase the likelihood of construction workers developing deadly diseases like mesothelioma.
Asbestos was highly coveted in the construction industry because it was durable, versatile and affordable. Construction workers would wrap boilers with the material to prevent fires and use it as insulation in homes, businesses, factories and other structures.
While construction products were used in nearly every aspect of the construction trade, certain occupations were at an elevated risk of exposure, including the following:
- Drywall hangers and tapers
- Heavy machine operators
- Bricklayers and masons
- Carpenters
- Painters
- Demolition workers
- Insulation workers
- Pipefitters
- Plumbers
- Plasterers
- Tile setters
- General laborers
- Roofers
These workers come in contact with asbestos in a variety of ways. Drywall workers can release asbestos fibers when they cut drywall panels that contain asbestos in them. Drywall tape also contained asbestos. Bricklayers often worked with bricks or mortar that contained asbestos. Tile setters might have breathed in asbestos fibers that emanated from shingles and tiles. Even if a construction worker did not work with one of the 4,000 construction materials that contained asbestos, he or she could have breathed in the fibers that were put in the air by sanding activities or that were on another worker’s clothing.
Some construction products today can still contain asbestos, including:
- Roofing felt
- Shingles
- Pipes and pipeline wrap
- Cement sheets
- Millboard
- Vinyl floor tiles
- Non-roofing coatings
Locations in the United States for the Highest Employment Rates for Construction Workers
There are currently more than 6 million construction workers who are employed in the United states. The states with the highest employment rates for construction workers are:
- California
- Florida
- Texas
- Pennsylvania
- New York
Similar Occupations as Construction Workers
Similar occupations as construction workers include:
- Painters
- Roofers
- Drywall installers
- Tile setters
- Carpenters
- Masonry workers
- Plumbers
- Electricians
- Pipefitters
- Steamfitters
- Grounds maintenance workers
Lawsuits and Settlements Involving Construction Workers and Mesothelioma
Because construction workers are among the groups most likely to be subject to asbestos exposure, there have been many notable lawsuits involving construction workers and their families. Some of these cases include:
- A part-time construction worker was awarded $22 million by a jury against a manufacturer of a boiler after finding that the defendant failed to exercise reasonable care by not providing an adequate warning about the asbestos in the external insulation that surrounded the boiler.
- A painter who developed mesothelioma in his 60s who spent a significant portion of his career applying texturized top coasts and fillers that contained asbestos was awarded $11 million.
- In 2009, a Missouri jury awarded $4.5 million to the family of a Kansas City construction worker who died of mesothelioma after working with asbestos-containing materials through his job.
- In 2015, a Florida jury awarded $17 million to a former construction worker who developed mesothelioma which was attributed to asbestos exposure from a joint compound produced by Georgia Pacific.
- A former construction worker from Florida received a jury verdict of $14 million after handling asbestos compounds and ceiling textures produced by manufactures like Union Carbide and Premix-Marbletite.
- In 2014, the families of three construction workers from New York were awarded $12.5 million. One of the workers worked on the construction project of the original World Trade Center. His asbestos exposure was believed to be from the fireproofing spray that he applied when helping to construct the building.
- A widow received $8 million after her husband was exposed to asbestos while working as a construction worker on a Manhattan high rise.
Studies Related to Construction Workers and Asbestos
Several studies have been conducted on construction workers and their level of exposure to asbestos. These workers comprise the group that is currently the most heavily exposed to asbestos in the United states. Specific studies and findings related to the link between construction workers and asbestos include:
- An early study in 1979 found that when drywall workers sanded down drywall taping compounds that this caused concentrations of airborne asbestos to increase by several times above the permitted level.
- A 2015 study that was published in the International Journal of Cancer and entitled “Lung cancer risk among bricklayers in a pooled analysis of case–control studies” found a large international pool of case-controlled studies that indicated an increased risk of lung cancer in bricklayers. The more time that the worker was employed in this sector, the more likely he or she was to develop lung cancer.
- An American Journal of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine study estimated that more than 1.3 million construction workers are still at risk of being exposed to asbestos as part of their jobs with demolition workers being particularly at risk. Those who work on structures built before the 1970s are also at an elevated risk of occupational exposure.
- Another study found elevated rates of lung cancer for carpenters, brick masons and painters.
- Another study found that approximately 30% of roofers who handled asbestos were environments with asbestos concentrations above the permitted limit.
- A study found elevated concentration of asbestos fibers in the air during masonry, carpentry and painting activities that registered at five times the permissible level. Additionally, higher concentrations were present when workers were using power tools or mixed drywall cement.
- “Mortality among unionized construction plasterers and cement masons” evaluated 12,873 members of the Operative Plasterers’ and Cement Masons’ International Association and found that plasterers and cement masons had elevated risks for certain serious diseases, including stomach and lung cancers.
- An Italian study of 952 individuals with mesothelioma found that 251 of the cases involved workers who completed various types of construction work. Each of these workers had between 350,000 and 3,000,000 asbestos fibers in their lungs.
- There have been several reports that construction workers and contractors exposed to asbestos have an elevated incidence of mesothelioma and lung cancer.
- A 2018 study published in the International Journal of Epidemiology found that construction workers are at least five times more likely to develop than mesothelioma, compared to the general population.
- A National Institutes of Health study found pleural abnormalities in 70% of construction workers studied who had spent at least 30 years in the construction industry.
Types of Asbestos Products Used by Construction Workers
Construction workers could have been exposed to a variety of asbestos products through their line of work. Some of these products include:
- Roof shingles
- Floor tiles
- Spray-on insulation
- Roof coating
- Gypsum board, millboard, plasters and drywall products
- Grout and mastics
- Drywall joint compounds
- Spackling compounds
- Drywall tape
Manufacturers of Asbestos Products Used by Construction Workers
Some of the largest manufacturers of asbestos-containing asbestos products include:
- Union Carbide
- R. Grace & Co.
- Johns Manville
- National Gypsum
- Owens Corning
- Celotex
- S. Mineral Products
- GAF
- Brunswick Fabrications
- The Flintkote Company
- American Biltrite
- Hanson Permanente
- Artra Group
- Eternit
- Fuller-Austin Insulation
- Delaware Insulation
- E. Thurston & Sons
- Kentile Floors
- California Portland Cement
- Congoleum
