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Our experienced mesothelioma lawyers have important information to share with you about mesothelioma and possible sources of asbestos exposure. We are available for a free consultation during which we can discuss your legal rights and options. Contact us today to schedule your free case review.
Asbestos Exposure in the Construction Industry
Two of the Kalispell, Montana jobsites linked to possible asbestos exposure include Brick & Builders Supply and the C and C Plywood Corp. The construction industry has long been linked to asbestos exposure. OSHA ranks the construction industry at a high rate of risk of developing an asbestos-related disease. According to a 2018 study in the International Journal of Epidemiology, construction workers were at least five times more likely to develop mesothelioma than people in other occupations. In addition to people who may have been exposed to asbestos decades ago when building properties when asbestos was not yet regulated, new construction workers may have been recently exposed to asbestos when renovating or demolishing older buildings.
Construction workers who work in any of the following jobs may be at risk for asbestos exposure:
- Brick layers
- Carpenters
- Demolition crews
- Drywall workers
- Insulation workers
- Masonry workers
- Plasterers
- Roofers
- Tile setters
At one point in history, more than 4,000 construction materials contained asbestos. Construction materials that were contaminated with asbestos include the following:
- Adhesives
- Asphalt
- Ceiling texturized products
- Compounds for bricks
- Concretes
- Construction felt
- Drywall
- Drywall tape
- Duct tape
- Grout
- Gypsum board
- Insulating cements
- Joint packing
- Millboard
- Mortar
- Paint
- Paint textured coatings
- Pipeline wrap
- Plaster
- Plastic roof cement
- Roof coating
- Shingles
- Siding panels
- Spackling compounds
- Spray-on insulation
- Textured paint
- Tiles
- Vermiculite products
- Vinyl flooring materials
Because of the negative effects of exposure to asbestos, many of the largest asbestos verdicts in the country have been provided to former construction workers and supervisors.
History of Libby and Asbestos Exposure
Libby, Montana is a small town approximately one and a half hours away from Kalispell, Montana that is most well-known for its infamous involvement with asbestos. This was a location of one of the country’s worst man-made environmental hazards. Vermiculite mines extracted this material that was contaminated by asbestos that grew near it. Vermiculite was used in various construction materials, including insulation. Miners were exposed to asbestos after breathing in its toxic dust. W.R. Grace & Company took over operation of the mines in the 1960s, knowing that the vermiculite was contaminated by asbestos. Although Libby, Montana is a small town, approximately 400 residents o the town have died from mesothelioma and asbestos-related diseases and another 3,000 are currently suffering from these diseases.
