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How Can a Sprayer Get Mesothelioma by Occupational Exposure to Asbestos?
Ship sprayers are responsible for spraying ships, machines or working areas with protective or decorative material with a spray gun. The protective or decorative materials may include paint, glaze, enamel, lacquer or gel-coat.
Major shipbuilding activity occurred between World War II and the Vietnam War because of the Navy’s need for additional ships. This era was also associated with the asbestos boom, so many ships were constructed with asbestos products, including paint, adhesives and insulation. Nearly every ship the Navy commissioned between 1930 and 1970 contained asbestos. Sprayers who constructed ships may have come into direct contact with asbestos-containing materials like paneling, adhesives and insulation.
Sprayers may have also been used to repair ships. After the structural repair was made, a functional or ornamental coat may have been added to the ship. When sprayers worked in conjunction with other workers like asbestos insulators, they could have come in contact with asbestos and breathed in the toxic materials.
Common job duties of sprayers include:
- Use a spray gun to spray paint, enamel or other materials on boats
- Fill cavities or dents with compound to create a smooth surface
- Mix coating liquid to achieve desired color
- Use brush to coat areas inaccessible to sprayer
- Heat and spray wax onto surfaces
- Remove rust from metal with acid, steel wool or wire brush
- Clean grease and dirt from materials by using lacquer thinner, turpentine or soap and water
Locations in the United States for the Highest Employment Rates for Sprayers
According to the United States Bureau of Labor Statistics, there are currently 135,910 people employed in the ship and boat building industry. States with the highest employment rates for ship and boat building workers include California, Washington, New York and Massachusetts.
Similar Occupations as Sprayers
Similar occupations as shipwrights include the following:
- Carpenters
- Construction laborers and helpers
- Drywall installers and tapers
- Flooring installers
- Roofers
- Tile installers
- Tile and marble setters
Lawsuits and Settlements Involving Sprayers and Mesothelioma
There have been a few cases brought by painters but not specifically shipyard sprayers. Mesothelioma has a latency period between 10 and 50 years. Sprayers who are diagnosed with mesothelioma or other asbestos-related diseases may have a variety of legal options. They may be able to file a workers’ compensation claim for occupational exposure. If they worked in the Navy or military during the time they were exposed to asbestos, they may be able to file a VA claim. Injured individuals may also have the option to file a personal injury lawsuit against the parties responsible for their asbestos exposure, such as the manufacturers of asbestos products that they worked with as long as they are within the statute of limitations. Some manufactures established asbestos trust funds to provide compensation to claimants adversely affected by their products.
Studies Related to Sprayers and Asbestos
A number of important medical and scientific studies have been conducted that have shown the connection between asbestos and people who work with paint products. In the 1990s, shipbuilding and repair was listed as the second most popular industry specified on death certificates for asbestosis fatalities.
A North Carolina study found elevated rates of lung cancer in painters. Additionally, several mesothelioma and lung cancer registries have identified higher disease rates in former painters.
Another study found airborne asbestos fiber concentrations that were five times higher than the legal exposure limit during painting activities.
Types of Asbestos Products Used by Sprayers
Sprayers would have most likely been in direct contact with paints that contained asbestos. This type of paint was used on ships because it was fireproof, was a good insulator, controlled sound and did not rust. They may have come into contact with other asbestos-containing products such as glue, adhesives, joint compound, insulation or mortar mix.
Manufacturers of Products Used by Sprayers
Some of the manufacturers of products used by sprayers include:
- Bondex
- Kelly-Moore Paint Company
- Proko Industries, Inc.
- Sherwin-Williams Paint Company
- S. Gypsum Company
- R. Grace & Co.
You may have been exposed to asbestos if you worked at any of the following shipyards,:
- Alabama Dry Dock
- Albina Shipyard
- Barbours Cut Docks
- Bethlehem Steel Shipyard
- Bremerton Naval Shipyard
- Brooklyn Navy Yard
- Caddell Dry Dock
- California Navy Shipyard
- Charleston Naval Shipyard
- Consolidated Steel Shipyards
- Curtis Bay Coast Guard Yard
- Defoe Shipyard
- Duwamish Shipyard
- Galveston Docks
- General Dynamics NASSCO
- GMD Shipyard
- Groton Naval Base
- Houston Shipyards
- Hunters Point Naval Shipyard
- Ingalls Shipbuilding
- Kane Shipbuilding
- Kaiser Shipyard
- Lockheed Shipyard
- Long Beach Naval Shipyard
- Moore Dry Dock
- Naval Station Everett
- Naval Weapons Station
- New York Shipbuilding Corporation
- Newport News Naval Shipyard
- Norfolk Naval Shipyard
- Orange Shipbuilding
- Pearl Harbor Shipyard
- Pensacola Naval Air Station
- Portsmouth Naval Shipyard
- San Diego Naval Shipyard
- San Francisco Drydock
- Seward Ships Drydock
- Sun Shipbuilding
- Tacoma Drydock
- Todd Shipyards
- Washington Navy Yard
- Willamette Iron and Steel Works
