AsbestosAsbestos Industry
Who is at Risk?Boilermakers
History and Background
The name "Boilermaker" is a general term used to identify those who constructed and installed boilers, vats, and other large heating and pressure vessels. Along with construction, these men and women often maintained and repaired old and damaged boilers.
Boilermakers also read blueprints, marked reference points on boiler foundations, worked with crane operators to move and position boilers, and tested boiler parts for leaks and other defects.
From the 1920s through the early 1970s, asbestos was widely used during the construction of boilers, creating a health risk for those who worked on them. A number of different companies manufactured boilers during tha period including: Babcock & Wiclox, Combustion Engineering, Foster Wheeler, Erie City, Kewanee, Hercules and others. Asbestos was a cheap and effective fireproof form of insulation on and around the boilers. Asbestos paper, or blankets, were wrapped around pipes and often applied to the floors and walls to create a completely heat and fire resistant environment. Since it was also pliable, asbestos was utilized as gaskets to seal joints and doors.
Asbestos creates a major health issue when it becomes airborne and is subsequently inhaled by those around it. Boilermakers were at considerable risk because part of their job entailed using tools such as hammers and files, to remove unequal and jagged edges on the boilers, thus getting dust and small particles in the air. Due to its widespread use, many of these edges were made of or contained asbestos. Boilermakers often worked in confined quarters with very little light. Lack of adequate ventilation may have contributed to the inhalation of airborne asbestos fibers.
Boilers have incredible longevity and can oftentimes last upwards of 30 years, though requiring occasional work. Boilermakers spent much of their time doing maintenance and repair on the older boilers. The asbestos insulation would fray and crack due to age and even water damage. This insulation would have to be removed and replaced, again putting the boilermakers into a dangerous environment with asbestos dust in the air.
At Risk for Mesothelioma and Other Asbestos Diseases
By the mid 1970s, strong evidence was uncovered regarding the health dangers associated with prolonged exposure to asbestos. Many who had worked with asbestos for extended periods of time were coming down with pulmonary diseases (such as mesothelioma, lung cancer and asbestosis) from breathing asbestos dust.
The asbestos related diseases include:
- Mesothelioma: a type of cancer only caused by asbestos exposure that attacks the lining around the lungs and/or heart and/or abdomen. This cancer is not in the organs themselves, though untreated it will spread. The most common form is pleural mesothelioma (lung lining), then peritoneal mesothelioma (stomach lining), and then pericardial mesothelioma (heart lining).
- Asbestos Related Lung Cancer: while lung cancer can come from numerous sources, asbestos exposure can lead to the formation of a malignant tumor that blocks the air passages (common for smokers who were exposed to asbestos).
- Asbestosis: a pulmonary condition, only caused by exposure to asbestos, where scar tissue builds up in the lungs causing breathing problems and low blood flow.
The diseases associated with asbestos are similar in that their symptoms often do not appear for many years after exposure. It is not uncommon for someone to develop lung cancer after a 10 year lag between onset and initial exposure. Asbestosis and mesothelioma often do not become apparent for nearly 30 or 40 years after the initial exposure to asbestos. Common symptoms include: difficulty breathing, chest pains, a dry hacking cough that sometimes contained blood. These diseases are usually fatal.
The health problems associated with asbestos were not just isolated to people who worked with the product. The asbestos dust would spread easily through the air putting workers who never used it at risk. Also, many family members were at risk as well because workers would return home with the dust on their clothes, shoes and even hair.
While asbestos use was stopped in the 1970s, due to the length of time that boilers lasted, boilermakers were often forced to work around this dangerous product during subsequent decades doing maintenance and repair. Even today, many boilers still contain some traces of asbestos that continue to lead to afore mentioned diseases.
