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How Can a Repairman Get Mesothelioma by Occupational Exposure to Asbestos?
Repairmen workers are required to repair and maintain buildings, machines, systems and mechanical equipment. They often complete repairs that are not complex enough to require a licensed tradesperson like a plumber or electrician. If the job is too complex, they usually report this issue to their management.
Maintenance workers are often exposed to the internal workings of a building, such as HVAC equipment, boilers and pipes. These items are associated with asbestos, which was often used to insulate them and prevent fires. Additionally, asbestos was found in many construction materials that maintenance workers likely would have come in contact with during their job, such as joint compound that they used to patch holes in walls or ceiling tiles they replaced. Asbestos was affordable, durable and had strong insulating properties, it was used and added to many construction materials. When maintenance workers make repairs that were built before the 1980s, they are likely exposed to asbestos materials. Asbestos is friable, breaking off in small pieces that can easily be breathed in by those nearby.
Maintenance workers often work in older buildings, including offices, schools, hospitals, oil refineries and factories. These areas often contained asbestos.
While most companies have stopped adding asbestos, it is still permitted in some current-day construction materials, including shingles, non-roof coatings, pipe wrap, roof coatings, roofing felt and vinyl tile floor, so maintenance workers may still be exposed to asbestos even if they work on newer buildings.
Maintenance workers also often work in tandem with construction workers or other tradespeople who may have asbestos on their clothing from their own job duties that maintenance workers are then exposed to.
Common job duties of maintenance workers include:
- Paint
- Repair flooring
- Work on air-conditioning, heating, plumbing and electrical systems
- Repair or replace faulty circuit breakers, electrical switches or outlets
- Fix roofs, windows, floors, walls, doors and other parts of buildings.
- Perform routine preventative maintenance to ensure systems and machines operate smoothly
- Set up and install machinery and equipment
- Inspect and diagnose problems with a building or machinery
- Perform general cleaning functions
- Use hand tools and power tools to perform job duties
Locations in the United States for the Highest Employment Rates for Repairmen Workers
According to the United States Bureau of Labor Statistics, there are currently 1,488,000 maintenance workers currently employed in the United States. States with the highest employment rates for maintenance workers include:
- California
- Texas
- New York
- Florida
- Illinois
Similar Occupations as Repairmen
Similar occupations as maintenance workers include:
- Boilermakers
- Building superintendents
- Carpenters
- Construction managers
- Electrical and electronic installers
- Electricians
- Grounds maintenance workers
- Housekeepers
- HVAC workers
- Pipefitters
- Plumbers
- Steamfitters
Lawsuits and Settlements Involving Repairmen and Mesothelioma
Due to the high risk of asbestos exposure involving maintenance workers, there have been quite a few lawsuits brought by maintenance workers who have developed mesothelioma. In 2015, a South Carolina jury awarded the family of a former maintenance worker $14 million, which included $12 million in compensatory damages and $2 million in punitive damages after finding Celanese Corp. used negligent practices. In 2019, the judgment was affirmed by the appellate court.
A San Francisco jury awarded $3.2 million to 11 oil refinery workers who were exposed to asbestos during construction and maintenance work against Owens Corning Fiberglass in 1998 after finding the company’s products were defective due to asbestos.
Studies Related to Asbestos and Repairmen
There are several studies and reports that discuss the prevalence of asbestos in various construction materials. The federal Environmental Protection Agency reports that the majority of the 733,000 public and commercial buildings include asbestos products. Asbestos-contaminated construction materials include and the percentage of asbestos contained in these products include:
- Duct tape – Up to 45%
- Joint packing – Up to 40%
- Spray on acoustic insulation – Up to 10%
- Textured paints – Up to 5%
- Ceiling texturized products – Less than 5%
Types of Asbestos Products Used by Repairmen
Maintenance workers may have come into a variety of asbestos-containing products, such as:
- Flooring tiles
- Pipe insulation
- Boiler insulation
- Block insulation
- Corrugated air-cell insulation
- HVAC duct insulation
- Blown-in insulation
- Sprayed-in insulation
- Electrical wiring insulation
- Gaskets and packing
- Acoustical texture products
- Protective clothing coverings
- Textured paint or coatings
- Caulking
- Putty
- Joint compound
- Adhesives
- Tapes
- Thermal taping compounds
- Fireproofing materials
- Vinyl flooring
- Vinyl backing and glue
- Asbestos cement pipe
- Cement wallboard
- Cement siding
- Ceiling tiles
- Asphalt floor tile
- Roofing shingles
- Roofing felt
- Base flashing
Manufacturers of Products Used by Maintenance Workers
Maintenance workers may have been exposed to asbestos from products made by the following manufacturers:
- P. Green Industries
- Artra Group
- Baldwin-Ehret-Hill
- Brunswick Fabrications
- California Portland Cement
- Celotex
- E. Thurston & Sons
- Delaware Insulation
- Federal Mogul Corporation
- Fibreboard Corp.
- Fisher Scientific Company
- Flintkote Company
- Fuller-Austin Insulation
- Forty-Eight Insulations
- GAF-Ruberoid
- General Refractories Company
- Georgia Pacific Corporation
- Hamilton Materials, Inc.
- Hanson Permanente
- Johns-Manville
- Kaiser Gypsum Company, Inc.
- Kelly-Moore Paint Company
- Kentile Floors
- H. Detrick Company
- Montello, Inc.
- National Gypsum Company
- Owens Corning
- Philip Carey Company
- Plibrico Company
- Sherwin-Williams Paint Company
- Synkoloid Company
- Union Carbide Corporation
- S. Gypsum Company
- S. Mineral Products
- R. Grace & Co.
