What Is Secondary Asbestos Exposure And How It Affects Family Members Of Industrial Workers

Browell Smith

Highly prevalent in industries such as shipbuilding and construction, occupational asbestos exposure is responsible for many pulmonary conditions and multiple forms of cancer, including lung cancer, bronchial cancer, and mesothelioma. At the same time, workplace asbestos exposure has dropped significantly in recent decades due to stricter safeguards and because it’s been used dramatically less. However, asbestos illnesses are still a crude reality today simply due to their long latency period.

Due to their rough texture, asbestos fibers can quickly become embedded in fabrics and stick to clothing, hair, and skin. When workers come home, covered from head to toe in asbestos dust and fibers, they can be easily transferred to the people they come into contact with. This is known as indirect or secondary exposure.

The exposure scenarios for individuals who are non-occupationally exposed to the carcinogenic mineral vary but may include:

  • neighborhood exposure due to asbestos emissions from nearby asbestos-product manufacturing facilities, asbestos mines, construction work involving asbestos, or naturally occurring asbestos;
  • household exposure from the use of asbestos-containing products (e.g., toasters, coffee pots, dishwashers, hairdryers, iron boards, ovens, and stoves);
  • household contamination resulting from asbestos fibers brought into the home on workers’ clothing or bodies, and domestic activities such as dusting and washing workers’ contaminated clothing.

Despite the cessation of asbestos use, the effects of past asbestos exposure remain a topical problem in the U.S., as our nation has a long history of asbestos employment.

 

Women and Children Exposed to Harmful Asbestos Fibers Through Indirect Exposure

Although research indicates that health risks increase with direct contact, asbestos-related diseases have been discovered in individuals with minor asbestos exposure.

The classic scenario involved the asbestos worker returning home in clothes that were covered in asbestos dust which were usually cleaned by their wives or daughters at least once a week. This seemingly innocent act would expose them to asbestos dust and fibers. Even short-term household visitors were at risk. Anyone who comes into frequent contact with those who work around asbestos may be at risk for indirect exposure. This includes spouses, children, additional family members, and friends.

Considered superior to other forms of insulation, asbestos became a popular product for industrial use during the 20th century. Unfortunately, many companies that manufactured, distributed, supplied, and sold asbestos-containing products knew the risks involved.

When word on the appalling hazards of asbestos began to trickle out to consumers and the mainstream media, controlling how information was perceived became a top priority for the industry. Consequently, today thousands of workers and their family members have developed diseases with poor prognoses and, in many instances, financially draining.

 

Asbestos Can Have Severe Effects on Young People’s Health Development

Both adults and children are at risk of developing an aggressive, incurable cancer known as mesothelioma later in life. However, this risk is even greater with children, as their lungs are still growing and developing, and their respiratory tracts are more permeable. One possible way a child may develop an asbestos-related illness is through secondary asbestos exposure, which can be just as dangerous as primary exposure.

A study conducted by the Committee on Carcinogenicity of Chemicals in Food, Consumer Products, and the Environment concluded that “because of differences in life expectancy, for a given dose of asbestos the lifetime risk of developing mesothelioma is predicted to be about 3.5 times greater for a child first exposed at age five, compared to an adult first exposed at age 25 and about five times greater when compared to an adult first exposed at age 30.”

The effects of indirect asbestos exposure resulting from workers’ clothing have been investigated since 1965 when one of the first studies on this topic was published. “There seems little doubt that the risk of mesothelioma may arise from both occupational and domestic exposures to asbestos,state the authors of the study, Newhouse and Thompson. However, because diseases caused by asbestos exposure have a latency period of up to 40 years, the occurrence of new cases is expected to remain steady until 2030.

Finally, many times, victims of asbestos exposure cannot afford the expensive medical treatments needed to fight mesothelioma, for example. Diseases related to asbestos inhalation can leave victims and their loved ones in a tough spot financially. Manufacturers of asbestos-containing products and companies that installed them in plants and factories may be legally compelled to compensate victims and their loved ones who later developed this form of cancer through exposure to their asbestos products. Fortunately, today, victims of direct and indirect asbestos exposure have the right to file a claim and seek justice in a court of law.

 

About the author:

Jonathan Sharp is the Director of Claims at Environmental Litigation Group P.C., a law firm based in Birmingham, Alabama, with more than 25 years of experience recovering maximum compensation for former industrial workers, veterans, and their family members who have not been warned about the deadly risks of asbestos exposure.

 

 

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