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How a Welder Can Get Mesothelioma by Occupational Exposure to Asbestos
Welders join or cut metals. They permanently join metal parts by fusing them together with heat. Welders may also join metal parts together to help construct buildings, bridges and other structures.
Asbestos was often used in the welding profession due its strength and resistance to heat. Welders may have worked with asbestos-containing tools and welding rods. Tiny asbestos particles would be detached from welding rods through smoke or dust that welders inhaled or ingested. Additionally, they may have been exposed to asbestos while they smoothed out seams.
Welders may work in various settings, which may have exposed them to different risks. For example, many welders work in the shipbuilding trade, which was known to have consisted of hundreds of separate components that were made with asbestos due to its insulating and waterproofing characteristics. Other welders worked in the automotive manufacturing industry or repairing vehicles. Vehicles contained asbestos in brake pads, brake linings, engine insulation and clutches. Many welders work in the construction industry and may work on demolition sites where asbestos-containing materials are disturbed or removed. Others who worked to join pipes may have been exposed from pipes insulated with asbestos. During these various jobs, welders could breathe in these dangerous fibers, which could eventually lead to mesothelioma and other asbestos-related diseases.
Additionally, welders may have used protective equipment that was made with asbestos to prevent them from sustaining injuries caused by burns or fires. They may have worn face masks, shields, gloves, aprons and other protective clothing that contained asbestos. As this material wore out over time, asbestos fibers could be released.
Common job duties of steel workers include:
- Read and follow blueprints, sketches and other specifications
- Calculate the dimensions of parts to be welded
- Inspect structures or materials that are set to be welded
- Use hand-held or remotely controlled equipment
- Ignite torches or start power supplies
- Monitor the process to avoid overheating
- Maintain equipment and machinery
Locations in the United States with the Highest Employment Rates for Welders
According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, there are currently 424,700 welders, cutters, brazers and solderers currently employed in the United States. States with the highest employment rates for these professionals include:
- Texas
- California
- Ohio
- Pennsylvania
- Wisconsin
Similar Occupations as Welders
Some occupations that are similar to steel workers include:
- Assemblers
- Boilermakers
- Cutters, brazers and solderers
- Fabricators
- Industrial machinery mechanics
- Jewelers and precious stone and metal workers
- Machinery maintenance workers
- Machinists
- Metal and plastic machine operators
- Millwrights
- Masonry workers
- Plumbers, pipefitters and steamfitters
- Sheet metal workers
- Tool and die makers
- Welders, cutters, solderers and brazers
Lawsuits and Settlements Involving Welders
The first ever asbestos compensation verdicts against welding rod companies were delivered in 2003 in New York. The verdicts totaled more than $6.64 million. Juries found asbestos-containing welding rod manufacturers responsible for the death of a 57-year old who died from mesothelioma at the age of 57 and the asbestos lung cancer of another 57-year old man. The defendants at the time of trial were Hobart Brothers Company and Lincoln Electric Company, which made asbestos-containing welding rods the men came in contact with. The jury found the products defective and that the companies were negligent by not including warnings about the hazards of asbestos.
A retired San Francisco welder received a verdict of $315,000 in 1995 for lung cancer caused by his asbestos exposure while he worked at a Naval Shipyard from building and repairing nuclear submarines.
Studies Related to Welders and Asbestos
One large-scale study analyzed asbestos exposure risk among various occupations and found welders were at significant levels of exposure. The 2013 study entitled “Welding and Lung Cancer in a Pooled Analysis of Case-Control Studies” also found an elevated risk of lung cancer in welders.
Types of Asbestos Products Used by Welders
Welders may have come into contact with a variety of products while completing their basic job duties. Because they work with high heats and the potential for fires is high, many of the tools and equipment they used contained asbestos. Additionally, welders would try to protect themselves from sparks, heat and flames and wore protective clothing that may have contained asbestos, including:
- Gloves
- Coveralls
- Masks
Asbestos may have also been applied to a coating on the metal that welders used every day. Welding rods contained between 5% to 15% asbestos fibers.
They may have also been exposed to construction materials, automotive parts or shipbuilding components that contained asbestos, such as:
- Gaskets
- Valves
- Pumps
- Hood linings
- Brake pads, shoes and lining
- Flooring and ceiling tiles
- Insulation
- Shingles
- Vinyl
Manufacturers of Asbestos Products Used by Welders
Some of the manufacturers that made asbestos products that welders may have been exposed to include the following:
- P. Green Industries
- AC&S
- Armstrong World Industries
- ASARCO
- Babcock & Wilcox
- Bondex International
- Celotex
- Combustion Engineering
- Congoleum
- Eagle-Picher Industries
- Flintkote
- GAF Corporation
- Garlock Sealing Technologies
- Harbison Walker
- T. Thorpe
- Johns-Manville
- Kaiser Gypsum Company, Inc.
- Kentile Floors, Inc.
- NARCO
- National Gypsum
- Owens Corning
- Pfizer/Quigley
- Pittsburgh Corning
- Turner & Newall
- United States Gypsum
- R. Grace
- Western MacArthur
