Power Plant Workers

History and Background

Power plant workers control the machinery that generate the electricity at a power plant. There are three main occupations within a power plant: operators, distributors and dispatchers. In 2004, there were 51,000 people working at one of these three jobs. An operator controls and monitors the boilers, generators, turbines, and any other auxiliary equipment. They decide which boilers and generators to use and they make sure that they are running properly. A distributor controls the flow of the electricity that is produced. They focus on current converters, voltage transformers, and circuit breakers. Dispatchers basically decide where the electricity is going and how much that area will get. These people have to anticipate different power needs, for example due to extreme weather.

The general public needs electricity around the clock, so operators, dispatchers and distributors are needed twenty-four hours a day at their respective power plants. Due to this need, these men and women usually work eight hour shifts on a rotating schedule, or twelve hour shifts.

Asbestos Usage in Power Plants

Asbestos, a naturally occurring mineral, was often used as insulation and protection against heat and fire. Asbestos dust is extremely dangerous if it is inhaled, as discussed below. Until the past couple of decades, asbestos was used extensively in power plants across the USA. Many pieces of equipment in power plants contained asbestos. Through construction and maintenance of these, asbestos dust would get into the air, creating a potentially hazardous environment.

Boilers, turbines, generators and other equipment were assembled with and insulated with asbestos. Gaskets that were used to seal pumps and valves were often made using asbestos or asbestos containing products. In a typical power plant, there are miles of pipes that carried steam throughout that would need to be insulated. Asbestos block insulation was commonly used. This insulation and gaskets would need to be fitted to specific areas, requiring workers to trim and sand the products inadvertently throwing asbestos dust into the air.

Asbestos was also used as fire-proof roofing and flooring. The asbestos dust was not contained in one specific area, and as a result all who worked within the powerhouse were at risk. Drafts blew the dust around, workers carried it on their clothing, and even the floors were made of metal grating allowing the dust to pass through. Until the 1970s it was also commonly used in paints, plumbing fixtures, and pipes. Since then there have been restrictions on its usage, however power plants that were constructed prior to these restrictions undeniably contain asbestos. Recently many power plants are removing the asbestos from their premises. As long as the employees take precautions, there should not be any problems, but it is possible that asbestos dust can still get in the air.

Power Plant Workers, Mesothelioma and Asbestos Disease

For many years, power plant workers were unknowingly subjected to dangerous asbestos on the job. This was primarily due to the fact that the companies who made asbestos products were negligent in disclosing the truth about the health hazards associated with working with this heat and fireproofing substance. As noted above, asbestos was extremely hazardous to the health of those who worked with it, including power plant workers. This put them at great risk for developing asbestos-related diseases, like mesothelioma.

Unfortunately, power plant workers did not know that the asbestsos exposure they experienced years ago could result in a terminal cancer diagnosis many years later. Mesothelioma, an asbestos-related cancer, is characterized by a long latency period. This means that someone who worked in an asbestos laden environment as many as thirty or forty years ago, may just now be starting to experience the symptoms that most often accompany the disease.

Are you experiencing symptoms of mesothelioma? If you are, and you worked at jobsites, like power plants, where prior asbestos exposure was likely, it is important to make an appointment with your doctor. They or a mesothelioma specialist will be able to screen for the potential of an asbestos-related illness and advise you accordingly on any next steps that may need to be taken.