[breadcrumb]
How Can an Electrician Get Mesothelioma by Occupational Exposure to Asbestos?
Electricians install and maintain wiring. They inspect electrical components and identify electrical problems. They also repair or replace wiring, equipment or fixtures. They use hand tools and power tools.
Electricians often had to cut through wires and walls that were insulated with asbestos. When they handled these materials, they could breathe in microscopic asbestos fibers. Asbestos is somewhat safe when it is intact, but when it is disturbed, it can release cancer-causing fibers into the air. Due to the nature of electrician’s work, electricians would often have to disturb asbestos. When they drilled conduits to install new wiring, they often encountered asbestos in the walls. This work also caused asbestos dust to form in the air where they could breathe it in.
Additionally, electricians often worked in locations where asbestos was common, including in oil refineries and shipyards. These confined locations often kept airborne asbestos fibers in the air for many days where electricians and other workers could breathe them in.
Locations in the United States for the Highest Employment Rates for Electricians
According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, there are currently 715,400 electricians currently employed in the United States with a projected growth rate of 10% from 2018 to 2028, much faster than the average growth rate. States with the highest employment rates for electricians include:
- California
- Texas
- New York
- Florida
- Ohio
Similar Occupations as Electricians
Similar occupations as electricians include:
- Aircraft and avionics equipment mechanics and technicians
- Drafters
- Electrical and electronics engineering technicians
- Electrical and electronics engineers
- Electrical and electronics installers and repairers
- Elevator installers and repairers
- HVAC workers
- Line installers and repairers
- Power plant operators, distributors and dispatchers
- Solar photovoltaic installers
Lawsuits and Settlements Involving Electricians and Mesothelioma
As an occupation with a high probability of asbestos exposure, there have been many cases involving electricians who have sued defendants they believed to be responsible for their exposure to asbestos. Some notable results include:
- In 2002, a San Francisco jury awarded $33.7 million to a 60-year-old former electrician who was exposed to asbestos from 1960 to 1976, including work completed around insulation and boilers on Navy ships and joint compound on construction sites. The electrician and his wife sued 25 firms that were responsible for making the products.
- In 2014, the families of three New York workers a total of $12.5 million after the workers died from mesothelioma. The workers were employed as an insulator, a steamfitter and an electrician. The electrician’s family was awarded $3 million of the verdict after the jury found that the job sites where he worked made asbestos-containing electrical components to which the electrician was exposed.
- A St. Louis jury awarded $4.1 million verdict in 2016 after the death of a Wisconsin electrician caused by mesothelioma. The man worked as an electrician from 1963 to 2002.
- The family of an electrician was awarded a $8.2 million verdict in 2018 after the jury concluded that Union Carbide was responsible for exposing the electrician to asbestos fibers used in Georgia Pacific’s joint compound, which ultimately resulted in him developing mesothelioma.
- An electrician received a $3.4 million settlement after working with electrical products containing asbestos.
- A New York jury awarded $25 million in 2014 to two electricians in a consolidated asbestos trial. The jury found the men were exposed to asbestos products connected to valves sold by Crane. It concluded the company failed to provide adequate warnings regarding hazards associated with its asbestos-containing products.
- A man who developed malignant mesothelioma at age 75 was awarded nearly $850,000 after he was exposed to asbestos during his 40-year career as an electrician and supervisor of other electricians at industrial and petro-chemical work sites.
There have also been several multimillion-dollar awards granted to the spouses of electricians who developed secondhand exposure as a result of laundering their husbands’ asbestos-contaminated clothing.
Studies Related to Electricians and Asbestos
In the study “Electricians’ chrysotile asbestos exposure and risks of mesothelioma and lung cancer,” researchers reviewed the literature regarding electricians and their increased risk of mesothelioma. They concluded that the most likely cause of mesothelioma is exposure to amphibole asbestos caused by renovation or demolition work or working near other skilled craftsmen.
In a 2008 study, Italian researchers found that electricians’ high rate of exposure to asbestos increased the content of a particular biomarker in their DNA.
Types of Asbestos Products Used by Electricians
Electricians may have worked directly with products that contained asbestos or with other products in sites that had asbestos-containing products. Some of these products included:
- Cables
- Wires
- Tape
- Insulation
- Glues
- Adhesives
- Sealants
- Paints
- Flooring tiles
- Wallboard and millboard
- Siding
- Roofing
Manufacturers of Asbestos Products Used by Electricians
Some of the largest manufacturers of asbestos products that electricians may have been exposed to include:
- Crane
- Foster Wheeler
- National Gypsum
- Union Carbide
- General Electric
- Gould Pumps
- Okonite Company
- Westinghouse Electric Corp.
- Garlock Sealing Technologies
