Sawyers

Historically, a sawyer was someone who worked exclusively with wood, and was mainly involved in sawing timber to create planks that were used in construction. In modern terms, a sawyer may work with natural or manufactured wood or stone products. In both cases, sawyers play an important role in building and construction, in creating the raw materials that are used to erect both commercial and residential buildings.

On construction sites, sawyers often work with large sheets and slabs of stone and concrete, cutting the materials to the correct size so that it is suitable for the location where it is intended for use.

Asbestos Exposure

During most of the twentieth century, asbestos was a common component of a vast array of construction materials, including insulation, cements, tiles, boards, packing and adhesives. Asbestos was widely used due to physical characteristics such as heat and fire resistance, making it an excellent insulator. Sawyers who worked in construction may have been exposed to asbestos directly through working with materials such as finishing cement and refractory cement, which typically contained at least 20% asbestos.

The nature of the sawyer's work on construction sites meant that during the decades in which asbestos was a common component of concrete construction materials, they were often at great risk of inhaling asbestos fibers. Sawyers were responsible for cutting and shaping concrete materials, and as those materials commonly contained asbestos, the sawyer and people working nearby would be exposed to asbestos fibers that were released and became airborne during the cutting.

Up until the 1970s, the use of asbestos in construction products was unrestricted despite the fact that the dangers of this substance were already widely recognized and had been for decades. Unfortunately, sawyers and other construction site employees who routinely handled asbestos products were not provided with safety equipment such as masks and protective clothing. With nothing to prevent them from inhaling asbestos fibers, they were exposed repeatedly to the dangerous substance.

Even though cements and other construction products are no longer manufactured with asbestos, workers may still be exposed to asbestos when working on the repair or demolition of buildings constructed in or before the 1980s. Care should always be taken to use protective clothing to prevent asbestos exposure in situations where asbestos-containing materials are suspected to be present.

For today's sawyers, there remains just a small risk of asbestos exposure, as the materials they use no longer contain asbestos, and they are less likely than other construction workers to be involved in repair or demolition of older buildings. However, because asbestos-related diseases have long latency periods, sawyers who worked in this profession up until the mid-1980s may still be at risk of developing diseases such as asbestosis and mesothelioma and should visit their doctor immediately if they experience any symptoms such as chest pain or breathing-related problems.

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