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How Can a Machinist’s Mate Get Mesothelioma by Occupational Exposure to Asbestos?
Machinist’s mates assist machinists in maintaining and servicing engines and equipment that power Navy ships. This job requires them to repair engine components and machinery such as turbines, fuel pumps, HVAC systems and elevators.
Machinist’s mates inspected and replaced materials containing asbestos. They would repair and perform routine maintenance on ship systems. This often required them to repack valves and remove and reinstall gaskets, pumps and other asbestos-containing materials.
Machinist’s mates primarily worked in engine and boiler rooms, which typically are enclosed spaces with poor ventilation. When they worked in these areas with asbestos-containing materials, there may have been poor circulation, so asbestos fibers could remain in the air for many days after the repair or maintenance activities. Additionally, submarines were another concern for these workers since ventilation systems were self-contained on these types of ships.
Ships often require repeated repair and maintenance work, so the potential for machinist’s mates to come in contact with asbestos-containing materials was very high. Navy ships once contained more than 300 asbestos-containing materials and older ships still have some of these potentially dangerous components on board.
Locations in the United States for the Highest Employment Rates for Machinist’s Mates
There are approximately 6,300 men and women currently serving as machinist’s mates in the U.S. Navy. States with the highest employment rates for machinists include:
- California
- Illinois
- Michigan
- Ohio
- Texas
Similar Occupations as Machinist’s Mates
Similar occupations as machinist’s mates include:
- Assemblers
- Boilermakers
- Electrician’s mates
- Fabricators
- Gunner’s mates
- Industrial machinery mechanics
- Machinery maintenance workers
- Metal and plastic machine operators
- Millwrights
- Sheet metal workers
- Welders, cutters, solderers and brazers
Lawsuits and Settlements Involving Machinist’s Mates and Mesothelioma
There have been several notable cases involving machinist’s mates who have filed claims after developing asbestos-related diseases. In 2009, a former U.S. Navy machinist’s mate was awarded nearly $12.1 million against John Crane, Inc. and Lone Star Industries after an LA County jury found them responsible for product defects and failure to warn of the dangers of their products. The former machinist’s mate was exposed to asbestos during a tour in the 1960s.
In 2014, a former Navy machinist’s mate was awarded $71 million in his case against john Crane, which supplied parts used in Navy submarines where the machinist’s mate worked from 1964 to 1990. He also worked as a nuclear inspector. $30 million of the verdict was awarded to his wife for loss of consortium. The Alameda County jury found the defendant guilty of negligence based on failing to warn the plaintiff and his coworkers of the dangers of working with its asbestos-containing products.
Another machinist’s mate sued John Crane, Inc. and was awarded $3 million in 2007, finding the company responsible for his asbestos-related disease. A machinist’s mate who was diagnosed with mesothelioma in 2007 received an award of $35.5 million against several asbestos product manufacturers to cover his medical expenses and lost wages and punitive damages.
A man who served as an electrician’s mate and a machinist’s mate from 1961 to 1965 was awarded $14.4 million by a California jury after being diagnosed with mesothelioma in 2007. His wife was awarded $2.5 million. The jury found manufacturers failed to warn him about the dangers of their asbestos-containing products.
Studies Related to Machinist’s Mates and Mesothelioma
There have been a few studies that have explored the link between machinists and exposure to asbestos. For example, “Incidence of cancer among welders, platers, machinists, and pipe fitters in shipyards and machine shops” assessed the records of 12,693 male professionals who worked for a year or more between 1945 and 1960 in at least one of these professions. Researchers found high levels of lung cancer in machinists and other professionals who were at a high risk of asbestos exposure. In “Relative risk of mesothelioma among railroad machinists,” researchers found an extremely high risk for machinists to develop mesothelioma who were exposed to chrysotile asbestos. Researchers found 1 out of 13 machinists developed the disease in the cohort study.
In the 1983 study entitled “Mesothelioma among machinists in railroad and other industries,” researchers determined that there was a high risk of occupation-related cancer due to asbestos exposure for machinists.
Types of Asbestos Products Used by Machinist’s Mates
Machinists may have worked directly with asbestos-containing materials such as:
- Adhesives and glues
- Electrical and mechanical components
- Heating and air conditioning equipment
- Insulation
- Joint compound
- Paints
- Sealants
Manufacturers of Asbestos Products Used by Machinist’s Mates
Machinist’s mates may have worked directly with asbestos-containing products manufactured by companies like:
- Alcan
- Burrows Paper Corporation
- Carrier Corporation
- Foster Wheeler
GTE Sylvania
