The job classification of "Lagger" is mostly used in the United Kingdom, although insulation installers perform the same work in the United States. Both terms describe an individual with responsibilities involving insulation, usually by applying materials known for insulating properties (cork, polyurethane and fiberglass) to equipment requiring heat protection. Unfortunately, their job also has required handling asbestos as another form of insulation.

The lagger's duties insist that insulation materials be fitted to ducts, pipes, generators, or processing vats. As such, laggers are also expected to pack insulation into wall openings or casings and install prefabricated insulation sheets, and they work wherever hot water, steam pipe, boilers and other such equipment are located. All of these situations involved the handling of asbestos to some degree, since it was considered the best insulation available for centuries. Naturally mined throughout the world, it was widely available and inexpensive, so it served in thousands of applications. The majority of its uses were employed where protection from heat or fire was needed, so thousands of laggers made their livelihood by handling asbestos daily, thereby coming into immediate and close contact with what was unknown to be a carcinogenic substance.

Asbestos Exposure

In addition to physically maneuvering asbestos by hand, laggers were often required to prepare it for use as well. Years ago, one of their processes involved tipping sacks of asbestos into a drum and adding water to create a paste that would eventually be spread over targeted areas. However, while doing so, asbestos would fly into the air and put everyone in the vicinity at risk. If the area was not well ventilated-such as on a ship or in a contained area-the danger was even greater. Another method that laggers employed was to take asbestos, mix it manually with water, and then roll it into plugs for oddly shaped openings. Regardless of their specific tasks or techniques, laggers had one of the most dangerous careers of the industrial boom on both sides of the Atlantic when they were required to handle asbestos. It has been determined that there is no minimum or safe exposure to asbestos, so laggers' direct and consistent handling of it put them in the position of extreme peril. In England, during the last National Action Mesothelioma Day, one of the shared tales concerning these workers' unfortunate situations was related by the chairman of a laggers' union. He reported that 58 members out of 380 had developed asbestos-related illnesses and there were already 23 fatalities. One of those was a lagger who committed suicide as his disease progressed and he remembered his brother's suffering and death from the same disease. In the United States, one particular issue involving laggers' most frequently used asbestos products came under fire during the construction of the World Trade Center. It concerned insulation manufactured by the W.R. Grace Corporation which was marketed under the name of Monokote. Company officials touted it as asbestos-free, despite asbestos content of at least 12%. Concurrent with a federal ban of asbestos by the Environmental Protection Agency, Grace's lobbyists were rumored to have bought protective legislation. The resulting "Grace Rule" still refers to an identification of "asbestos free" product as one that can contain up to1% asbestos, which continues to place laggers in danger.

What Laggers Should Know

When asbestos fibers are released into the atmosphere, they travel far distances and survive for quite awhile. At some point, they can become inhaled or swallowed by an unsuspecting victim, who will probably not notice the microscopic fibers or tiny bits of asbestos dust. Once inside the victim's lungs or stomach, the fibers usually become embedded, and thus can remain there for decades. The body's reaction to these foreign bodies eventually results in some form of disease, either non-malignant asbestosis or lung, colon, liver, esophageal, or gastrointestinal cancer, or a lung or chest lining cancer called mesothelioma. Countless of thousands of individuals had, or will have, their lives shortened due to malignant mesothelioma, which is only acquired through asbestos exposure, and therefore 100% preventable. All cancers have the potential to spread, and usually by the time the patient notices significant health problems such as loss of breath, fatigue or pain, it can be too late to remove the tumor by means of surgery. However, radiation, chemotherapy and specialized drugs may slow the progression of these diseases, buying the victim a few more months of life.

Studies and research have proven the toxicity of asbestos; deaths from asbestos diseases reach thousands annually throughout the world. It is estimated that someone dies every 5 hours from asbestos disease, and most are older individuals who worked around asbestos before it was removed from many applications in the 1980's. However, more diagnoses are expected to be discovered within the next decade, since asbestos diseases usually have a latency period of 30-50 years. Not only laggers with daily exposure to asbestos have acquired mesothelioma or other asbestos diseases. Because asbestos dust and fibers can be carried throughout buildings and into the community, people may find that they have lung cancer without ever having smoked or knowingly been around asbestos. Other sad cases have involved family members of workers in fields with indirect exposure to asbestos, who carry minute particles home on their clothing. These fibers can easily waft into the air while clothing is being prepared for laundering, or enter a loved one's respiratory system during a hug. Therefore, it is imperative that anyone who has worked in the position of insulation installer report any unusual physical symptoms immediately to their doctor, and consult with legal experts if the diagnosis points to an asbestos-related disease.