Mechanical Engineers

During the years of extensive asbestos use in industry, mechanical engineers were at risk of exposure to asbestos under the widest variety of conditions and circumstances. Mechanical engineers might deal with anything from consumer electrical appliance design to industrial aerospace and everything in between - all industrial sectors that heavily relied on asbestos.

Mechanical Engineering

Mechanical engineering is a blanket term for those engineers who design, analyze, test and then oversee production of products. Mechanical engineers are heavily used in chemical, aerospace and automotive industries. While the job description is as varied as the industrial sectors that rely on mechanical engineers, it is safe to say that they deal with electrical circuitry, thermodynamics and heat transfer - all fields which required the use of asbestos.

Exposure to Asbestos

Between the 1940s and late 1970s, asbestos came to be used in over 3 000 products - all dealt with at some level by a mechanical engineer. Asbestos itself was useful for insulation and fireproofing because of its own resistance to heat and inability to catch on fire. Unfortunately, asbestos which is ingested or inhaled is highly carcinogenic.

Mechanical engineers, through their work with such a wide diversity of products, came to be exposed to asbestos at several points during the lifecycle of product development. During the prototype phase, the mechanical engineers involved with a product would have hands-on exposure to the asbestos components of the product. During manufacturing, a mechanical engineer might be closely involved with the product as it makes its way through the factory facility. And, of course, once the product was released to the general public and sold, the mechanical engineer would be exposed at the same level as any user of the product, further increasing the risk.

Risks at Work

While certain jobs, such as firefighter, soldier, or hockey player, are associated with clear and well-understood hazards, people generally realize that most jobs present a chance for work-related injuries. Still, in America today, we expect that job-related dangers will be kept to a minimum, risks will be clearly understood, and companies will attempt to create a safe work environment. Until relatively recently, however, in terms of asbestos exposure, workers often toiled without respirators or other safety gear in spaces where asbestos dust clouded the atmosphere.

The Varieties of Asbestos and Their Health Effects

There are two major categories of asbestos. The most commonly utilized was "white" asbestos, or the serpentine type. This is a relatively pliable form that is usually not linked to mesothelioma or asbestos cancer. Abrasions on the interior surfaces of the lungs can happen if serpentine particles are inhaled, however. This then causes a build-up of scar tissue that can then be a major factor in the development of asbestosis.

The second type is called amphibole asbestos and is much more deadly. A rare, but generally fatal, disease caused by asbestos called mesothelioma is caused by inhaling asbestos, particularly the amphibole varieties. The pleural variety of mesothelioma, one that affects the tissue that lies between the lungs and the chest cavity, is the most prevalent. More unusual types of mesothelioma include pericardial and peritoneal mesothelioma; these cancers are also caused by exposure to amphibole asbestos.

Why Asbestos Was Used

Ironically, asbestos was used in building construction and in numerous products because of its ability to save lives. Serpentine asbestos is one of the best insulators known when it comes to flames and heat and has been used for this purpose throughout history. In addition, amphibole asbestos possessed other useful characteristics. For instance, amosite, sometimes called "brown" asbestos, is high in iron content, making it impervious to chemical corrosion. "Blue" asbestos, or crocidolite, is a particularly good insulator against electric current and was frequently used whenever high voltage was a concern. Depending on the application, various types of fibers were combined to create asbestos-containing materials (ACMs) that safeguarded lives and property against fire, high temperatures, electrocution and caustic chemicals.

Asbestos did not pose a health risk while it remained solid. However, as ACMs got older, they became friable, or able to be reduced to powder by hand pressure alone. Friable asbestos is dangerous since in this condition the fibers can be readily dispersed into the air, where they can cause health problems after they are inhaled or ingested. Unless effective decontamination policies, including using workplace-only clothing and on-site showers, were followed, it was quite possible for personnel to bring home particles of asbestos on their skin, in their hair, or on their clothes.

The Hidden Hazard of Asbestos

As opposed to typical workplace injuries, which are readily observed and known about soon after the incident, asbestos-related diseases can take ten, twenty, or even thirty years to appear. With such a lag between exposure to asbestos and the appearance of the resulting disease, the worker might not connect his or her current health problem with work done 10 or more years ago. New treatments like mesothelioma radiation are being discovered, and early detection gives patients the highest chance to combat the previously always-fatal form of cancer. Such advancements can help better the usually grim mesothelioma survival rate. So, it is vital for men and women that worked as mechanical engineers, as well as anyone who spent much time with them, to notify their physicians about the chance of asbestos exposure.

Sources

Bowker, Michael. Fatal Deception: The Untold Story of Asbestos (New York: Touchstone, 2003)

Michigan Technological University, "What is Mechanical Engineering?" -
http://www.me.mtu.edu/admin/whatme.html

Sonoma Medicine, "Ambushed by the Asbestos Industry." -
http://sonic.net/~scma/magazine/scp/wn06/zygielbaum.html

University of Wisconsin - Asbestos Containing Material (ACM) - Laboratories and Shops
http://www.uwm.edu/Dept/EHSRM/ASB/acmimages3.html

University of Wisconsin - Asbestos Disposal
http://www.uwm.edu/Dept/EHSRM/HAZEXCEPTIONS/a.html