[breadcrumb]
How Can a Truck Driver Get Mesothelioma by Occupational Exposure to Asbestos?
Truck drivers transport goods from one location to another. Unfortunately for them, they may have transported goods that contained asbestos. They may have loaded, inspected and unloaded asbestos-containing goods, during which time they could have breathed in asbestos fibers emanating from these products.
Additionally, truck drivers may have been exposed to asbestos from the vehicles they drove. Commercial trucks often contained auto parts that had asbestos, such as brakes, clutches and gaskets. While traveling or inspecting their vehicles, truck drivers could have breathed in asbestos fibers.
Common work duties of truck drivers include:
- Pick up cargo
- Secure cargo for transport
- Inspect cargo for accuracy and any defects
- Clean up the trailer and sweep out the trailer after loads
- Inspect the vehicle in the event of malfunction
Locations in the United States for the Highest Employment Rates for Truck Drivers
According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, there are currently 1,958,800 individuals employed as heavy and tractor trailer truck drivers. States with the highest employment rates for heavy and tractor trailer truck drivers include:
- Texas
- California
- Florida
- Pennsylvania
- Ohio
Similar Occupations as Truck Drivers
Similar occupations as truck drivers include:
- Bus drivers
- Delivery truck drivers and driver/sales workers
- Hand laborers and material movers
- Material recording clerks
- Postal service workers
- Railroad workers
- Taxi drivers, ride-hailing drivers and chauffeurs
- Water transportation workers
Lawsuits and Settlements Involving Truck Drivers and Mesothelioma
There have been a few notable cases involving truck drivers who have sued companies due to their occupational exposure to asbestos.
A man from Utica, New York received settlements in the amount of $2.1 million He worked from 1955 to 1969 as a local truck driver. During his job, he picked up and dropped off 50-pound bags of asbestos-containing granular plastic molding compound. Sometimes the bags would slit open and the materials would fall out into the truck where he may have been exposed to them for a prolonged period of time. He developed mesothelioma in 2008 at the age of 76 due to the asbestos exposure.
An Ohio truck driver who delivered asbestos-containing pipes about ten times a year and his family received a judgment of $5 million by a California jury. He was not given any warnings regarding these pipes and inhaled asbestos fibers. The verdict was partially overturned at the appellate level, but the California Supreme Court reinstated it.
A former truck driver who worked from 1971 to the 1980s and his family received a verdict from a Los Angeles jury of $4.055 million. He was exposed to asbestos when he delivered used brake shoes to and from a company, which led to his development of mesothelioma.
Studies Related to Truck Drivers and Asbestos
A few studies have explored the connection between truck drivers and asbestos. A 1991 Italian study entitled “explored how a truck driver with no previous asbestos exposure history developed asbestosis. The researchers behind the study concluded that three of six models of trucks the driver used as part of his career as a truck driver contained an asbestos manifold found on the bottom or side of the engine. In these models, the engine was inside the driver’s cab and covered by a cowling set on the floor. Researchers believed that asbestos fibers could enter the driver’s cab through a tiny window in the cowling or from the dashboard’s outlets. The truck driver could have breathed in these fibers, resulting in his diagnosis.
In a study entitled “Case-Control Study of Lung Cancer and Truck Driving in the Teamsters Union,” researchers studied 996 cases involving lung cancer and 1,085 controls of truck drivers who died in 1982 and 1983 and found that diesel truck drivers have an excess risk of developing lung cancer, compared to other teamsters in jobs outside the trucking industry. Asbestos was included as a factor that affected this outcome.
Types of Asbestos Products Used by Truck Drivers
Truck drivers were responsible for hauling products that contained asbestos, such as:
- Adhesives, glues and sealants
- Corrugated cement sheets
- Duct connectors
- Electric components
- Felt
- Fireproofing materials
- Flash guard paper
- Gaskets
- Insulation
- Plastics
- Textiles
- Vinyl products
Manufacturers of Asbestos Products Used by Truck Drivers
Some of the largest manufacturers of asbestos products include:
- 3M
- Advance Auto Parts, Inc.
- Allied Signal, Inc.
- American Biltrite, Inc.
- American Standard, Inc.
- Armstrong International, Inc.
- Atlantic Richfield Company
- Bath Iron Works
- Bechtel Corporation
- Bergen Tile & Linoleum Company
- Boise Cascade Corporation
- Borg Warner Automotive, Inc.
- CertainTeed Corporation
- Cleaver Brooks Company
- Crown, Cork & Seal Company, Inc.
- Duro Dyne Corporation
- Ericcson, Inc.
- Foseco, Inc.
- Foster Wheeler Corporation
- Georgia Pacific Corporation
- Ingersoll-Rand Company
- International Paper Company
- John Crane Company
- John Deere Industrial Equipment Company
- Metalclad Insulation
- National Automotive Parts Association
- Owens-Illinois, Inc.
- Sherwin Williams Company
- Weil-McLain Co.
- Westinghouse Electric Corporation
