Risky business: Utah asbestos exposure on the job
Three of the largest industries in Utah—mining, oil refining, and construction—are also sources of asbestos exposure. A state whose motto is simply “Industry,” Utah is famous for its natural resources of minerals, metals, and fossil fuels, and its industrious inhabitants, many of whom came to Utah to work in the mines and railroads.
Industry built the Beehive State. Could the protective materials formerly used in many industries now be destroying the health of Utahans who worked the mines, built the houses and refined the oil that kept Utah prosperous?
Asbestos was a popular ingredient in most fire-proof products in the twentieth century, from floor tiles and asbestos cement to firefighters' gloves and ironing board covers. (http://www.inspectapedia.com/sickhouse
/Asbestos_Products.htm#reviewers) Most people who suffer from asbestos diseases were exposed to asbestos while they worked. If you worked at an oil refinery, in the construction business or in one of Utah's many mines, you may have been exposed to asbestos.
Weitz & Luxenberg provides this survey of the asbestos risks in three of Utah's largest industries for every Utahan whose asbestos exposure left him or her ill. If you, your spouse, or another family member was employed as a miner, builder, rigger, driller, or other position in the building, oil and mining industry, read on.
Oil refineries in Utah: asbestos exposure for up to 90% of workers
Asbestos insulation has been a staple of oil refineries for years, as the process of refining crude oil involves a lot of heat and hazardous chemicals, and the highly flammable oil itself. Asbestos insulation was used on distillation columns, pipes and various conduits, vehicles, assorted equipment, and protective clothing. (Inspectapedia)
A 1991 study in Toxicology & Industrial Health found that “in the oil refining and petrochemical industries exposure to cancer-causing asbestos particles, especially during equipment repair and maintenance, is very high. Up to 90% of workers in the oil refining industry had direct and/or indirect contact with asbestos, and more than half of this contact occurred without the use of any kind of precaution, thus these workers are in high risk of developing lung cancer and mesothelioma, both fatal diseases.” (http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/1853354)
To repeat: up to90% of workers in the oil refining industry had direct or indirect contact with asbestos, and more than half of that contact was unprotected. And most of this exposure occurred during equipment repair and maintenance. If this was the case in the 1980s, what were working conditions like in the 1950s, 1960s, and 1970s, before there were asbestos regulations?
Mining in Utah: asbestos exposure in all kinds of mines
In the desert, mountains, and areas in between, Utah has great mineral wealth and the development of that wealth has affected nearly every part of the state. In addition to gold, silver, copper, and coal, the following minerals are also mined in Utah: beryllium, clay, gilsonite, gypsum, lead, limestone, magnesium, phosphate, molybdenum, potash, potassium, salt, sand and gravel, stone, tungsten, uranium, vanadium and zinc. (http://history.utah.gov/mining
_heritage_alliance/highlights.html)
Metal and coal mining led to population growth and diversity in Utah, “including the rise of labor unions. The expansion of these industries required a very large labor force to work in the mines, mills, and smelters and to work on the railroads that transported the minerals.” (utah.gov)
What does this have to do with asbestos? Not only was asbestos used in mills and during smelting (to prevent fires), but it occurs in mining as well. Asbestos exposure can happen during the mining of materials other than asbestos. One famous example would be the the naturally-occurring asbestos that tainted the vermiculite mines in Libby, Montana.
Asbestos exposure in the mines “most often occurs from products brought on to the mine property, such as brake linings, asbestos welding blankets, and pipe insulation, or products that are used in building construction.” (http://www.msha.gov/S&HINFO
/OPRSAMP/OPRSAMP.HTM#11)
For construction workers in Utah, asbestos inhalation remains a risk
According to the Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry, the people most heavily exposed to asbestos in the United States are “those in construction trades. This population includes an estimated 1.3 million construction workers as well as workers in building and equipment maintenance.” (http://www.atsdr.cdc.gov/csem/asbestos/risk2.html)
Over the course of the twentieth century, Utah’s population multiplied eight-fold, rising from 276,749 in 1900 to 2,233,169 in 2000. (http://www.confettiantiques.com
/book-reviews/utah-in-the-twentieth-century-editors
-brian-q-cannon-and-jessie-l-embry/) The construction needed for homes, schools, hospitals, highways and other accommodations was tremendous.
Utah asbestos disease sufferers are not alone. You have resources.
Weitz & Luxenberg has over 20 years of experience helping people who were exposed to asbestos on the job seek compensation for their asbestos-related diseases. We have helped our clients secure over $3 billion in verdicts and settlements, to date.
If you suffer from an asbestos illness and would like to learn more about your legal options, contact Weitz & Luxenberg today. You can call or fill out a form to receive your free legal consultation.
Acknowledgments:
http://www.inspectapedia.com/sickhouse/Asbestos_Products.htm#reviewers
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/1853354
http://history.utah.gov/mining_heritage_alliance/highlights.html
http://www.msha.gov/S&HINFO/OPRSAMP/OPRSAMP.HTM#11
http://www.atsdr.cdc.gov/csem/asbestos/risk2.html
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