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How Can a Hospital Worker Get Mesothelioma by Occupational Exposure to Asbestos?
The U.S. Occupational Safety and Health Administration classifies hospitals as “high-risk” for possible asbestos exposure. Many hospitals were built during a time when the dangers of asbestos were not well known or taken seriously, so many are laden with a variety of asbestos products, including insulation, pipe covering and ceiling coating. Asbestos was once a highly sought after construction material due to its affordability, durability and strong insulating properties. Workers who came into contact with these asbestos materials could develop serious asbestos-related diseases, such as mesothelioma and asbestosis.
Hospitals are constantly renovated and expanded, so hospital workers can be exposed to asbestos when it is disturbed during these routine renovations. During renovations, anyone working in the building can potentially be exposed to asbestos. When asbestos is disturbed, microscopic fibers become airborne. These fibers can then travel through air ducts and corridors and be breathed in by anyone nearby.
Additionally, some hospital workers work in maintenance duties or around exposed rooms such as boiler rooms. When they repaired boilers or piping, they could have breathed in asbestos fibers.
Locations in the United States for the Highest Employment Rates for Hospital Workers
The United States Bureau of Labor Statistics reports that there are currently more than 5.297 million hospital workers. It estimates that 1.9 million hospital jobs will be added between 2018 and 2028 due to a projected 14% growth rate during this decade. States with the highest employment rates for hospital workers include:
- West Virginia
- Maine
- Massachusetts
- Pennsylvania
- Rhode Island
Similar Occupations as Hospital Workers
Hospital worker occupations and similar occupations include:
- Athletic trainers
- Audiologists
- Chiropractors
- Clinical laboratory technicians
- Dental assistants
- Dental hygienists
- Dentists
- Diagnostic technicians
- Dieticians and nutritionists
- EMTs and paramedics
- Exercise physiologists
- Genetic counselors
- Grounds maintenance workers
- Home health aides and personal care aides
- Licensed practical and licensed vocational nurses
- Maintenance workers
- Massage therapists
- Medical assistants
- Medical records and health information technicians
- Medical transcriptionists
- Nuclear medicine technologists
- Nurse anesthetists
- Nurse midwives
- Nurse practitioners
- Nursing assistants and orderlies
- Occupational health and safety specialists and technicians
- Occupational therapists
- Occupational therapy assistants and aides
- Opticians
- Optometrists
- Orthotists
- Pharmacists
- Pharmacy technicians
- Phlebotomists
- Physical therapist assistants and aides
- Physical therapists
- Physician assistants
- Physicians and surgeons
- Podiatrists
- Prosthetists
- Psychiatric technicians and aides
- Radiation therapists
- Radiologic and MRI technologists
- Recreational therapists
- Registered nurses
- Respiratory therapists
- Speech language pathologists
- Surgical technologists
- Veterinarians
- Veterinary assistants and laboratory animal caretakers
- Veterinary technologists and technicians
Lawsuits and Settlements Involving Hospital Workers and Mesothelioma
The first disability award for an asbestosis claim was given to a maintenance worker in a federal hospital for a claim that was filed in 1932. Since that time, many other hospitals have been found to contain dangerous levels of asbestos, including Cleveland’s University Hospital and Edith Nourse Rogers Memorial Veterans Hospital, raising the question of whether workers were placed in danger. A British anesthesiologist was diagnosed with mesothelioma in 2007. He ultimately determined asbestos exposure occurred at Guy’s Hospital in London where he spent six years training. Tunnels contained asbestos, and doctors, nurses, students and porters used these tunnels. He reported three other doctors who were in school with him also developed mesothelioma. He died from the disease at the age of 55. Australia has also reported a growing number of new mesothelioma cases among hospital workers where asbestos was used to insulate hot water and steam pipes in their underground tunnels, corridors and walkways.
Hospital workers who develop mesothelioma and other asbestos-related diseases may have a variety of legal options for pursuing compensation for the damages they sustain, such as workers’ compensation claims, disability claims, product liability lawsuits or asbestos trust fund claims.
Studies Related to Asbestos in Hospitals
In the study “Asbestos in public hospitals: are employees at risk?” 26 hospitals were surveyed and 61.5% were found to have asbestos-containing building materials, many of which were friable. A London report revealed that 94% of hospitals in the city contained asbestos.
Types of Asbestos Products Used by Hospital Workers
Hospital workers may have been exposed to asbestos if they came in contact with any of the following asbestos-containing materials
- Plaster
- Popcorn ceiling textural coating
- Floor tiles
- Ceiling tiles
- Roofing materials
- Paints and coatings
- Electrical wiring
- Air duct insulation
- Boiler and pump insulation
- Pipe insulation
- Cooling towers
Manufacturers of Products Used by Hospital Workers
Hospital workers may have been exposed to asbestos from products made by the following manufacturers:
- American Biltrite
- Artra Group
- Bondex International, Inc.
- Brunswick Fabrications
- California Portland Cement
- Celotex
- E. Thurston & Sons
- Congoleum
- Delaware Insulation
- Eternit
- Fuller-Austin Insulation
- GAF
- Hamilton Materials, Inc.
- Hanson Permanente
- Johns Manville
- Kaiser Gypsum Company, Inc.
- Kelly-Moore Paint Company
- Murco Wall Products
- National Gypsum
- Owens Corning
- Proko Industries, Inc.
- Sherwin-Williams Paint Company
- Synkoloid Company
- The Flintkote Company
- Union Carbide
- S. Gypsum Company
- S. Mineral Products
- R. Grace & Co.
