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How Can a Metal/Iron Worker Get Mesothelioma by Occupational Exposure to Asbestos?
Metalworkers shape, form and fabricate metals through various processes, including welding. This category of workers includes reinforcing ironworkers who install rebar to strengthen concrete walls and general ironworkers who install structural and reinforcing iron and steel to support infrastructure. It also includes other metal workers, such as sheet metal workers, metal lathers and blacksmiths. Many of these workers have classifications in various branches of the U.S. military while others work in the private sector. Those who work in the private sector are often employed at factories, steel mills and shipbuilding locations.
Metal workers often work with extremely high temperatures and fire, which often led to the use of asbestos which was coveted because of its heat-resistant properties. Asbestos products were used to insulate industrial settings. Fireproofing materials that metal workers wore were also often made with asbestos. When metal workers worked with these products, they came in contact with asbestos and may have breathed in toxic asbestos fibers.
Common job duties of ironworkers include:
- Read and follow blueprints and sketches
- Unload prefabricated iron
- Communicate signals to crane operators to lift steel and iron
- Align structural and reinforcing iron and steel
- Connect iron and steel with bolts, wire or welds
- Use rod-bending machines, torches, shears, welding equipment and hand tools
Locations in the United States for the Highest Employment Rates for Metal/Iron Worker
According to the United States Bureau of Labor Statistics, there are currently 98,600 ironworkers currently employed in the United States. With an expected rate of growth of 11% between 2018 and 2028, there will likely be many more such workers in the near future. States with the highest employment rates for ironworkers include:
- California
- Texas
- New York
- Ohio
- Florida
Similar Occupations as Metal/Iron Workers
Similar occupations as metal and iron workers include:
- Assemblers
- Boilermakers
- Construction laborers and helpers
- Fabricators
- Machinery maintenance workers
- Masonry workers
- Metal and plastic machine operators
- Welders, cutters, solderers and brazers
Lawsuits and Settlements Involving Metal/Iron Workers and Mesothelioma
There have been several notable cases involving metal and iron workers who have sued after developing asbestos-related diseases. Several multimillion-dollar verdicts have been reported. For example, a U.S. Navy metal worker who was diagnosed with lung cancer in 2005 was awarded $21 million against the manufacturers of insulation, valves and gaskets that were responsible for his asbestos exposure.
In 2003, U.S. Steel Corp. was ordered to pay $250 million to a former employee after an Illinois jury found the company responsible for the man’s asbestos exposure which led to mesothelioma. He worked for the company for 31 years, during which time he was exposed to asbestos insulation.
A Buffalo, New York man who worked as a sheet metal worker and removed and maintained residential boilers received settlements of $2.44 million against several distributors and manufacturers of asbestos-containing products.
The family of a former steel metal worker was awarded $2 million after the state court jury determined that the sheet metal worker’s mesothelioma was caused by exposure to asbestos products the defendant supplied to the steel mill where the metal worker was employed.
Studies Related to Metal and Iron Workers and Mesothelioma
There have been a few scientific studies that have noted the connection between metal work and asbestos exposure. The British Medical Journal reported asbestos-related deaths in Belgian from workers from 2001 to 2019 and found that metal manufacturing workers were nearly three times more likely to die from mesothelioma when compared to the general population.
The Albert Einstein College of Medicine and the Occupational Health Program of Montefiore Medical Center conducted a study in 1982 that found that New York City sheet metal workers were exposed to dangerously high levels of asbestos.
A Sheet Metal Occupational Health Institute Trust study found that nearly one-third of union workers who worked in the industry from 1986 to 1990 had specific lung abnormalities that are often associated with occupational lung diseases.
Types of Asbestos Products Used by Metal and Iron Workers
Metal and iron workers may have worked with a variety of products that contained asbestos. Metal was often coated with an asbestos finish to make it resistant to heat and to make it stronger. Fireproofing safety equipment like helmets, masks, jackets, gloves and aprons often contained asbestos. Also, metal workers often worked in industrial settings or construction sites that were built with asbestos-containing materials, including insulation, floor tiles, ceiling tiles, asbestos bricks and drywall.
Manufacturers of Asbestos Products Used by Metal and Iron Workers
Metal and iron workers may have been exposed to a variety of asbestos-containing products made by various manufacturers. One of the largest manufacturers is Johns Manville, which set up a settlement trust of more than $2 billion. Garlock Sealing Technologies is also another large manufacturer that made asbestos-containing products for many years. The company has more than 100,000 lawsuits pending due to workers and consumers being exposed to its asbestos products.
