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What is considered an Auto Mechanic?
Auto mechanics repair passenger vehicles and light trucks, inspect vehicle engine, mechanical components and electrical components to diagnose mechanical issues accurately. They also repair, maintain and upgrade vehicle computers and electronic systems. They must examine various vehicle systems to diagnose problems. They run computerized diagnostic tests to help them identify malfunctioning components.
This job may require the mechanic to remove worn or broken parts that are not operating properly and replace them with other parts. Additionally, auto mechanics often conduct routine maintenance to make vehicles last longer and function better.
How Can an Auto Mechanic Get Mesothelioma by Occupational Exposure to Asbestos?
Mechanics work closely with a variety of automotive parts as they make repairs and replace old parts. Asbestos was once a popular component for vehicle brakes, clutches and heat seals because of its heat-resistant quality and its strength. However, when parts that contain asbestos begin to disintegrate or are disturbed, asbestos becomes airborne and can be ingested by mechanics.
Estimates are that approximately 900,000 American automotive mechanics were exposed to asbestos dust from brake and clutch work. This exposure often occurred when automotive mechanics used an air hose to clean brake surfaces. Brake technicians can be exposed to asbestos dust from worn out brake pads.
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency issued an official guideline on preventing asbestos in auto mechanics in 1986. This guideline listed malignant mesothelioma as a consequence of being exposed to asbestos fibers in brake linings and clutch facings by auto mechanics.
Mechanics that work on older vehicles are at an increased risk of being exposed to asbestos. However, brake linings in some modern vehicles still contain asbestos to this day. Asbestos is not completely banned in the United States, despite its known dangers. Major manufacturers still use asbestos and manufacturers other than the original manufacturer of the vehicle may sell parts that contain asbestos.
Repair shops often have poor indoor air quality and circulation, so mechanics could breathe in asbestos fibers that are in the air.
Additionally, auto mechanics can be exposed to asbestos dust that clings to their clothes. When they go home after work, their family members could be exposed to this cancer-causing dust.
Locations in the United States for the Highest Employment Rates for Auto Mechanics
According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, there are currently nearly 640,000 auto mechanics in the United States. The highest concentration of these individuals are located in the following states:
Similar Occupations as Auto Mechanics
Similar occupations as auto mechanics include the following:
- Automotive repair and maintenance workers
- Automobile dealers
- Automotive body and glass repairers
- Heavy vehicle and mobile equipment service technicians
- Small engine mechanics
Lawsuits and Settlements Involving Auto Mechanics and Mesothelioma
Several auto mechanics and their families have been awarded multimillion-dollar verdicts after developing serious illnesses like asbestosis and mesothelioma after being exposed to asbestos. Some of these cases include:
- In 2019, a St. Louis auto mechanic was awarded a $8.4 million verdict against Ford Motor Co. after he was exposed to asbestos during the 1960s to 1980s while working at its dealerships and developed pleural mesothelioma. $2 million of the verdict were punitive damages.
- An Arkansas jury returned a verdict of $18.5 million in 2019 to the estate of a former brake shoe worker who worked at a brake shop for 12 years against Pneumo Abex LLC, Bendix and other companies. The former mechanic was diagnosed with mesothelioma and died a year later.
- A Los Angeles jury returned a verdict of $34 million in 2019 to a mechanic and his wife against Ford Motor Co. after he was exposed to asbestos-contaminated brakes manufactured by Ford while working at service stations in Southern California and Indiana during the 1960s and 1970s
- In 2012, a Hayward, California jury awarded a 69-year-old former mechanic and his spouse $6.825 million against Ford Motor Company. The jury found the company guilty of defectively designing products, failing to warn of product defects and negligence.
- In 1985, a California jury returned a verdict of $2 million to an 81-year-old retired mechanic, which was believed to be the first verdict against an asbestos manufacturer concerning brake linings.
Studies Related to Auto Mechanics and Asbestos
A large number of studies have been conducted into the relationship between asbestos and the risk of mesothelioma in auto mechanics. Some of the most cited include the following:
- Mesothelioma from Asbestos Exposure in Brake Mechanics: Epidemiology in Context was a 2018 study that explored epidemiology and its limitations related to finding a connection between brake mechanics and asbestos exposure.
- Malignant Mesothelioma in a Motor Vehicle Mechanic: Case Report and Review of the Literature was a 2016 study that analyzed one case of an auto mechanic whose only known exposure to asbestos was from his job.
- Malignant pleural mesothelioma in US automotive mechanics: reported vs expected number of cases from 1975 to 2007 compared the reported cases of asbestos exposure in academic studies for auto mechanics from 1975 to 2007 to the expected number of mesothelioma cases.
- Asbestos-related diseases in automobile mechanics was a 2011 study that analyzed the frequency of pleural and parenchymal abnormalities in a population of automobile mechanics.
- Mesothelioma and Lung Cancer Among Motor Vehicle Mechanics: a Meta-analysis was a 2004 systematic review and analysis of existing literature that examined the risk of lung cancer and mesothelioma among motor vehicle mechanics who might have conducted brake repair.
- Mesothelioma Among Brake Mechanics: An Expanded Analysis of a Case-Control Study is a 2004 study that reviewed mesothelioma cases that were controlled for eight occupations with potential asbestos exposure and examined cases involving brake work.
- Exposure to Brake Dust and Malignant Mesothelioma: A Study of 10 Cases with Mineral Fiber Analyses is a 2003 study that examined ten cases of brake mechanics with malignant mesothelioma whose only exposure to asbestos was brake dust and correlated their findings with lung asbestos fiber burdens.
- Cumulative asbestos exposure for US automobile mechanics involved in brake repair (circa 1950s to 2000) was a 2007 study published in the Journal of Exposure Science & Environmental Epidemiology explored the cumulative effect of years of exposure to asbestos on automotive mechanics.
- Malignant Mesothelioma and Asbestos Exposure among Auto Mechanics: Appraisal of Scientific Evidence reviewed existing literature at the time regarding asbestos exposure and auto mechanics to assess the EPA’s official guideline to prevent asbestos exposure to auto mechanics.
- Mortality of auto mechanics: A ten-year follow-up was an early 1989 study that investigated the mortality rate for auto mechanics.
Types of Asbestos Products Used by Auto Mechanics
Auto mechanics may come in close contact with a variety of automotive parts that contain asbestos, including the following:
- Brake pads
- Brake lining
- Paint
- Front-wheel drive components
- Clutches
- Gaskets
- Heat seals
- Valve rings
- Packing
- Hoodliners
Manufacturers of Asbestos Products Used by Auto Mechanics
There are a variety of auto manufacturers and auto part manufacturers that have been named as defendants in asbestos lawsuits for allegedly manufacturing and selling asbestos-contaminated automotive parts. Some of these include:
- Daimler Chrysler
- Ford Motor Company
- General Motors Inc.
- Pneumo Abex LLC
- Bendix
- Advance Auto Parts
- AutoZone
- O’Reilly Automotive, Inc.
- Raymark Industries
- LAS Replacement Parts, Inc.
- Austin Auto Parts Inc.
- Canton Auto Parts, Inc.
- Fisher Auto Parts, Inc.
- Forest CITY Auto Parts Company, Inc.
- G & T Auto Parts of Mid Orange, Inc.
- Genuine Parts Company
- Globe Foreign Auto Parts, Inc.
- L M Scanlon, Inc.
- Potsdam Auto Parts, Inc.
- Ren Auto Parts
- Scanlonos Auto Parts, Inc.
- Pep Boys
- Genuine Parts Co.
- Federal Mogul
