Asbestos Exposure and Construction Work

There are over seven million salary and wage earning construction workers and hundreds of thousands of independent, unpaid workers in the United States alone. Construction workers are partly responsible for the modern world in which we live. Jobs range from small home renovations to major, large scale building construction.

Though this career carries extreme importance, there are also numerous risks associated with the construction industry. Some common types of construction related injuries include head injuries, spinal injuries, burns, cuts, and broken bones. Another major risk associated with construction is being exposed to the fibrous material known as asbestos.

Asbestos is a material that has been used for hundreds of years, especially during the late 19^th century to the mid 20^th century.

Some of the common uses of asbestos included:

• Insulation
• Roofing materials
• Floor tiles
• Brake pads
• Furnaces
• Cement
• Pipe insulation
• Ceiling panels

Asbestos was very wildly used in the construction of buildings and houses because it was cheap, abundant, and mostly effective. However, after many decades of use in modern times, it was discovered that asbestos posed a serious health risk. Asbestos is the only known cause of mesothelioma and has also been linked to lung cancer and asbestosis.

Mesothelioma is a deadly form of cancer that forms in the lining around the body’s internal organs, called the mesothelium. Typically mesothelioma forms in the mesothelium around the lungs, resulting in a condition known as pleural mesothelioma. Mesothelioma can form in other parts of the body, such as the stomach (peritoneal mesothelioma), but that is much less common.

Mesothelioma patients are typically treated through a combination of surgery, chemotherapy, and radiation therapy. Though these treatments are moderately effective for extending the patient’s life and quality of life, they do not yet offer a complete cure. As it remains, many of those diagnosed with mesothelioma typically only live a few months to a few years after the initial diagnosis, depending on the stage of the cancer. A major difficulty associated with the disease is that it often takes years, even decades, after being exposed to asbestos before mesothelioma symptoms manifest.

Construction workers remain one of the most at risk demographics in terms of asbestos exposure and developing mesothelioma. Though the dangers of asbestos were made public in the 1970’s, many buildings and homes were already constructed with the material.

Construction workers run the risk of being exposed to this material very often. When working on an existing building that was constructed with asbestos, workers are placing themselves in considerable danger.

Demolishing buildings that contain asbestos is an incredibly dangerous job. Even with proper safety precautions, it is difficult to prevent asbestos fibers from being released into the air. Demolition jobs must be completed with expert care for the health of the workers and all civilians who might be in the vicinity.

Removing asbestos is also a dangerous job. This process, known as asbestos abatement, requires extreme care for similar reasons as demolition jobs. Very often, construction workers place themselves in extreme danger performing this delicate procedure to remove the hazardous materials from buildings and homes.

One of the most troubling aspects of construction work and asbestos exposure is that it is nearly impossible to determine if a worker has been in contact with this material until the disease fully manifests. Those who work in the construction industry, or those who simply do home repairs, should be aware of the dangers of asbestos exposure and take all the proper safety precautions to avoid life-threatening diseases.