Asbestos-Related Jobs

Asbestos has been used for decades due to its remarkable thermal-resistant qualities. However, the hazards of asbestos were not fully known until recently. Due to this fact, thousands of people have already been exposed to asbestos and are at risk of contracting an asbestos-related disease. A number of former military personnel, particularly naval, came into contact with asbestos during their service. Massive amounts of asbestos were used in shipbuilding and commercial construction prior to the mid-1970's. Anyone involved with those industries is at a higher risk for developing an asbestos-related disease, including mesothelioma. Exposure may have been direct or indirect, lengthy or brief. The typical exposure period is lengthy, but some persons with short, even indirect exposure to asbestos develop mesothelioma later in life. Mesothelioma can also occur from non-occupational exposure, as evidenced by manifestation of the disease in women whose exposure came from washing the clothing of men (father, husband, son) who worked with, or around, asbestos.

A unique feature of asbestos-related injuries is the long latency period between exposure to asbestos and the onset of the injury or disease. For mesotheliomas, the latency period is generally between 15 and 50 years, or more. That means that a person could have been exposed to asbestos years ago, and develop mesothelioma today. The average mesothelioma latency period is approximately 35 - 40 years.

The following are occupations that may deal with asbestos:

According to the National Cancer Institute, approximately 3,000 new cases of malignant mesothelioma per year are being reported in the United States, and the incidence appears to be increasing. The disease is three times more common in men than in women. In men, the occurrence of mesothelioma is ten times higher in men between the ages of 60-70 as compared to men between the ages of 30-40. Occupational exposure to asbestos over the past fifty years in the United States is calculated to have occurred in approximately eight million people.