Factory Workers

"Factory workers" is a very broad occupational category that encompasses a huge segment of the American population. It includes anyone who works (or worked) in a factory, whether they worked on an assembly line or a packaging line, maintaining equipment, cutting and piecing patterns and many other jobs. Thousands of men and women who worked in factories before 1980 may have been regularly exposed to asbestos in the course of their work, often without even being aware of the exposure. Even today, there is a chance that those who work in factories may be exposed to harmful levels of asbestos in the course of their work.

At the height of its popularity, asbestos was used in over 3,000 consumer products ranging from kitchen mitts to roofing shingles. Anyone who worked in a factory that made a product containing asbestos was probably exposed to heightened levels of asbestos in the air on a regular basis. While the guy that ripped open bags of powdered asbestos and dumped them into vats of Portland cement may know that he was exposed to asbestos, all cases of asbestos exposure aren't that clear. Workers who stitched together the parts of quilted oven mitts, for example, probably never thought that they were breathing in tiny fibers of asbestos as they bent over their sewing machines.

In addition to the products that they manufactured, factory workers may have been exposed to asbestos fibers from the machinery with which they worked. Because of its insulating properties, asbestos was often used as packing for ball bearings and other friction bearing parts. As the friction wore against those parts, tiny asbestos fibers were ground into dust that could be blown out into the factory and inhaled by workers. Industrial fans, assembly line machinery, packing equipment and many other kinds of machinery used in factories had moving parts made of asbestos that may have increased the levels of asbestos fibers in the air that was being breathed by all workers.

The men and women who maintained those machines were at an even greater risk of asbestos exposure than other workers in the factory. They would have been at risk anytime they were changing parts or maintaining parts on the machines that contained asbestos. Just like auto mechanics are at risk of inhaling asbestos fibers when they open brake compartments to replace pads and linings, those responsible for maintaining factory equipment and machinery would have been at risk whenever they repacked bearings, replaced friction bearing parts, ground down pistons and many other maintenance tasks.

Because so many old factory buildings were built during the height of asbestos' popularity as a building material, those who do building maintenance and repair in factories even today may be at risk of being exposed to airborne asbestos. If your place of work is a factory building that has not undergone complete asbestos abatement since the 1990s, you should be aware of the facts about asbestos exposure. If you work in maintenance and repair, you should have undergone training in how to recognize friable asbestos, and be made aware of any places in the building where there is asbestos remaining.

If you worked in a factory during the last fifty years, you may have been exposed to asbestos in the course of your work, whether you are aware of it or not. Unexpected places to find asbestos-containing materials include:

• oven mitts
• potholders
• fireproof oven mats
• trivets
• asbestos aprons
• hair dryers
• electrical appliances
• stove mats
• cigarette filters (Parliament)
• fireproof safety clothing
• fireproof hearth mats
• firebrick
• siding shingles
• beverage filters
• asbestos paper

If you worked in any sort of manufacturing facility and have since been diagnosed with mesothelioma, asbestosis, lung cancer or another asbestos related disease, it's very likely that you were exposed to asbestos in the course of your work. If that's the case, you may be entitled to compensation for your injuries and illness. An experienced asbestos or mesothelioma lawyer can help you track down when and where you might have been exposed to asbestos, and explain your options for compensation to you.

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