Related Topics ► Other TopicsTextile Garments
Textile and garments containing asbestos have been widely made and used for decades because of the flame retardant properties of asbestos. While asbestos is a mineral - a rock, quite literally - when it is pulverized, it forms into unique fibers that can be spun and woven like thread or yarn. Fabric and textile garments made of asbestos are relatively lightweight in comparison to other fire retardant materials, and insulate the body from heat. Thus, asbestos textiles were used where it was important to have a high degree of insulation and/or fire resistance.
The uses of asbestos textile in garments include safety garments for workers who work in extremely hot environments, including firefighters and those who work in boiler rooms and workers who need protection from splashes and steam releases when working with chemicals and around fire. Textile garments made of asbestos include full body suits, coveralls, safety mitts and sleeve protectors and asbestos booties to be worn over shoes.
A series of research studies done during the 1970s studied the risk of inhaling asbestos fibers to workers wearing protective asbestos garments. They found that the amount of asbestos fibers released into the air in the vicinity of the workers constituted a health hazard and recommended taking measures to reduce the amount of asbestos fibers that were inhaled by workers wearing protective clothing made with asbestos.
Workers who may have worn protective asbestos textile garments include glass workers, ore workers, smelters, iron workers, fire fighters, laboratory workers, engine and boiler room workers and ore reduction workers. According to the various studies that were carried out using personal measurement of the air in the vicinity of the workers wearing asbestos textile garments, there are many variables that may have affected how much asbestos fiber was released into the air at any given time. Those factors include whether or not the garments had a protective finish and how worn the garments were. The more deteriorated the fabric from which the garments were made, the more asbestos fibers it released into the air.
Interestingly, the most recent research on the estimated risk of inhaling asbestos fibers from wearing protective asbestos textile garments were carried out in 2005 by researchers who sometimes consult as expert witnesses in mesothelioma lawsuits. Their conclusions stated that the lifetime risk of developing mesothelioma because of exposure to asbestos fibers shed by wearing asbestos protective mitts was "extremely low" - their "best estimate" is 3 in 100,000 and their "highest arguable estimate" is 16 in 100,000. The lifetime risk of developing mesothelioma faced by a person with no appreciable exposure to asbestos is 1.3 in 100,000. In other words, wearing just asbestos mitts while doing the tasks expected of a glass worker who would wear those mitts nearly doubles the lifetime risk of developing mesothelioma - in the best case scenario. In the worst case scenario, the lifetime risk of developing mesothelioma faced by a man wearing asbestos textile mitts as part of his work for just ten minutes a day is more than ten times greater than normal. Yet, typically, the risk is described as "extremely low".
If you wear or wore protective clothing made of asbestos in the course of your work, you may have been exposed to high concentrations of chrysotyle asbestos fibers, increasing your risk of developing mesothelioma. If you have been diagnosed with mesothelioma, you may have legal recourses for compensation for your illness and injuries. To find out what your options for compensation are under the law, you should contact a lawyer who specializes in mesothelioma and asbestos litigation in your state.
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