Stove Mats - Mesothelioma and Asbestos Exposure Risks

Not too long ago, an asbestos stove mat was considered an essential kitchen accessory. A 1927 article published in the British newspaper, The Guardian noted, "Asbestos cord bound round the handles of kettles, saucepans, and irons, will prevent burnt fingers. Asbestos mats placed on the stove make a safe surface for casseroles and other fireproof ware during the cooking of the food in them. Asbestos table mats are also very popular as a means of preventing hot plates and dishes from marking the table surface where a tablecloth is not used. These asbestos mats can be obtained with charming embroidered, or otherwise decorated, slip covers."

The article goes on to suggest keeping an asbestos roofing tile in the kitchen to use as a makeshift trivet to keep hot saucepans and dishes from marking tables, and advocates wrapping asbestos cord around exposed pipes in the winter to reduce the chances of the pipes freezing and bursting. Finally, the article notes, asbestos can be bought in fiber form and kept on hand to temporarily repair leaking gas and water pipes.

These days, most people cringe at the thought of asbestos in their homes because the public is now aware of the dangers associated with asbestos exposure. Asbestos was once used in more than 5,000 products, including many household products that were used daily. Among the most popular of those products were pot holders, oven mitts, trivets, asbestos table pads and asbestos stove mats. While the use of those products in the home probably presented little danger to those who were using them, they presented a serious hazard to the thousands of people who worked with asbestos in manufacturing these common household items.

Generally, when people hear about asbestos lawsuits, the plaintiffs are men who worked in construction, naval shipyards, railroad yards and mines. Many are men or women who worked in factories that made automotive parts and other types of machinery that used asbestos as insulating materials for machinery parts. Far less notice is paid to those workers - many of them women - who worked as stichers, cutters and assemblers in factories that made common household items like oven mitts, pot holders and stove mats. These workers were exposed to asbestos on a daily basis.

Exposure to asbestos can result in the development of an asbestos-related illness such as mesothelioma, a rare form of cancer that typically affects the lining of the lungs, or in rarer cases, the tissue around the heart or the lining of the abdominal cavity. While it is very rare in the general population, the incidence of mesothelioma in occupations that handled and used asbestos products in their daily work is largely elevated.

If you have been diagnosed with mesothelioma and were involved in the manufacturing or packaging of products that contained asbestos, you may wish to learn more. Please fill out the packet request form at the top, right of this page for additional information.

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