Sheffield Steel Corp.
In 2001, the Sheffield Steel Corporation in Oklahoma was fined by the Occupational Safety and Health Administration for unsafe work conditions. This run-in with a public health agency cost the company more than $63,000, which was far less than a previous ordeal in which company executives were forced to deal with public health and protection agencies and thousands of lawsuits from former employees who had been made ill while on the job.
The people who work at job sites such as the Sand Springs steel mill provide an essential service. They produce the steel based products that are required for the construction, automotive and other key industries that help to make up the backbone of the United States' economy. Tragically, many of the people who worked at these important tasks were subjected to a severe health hazard that they were completely unaware of. While on duty, they worked in close proximity to products that contained a toxic element which was slowly poisoning them.
During a normal shift at a steel mill, workers deal with large equipment that runs at very hot temperatures. To keep this machinery operating smoothly, they require large amounts of heavy duty insulation. For nearly a century one of the most common ingredients in every insulating product was asbestos. The naturally occurring mineral was strong enough to work in the most powerful machines, able to hold together under the hottest environments and it could even help to stop the spread of a small fire. For all of these reasons, the mineral was also used to create hundreds of products, including many goods that were found at mills all over the country. Unfortunately, asbestos is also toxic.
Most people did not know about the hazardous nature of asbestos until the late 1970's. Since the general public was unaware of the risk, they labored around items that contained the mineral on a regular basis without even realizing they were putting their very lives in peril. When people get close to asbestos, they are likely to breathe in microscopic fibers that have broken apart and suspended into the air. These asbestos fibers can be inhaled by anyone, and they are too small to be seen. Once the asbestos is inhaled, it can be destructive to the inner body tissue.
As the asbestos fibers settle in the respiratory system, they will cling to healthy tissue and slowly cause it to inflame. The toxins can lead to chronic breathing disorders and a variety of other ailments. Most serious among them is cancer, including the devastating disease known as mesothelioma. These illnesses are painful, difficult to treat, and incurable. Even as the effects of asbestos exposure are very serious, they are very slow to develop. People who have spent time around contaminated goods may not notice the symptoms of mesothelioma cancer until many years or even decades later. This makes it essential for anyone who worked at a location such as the Sheffield Steel to notify their doctor about the their potential of developing asbestos cancer as soon as possible.
