FURNACE ASBESTOS

Furnace workers risk asbestos exposure and mesothelioma

For additional information about mesothelioma symptoms and treatment options, or for up-to-date information on filing an asbestos claim based on a recent medical diagnosis, we urge you to contact a Weitz & Luxenberg asbestos attorney immediately via the convenient communication form at left.

If you are a retired furnace worker diagnosed with asbestos disease, protect your family’s financial future by obtaining a free and private legal consultation.

FURNACE ASBESTOS

May 14, 2010 - Jobs associated with furnace or smelting work require workers to work closely around torrid temperatures and flames. Throughout the 20th century, fire-resistant asbestos was used in nearly all work clothes and protective gear, including gloves, mitts, hats, pants, and aprons.

Additionally, furnace areas and boiler systems also contained high levels of asbestos that was applied to furnace-related equipment, including boilers, steam pipes, gaskets, furnace doors, and even the paint on the boiler room wall.

Therefore, anyone who worked around furnaces, or wore protective gear, may have been exposed to asbestos on a daily basis. High risk jobs for asbestos exposure include boilermakers, furnace men, smelter men and pourers, in residential and industrial settings.

As these workers carried out their daily responsibilities, they were placed in the position of potentially inhaling, or even swallowing, microscopic asbestos fibers dislodged from asbestos-based furnace products and their own work clothing.

Asbestos exposure is a job-related hazard that may lead to an fatal diseases like mesothelioma, exclusively caused by occupational contact with airborne asbestos fibers.

Furnace workers and asbestos

The National Center for Health Statistics documented the causes of death for smelters from 1985-1999, and found that smelter workers have three to eight times the risk of developing lung cancer as the average person.

During that 15-year study, there were at least 40 blast furnace employees diagnosed with mesothelioma, the signature asbestos-related cancer that is diagnosed in 3,000 U.S. workers every year.

Legal option

If you worked with asbestos-based furnace materials in the past and have been diagnosed with mesothelioma, you can obtain a free, comprehensive and private consultation with an accomplished mesothelioma lawyer at Weitz & Luxenberg.

Protect your family’s financial future today.