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How a Steel Worker Can Get Mesothelioma by Occupational Exposure to Asbestos
Steel workers install structural and reinforcing steel and iron to form and support infrastructure while reinforcing steel and ironworkers install rebar to strengthen concrete walls. Steel workers may help build and reinforce buildings, bridges, roads and other structures.
Steel workers may also be involved in the demolition process of older bridges and buildings. These structures may have contained asbestos, which was a popular construction material used until the 1970s. It was often included in insulation, flooring and ceiling tiles, duct work and pipe wrap, so steel workers may be exposed to these materials when demolishing older buildings.
Before asbestos was banned for most applications, it was used to insulate machinery to prevent fire and burns, including hot blast stoves, furnaces, boilers, rolling mills, ovens, steam pipes, tanks, molding boards and cranes. Insulation would deteriorate over time and asbestos fibers would break off and become airborne. Those near the machinery and materials that contained asbestos would breathe in or ingest asbestos. Over time, this could lead to the scarring of the lungs and other internal organs that could eventually result in mesothelioma and other asbestos-related diseases.
Another potential source of asbestos exposure to these workers was the protective clothing they wore. Steel workers often used gloves, aprons and other protective clothing that contained asbestos to prevent the workers from being burned or injured while working with steel and hot materials and machinery. This clothing would sometimes get cut or deteriorate and asbestos fibers could be released.
Common job duties of steel workers include:
- Read and follow blueprints, sketches and other instructions
- Unload and stack prefabricated steel and iron
- Align structural and reinforcing steel and iron by using tag lines, lasers, levels and plumb bobs
- Connect steel and iron with wire, bolts and welds
- Install metal decking to construct buildings
- Use machinery and hand tools to cut, bend and weld steel and iron
Locations in the United States with the Highest Employment Rates for Steel Workers
According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, there are currently 74,420 structural iron and steel workers. States with the highest employment rates for steel workers include:
- California
- Texas
- New York
- Florida
- Ohio
Similar Occupations as Steel Workers
Some occupations that are similar to steel workers include:
- Assemblers
- Boilermakers
- Carpenters
- Cement masons
- Construction laborers and helpers
- Fabricators
- Masonry workers
- Welders, cutters, solderers and brazers
Lawsuits and Settlements Involving Steel Workers
There have been a number of cases brought by steel workers who developed mesothelioma or other asbestos-related diseases due to their occupational exposure, including the following:
- A former steel worker who worked at a Gary Indiana plant for U.S. Steel from 1950 to 1981. A Madison County, Illinois jury awarded the plaintiff for $250 million in 2003 after the former steel worker was diagnosed with mesothelioma in 2001. He was exposed to asbestos-containing insulation used in the plant.
- In 2000, a jury awarded $1.6 million to the family of a former steel worker who worked in the industry for 40 years. He worked for LTV Steel and the verdict was against Pittsburgh Corning Corp., which made asbestos pipe covering from 1962 to 1972 that the man was exposed to. He died in 1998 from mesothelioma. The decision was appealed and affirmed in 2002.
- In 1995, a group of eight former Bethlehem Steel workers sued 10 asbestos companies that manufactured asbestos or installed asbestos-containing materials. They had suffered from lung diseases, including mesothelioma, asbestosis and lung cancer. Three of the plaintiffs had died. Two of the employees received damages awarded by a Baltimore City Circuit Court jury. While they had sued for $2 million and $5 million, the jury awarded them $126,000 and $86,000. The case was part of a consolidated asbestos liability trial that originally involved 10,000 workers and resulted in five workers being awarded more than $20 million in damages. The remaining workers’ cases were determined through minitrials.
- A family was awarded $1.8 million by a Michigan jury in a lung cancer case after a former steel worker at the Ford Rouge Plant in Dearborn, Michigan was diagnosed with lung cancer after working for the plant for 30 years. He died from the disease in 2017. The jury found the Cleveland-based engineering company guilty of negligence and wanton misconduct and also ordered it to pay the plaintiff’s costs.
Studies Related to Steel Workers and Asbestos
A study of Belgium steelworkers found an increased rate of asbestos bodies among production and maintenance workers at steel mills.
Types of Asbestos Products Used by Steel Workers
Steel mill workers may have been exposed to asbestos that was contained in materials used to insulate equipment. Additionally, they may have been exposed from the protective clothing they wore.
Manufacturers of Asbestos Products Used by Steel Workers
Some of the manufacturers that made asbestos products that steel workers may have come in contact with and former installers of asbestos-containing insulation products include the following:
- AK Steel
- Bethlehem Steel
- Keystone Steel & Wire Co.
- LTV Steel
- Porter Hayden Co.
- USX Corporation
- Weirton Steel
- Wheeling-Pittsburgh Steel Corp.
