ASBESTOS CONTAINING BRAKE PADS

As nation applies brakes to asbestos, the U.S. auto industry accelerates its use

Automotive asbestos exposure has contributed to the deaths of autoworkers and car enthusiasts for decades. That’s because asbestos (revered for its ability to resist heat friction and fire), has been favored for decades by the automotive industry for use in asbestos containing brake pads, clutches, gasket material, heat seals, valve rings and hoodliners.

Asbestos containing brake pads

June 28, 2010 – Brake problems are plaguing the U.S. auto industry. This year, Toyota issued an unprecedented recall of millions of passenger vehicles likely to have faulty brake pedals. Unrelated to Toyota's brake problem is another automobile brake problem that is actually industrywide.

Asbestos containing brake pads, and the occupational diseases associated with them, have killed thousands of unsuspecting autoworkers ever since the first Model-T car rolled off the assembly line.

U.S. automobile manufacturers still use asbestos in certain car components that require protection against the buildup of frictional heat, like brake pads and clutches. Indeed, imports of asbestos containing disc brake pads have increased over the past decade.

Not long ago many mechanics, working without respirators, used compressed air to blow brake-pad asbestos dust out of disc brake drums, creating a hazardous work environment prone to occupational asbestos exposure. That occurs when airborne asbestos fibers, microscopic in size, are accidentally inhaled by mechanics.

While many asbestos-laden products have been banned in the United States, the automobile industry has resisted this logical move away from asbestos – despite its proven link to fatal diseases. Other industries equally arrogant in their use of asbestos products include: the construction, plumbing, shipbuilding and heating systems industries.

Asbestos containing brake pads

The asbestos linings in brake pads wear down through friction, continually releasing asbestos fibers into the brake drum, where they collect. When disc brake housings are opened for repairs, that dust is released into the air where mechanics can inhale or ingest it. Inhaling airborne asbestos fibers causes asbestos exposure and leads to mesothelioma, asbestosis and lung cancer.

Before the enactment of federal and state asbestos regulations beginning in the 1980s, the work activities of automobile mechanics, conducted over and over on a daily basis, led to the premature deaths of thousands of automobile repairmen, many of them with families to support.

The law on asbestos containing brake pads

By law, most professional automotive shops must follow work-site regulations issued by the Occupational Safety and Health Administration's (OSHA). These regulations are mandatory measures that employers are required to follow for work activities that involve asbestos containing brake pads and clutch repairs.

Most professional automotive shops must follow the OSHA regulations at 29 CFR 1910.1001 and specifically paragraph (f)(3) and Appendix F.

Champion to the American worker

If you were once an autoworker, automobile mechanic or garage attendant, and you have been diagnosed with an asbestos-related illness like mesothelioma, we urge you to contact a Weitz & Luxenberg asbestos cancer attorney through the communication form on this page.

Weitz & Luxenberg specializes in asbestos-injury litigation and is recognized in the legal community for obtaining record-setting verdicts and settlements for autoworkers who have fallen ill (sometimes decades later) from job-related asbestos exposure.