Millwrights and Asbestos Exposure

Since the earliest days of large-scale industry, millwrights have been employed at factories, construction sites, power plants, and innumerable other workplaces where large machines are operated. Millwrights are skilled workers who build, install, maintain, repair, and oversee the placement of large, industrial-grade machines, such as boilers, generators, and turbines. Due to the constant demand for workers with these skills, millwrights may work in nearly any industry or sector of the economy, whether in the United States or abroad.

Millwrights may perform a number of highly specialized duties, depending upon the immediate needs of their employer and their area of training and specialization. Using manufacturer's blueprints or manuals, a millwright may be called upon to build and install a machine at a factory site. Very often, the millwright must cooperate with site management to determine the best placement of the machine. If building modification is required, such as the installation of a cement base, this modification is commonly the responsibility of the millwright. Also, machinery must often be sized to fit a particular location and it was the responsibility of the millwright to saw, drill, sand or cut to achieve a good fit. These procedures produced airborne asbestos fibers.

At a construction site, a millwright may install and maintain a machine for the duration of the project. If the machine breaks down or needs a replacement part, such as a gasket, the millwright will expedite the repair of the machine or its parts at the site.

As a result of the myriad responsibilities of the millwright, someone who practices this craft uses hundreds of different materials, tools, machines, and other products. He or she may work on a contract basis, traveling from site to site, repairing lathes or other sorts of specialized large machines. In the course of his or her work, a millwright may be exposed to asbestos from countless different sources. For many years, the insulating elements or parts of the machines with which millwrights worked contained asbestos. Until only recently, gaskets used to protect engines and machine parts from the effects of heat were also made from asbestos. When a millwright produced, installed, replaced, or otherwise manipulated an asbestos gasket, he or she may have been exposed to asbestos.

Wiring used to convey electrical current to the large machines was also a dangerous source of asbestos. Manufacturers of these wires wrapped the metal coils in asbestos material to keep them from transferring heat. During the repair or replacement of these wires, millwrights - or any other workers who performed these duties - could have been exposed to friable asbestos fibers.

Millwrights also protected themselves from heat and fire by wearing protective clothing that was often made from asbestos, including aprons, coats, gloves, and even face masks. This gear put them into further close contact with asbestos and prompted the inhalation of fibers. Today, many millwrights are suffering the ill-effects of asbestos exposure, having developed asbestosis, pleural plaques, and mesothelioma.

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