Find out if you’ve been exposed to asbestos at work
The mesothelioma attorneys of Weitz & Luxenberg would like to share the experience of a man who inquired about his legal options after having spent many years working in jobs that exposed him to asbestos. At the time he contacted the mesothelioma lawyers of Weitz & Luxenberg, he only had 68% lung capacity left.
In the 1970s, he worked as an auto repairman. Asbestos is frequently used in automobile parts such as brakes. This is because asbestos does not burn and is therefore suitable for use in friction products such as brakes. Mechanics who work with car brakes employ two procedures that can expose them to airborne asbestos fibers: Air-blowing brake wear debris, which frequently contains dusty chrysotile asbestos; and grinding and beveling new asbestos brake linings or pads, which can release asbestos fibers into the air.
Asbestos fibers are often not visible to the human eye. Thus, a mechanic working with asbestos containing brakes is at risk for inhaling asbestos fibers without even being aware of it. Once inhaled, asbestos fibers remain within the body and can cause serious diseases like mesothelioma and lung cancer decades later.
Although asbestos is banned in new U.S. vehicles, globalization and outsourcing allow automobile components (formerly assembled inside the United States) to come from outside the United States, where asbestos regulations are lax or even non-existent. Thus, auto workers continue to be at high risk for asbestos exposure.
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Monday, March 23, 2009
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Asbestos is used in car brakes?
ReplyDeleteI thought it was a fibre that could deterioate easily but it was fire retardant and used in houses. What evidence is there to support this? It's quite frightening to think that mechanics could suffer mesothelioma in hindsight. There doesn't seem to be much coverage about this aspect - it's mainly dock yard workers. I will have to research this further.