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How Can an Engine Room Crew Member Get Mesothelioma by Occupational Exposure to Asbestos?
Engine room crew members often work for the Navy, Merchant Marines or on commercial or private vessels. They are responsible for maintaining the mechanical operators of vessels. There may be different tiers of engine crew members that include a chief engineer, second engineer, third engineer and engineer trainee. The tam is responsible for operating and monitoring all systems on the vessel, including the mechanical, electrical, water treatment, refrigeration, propulsion and hydraulic systems. Junior crew members may be responsible for ensuring all equipment is properly lubricated and clean.
Job duties of engine room crew members include:
- Maintaining the electrical, bilge and oily water separation, sewage treatment, and lube oil systems of the vessel
- Maintaining the machinery on the vessel
- Maintaining lifeboats
- Maintaining pumps, distilling plants, turbines and condensers on the boat
- Maintaining a high level of readiness in case of a system failure
Asbestos was commonly used on boats because it helped keep them watertight. Asbestos also helped prevent fires and was used as an insulation material aboard ships. The Navy began using asbestos to build, repair and maintain ships. Engine rooms are often poorly-ventilated small spaces, so engine crews may have breathed in this toxic material that was used as a sealant and to insulate engines. Once engine room crew members breathed in asbestos, these microscopic fibers can become attached to the lining of the lungs.
This material was also found in other locations where these workers were located, such as mess halls, navigation rooms, sleeping quarters and common areas. Asbestos was contained on deck flooring, doors, walls and piping.
Locations in the United States for the Highest Employment Rates for Engine Room Crew Members
There are 83,400 workers listed under the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics’ classification of water transportation workers. States with the highest employment rates for this group of workers include the following:
- Louisiana
- Florida
- Texas
- Virginia
- Washington
Similar Occupations as Engine Room Crew Members
Similar occupations as engine room crew members include:
- Airline and commercial pilots
- Boiler operators
- Fishing and hunting workers
- Hand laborers and material movers
- Heavy and tractor-trailer truck drivers
- Heavy vehicle and mobile equipment service technicians
- Material moving machine operators
- Railroad workers
- Stationary engineers
Lawsuits and Settlements Involving Engine Room Crew Members and Mesothelioma
Engine room crew members who are exposed to asbestos may have a variety of legal avenues to receive compensation for their asbestos exposure. Workers’ compensation benefits may be available to pay for medical expenses and to provide partial wage replacement income. They may be able to file a claim with an asbestos trust fund set up by the manufacturers of the asbestos products that they were exposed to at work. Billions of dollars have been paid to claimants who were adversely affected by these products. Another option is to file a lawsuit against the parties responsible for their asbestos exposure.
Studies Related to Engine Room Crew Members and Asbestos
There have been a few studies that have explored the connection between crew members and asbestos exposure. In the 2007 study entitled “Lung cancer and mesothelioma among engine room crew–case reports with risk assessment of previous and ongoing exposure to carcinogens,” researchers used case reports to demonstrate the hazards of previous and ongoing carcinogenic exposure in the engine rooms of ships. Researchers concluded that asbestos exposure was a causal factor in the mesothelioma cases and a “clear risk factor” in the lung cancer cases.
In “Cancer at sea: a case-control study among male Finnish seafarers,” researchers studied the possible work-related reasons for the increased incidence of many cancers among seafarers. They found that engine crew workers had a 9.75 times greater risk of developing mesothelioma after being employed in the industry for at least 20 years. Researchers concluded engine crew workers have an asbestos-related risk of mesothelioma.
Types of Asbestos Products Used by Engine Room Crew Members
Engine room crew members could have been exposed to asbestos from a number of products, including instruments, panels, insulation, deck materials, mortar, valves, gaskets, assemblies or insulation.
Manufacturers of Asbestos Products Used by Engine Room Crew Members
Manufactures of asbestos products that engine room crew members may have used include:
- W. Chesterton Company
- Allied Signal, Inc.
- American Biltrite, Inc.
- American Cyanamid Company
- American Olean Tile Co.
- American Standard, Inc.
- Anchor Packaging, Co.
- Armstrong International, Inc.
- Atlantic Richfield Company
- Aurora Pump Company
- Bath Iron Works
- Bechtel Corporation
- Bell & Gossett Company
- Bestobell Steam Traps
- Bird Corporation
- Boise Cascade Corporation
- Buffalo Pumps, Inc.
- Burnham Corporation
- CertainTeed Corporation
- Crown, Cork & Seal Company, Inc.
- Delaval Steam Turbine
- Ericson, Inc.
- FMC Corporation
- Foster Wheeler Corporation
- Georgia Pacific Corporation
- Hollingsworth & Vose Company
- John Crane Company
- Metalclad Insulation
- Milwaukee Valve Company
- Minnesota Mining & Manufacturing
- Owens-Illinois, Inc.
- Riley Stoker Corporation
- Sid Harvey Industries, Inc.
- Spirax Sarco, Inc.
- Uniroyal Holding, Inc.
- Viking Pump Inc.
