Stationary Engineers
A stationary engineer is an engineer trained to operate, maintain and repair stationary boiler and mechanical systems. These engineers work in large power facilities, industrial factories, petroleum refineries and any large-scale facility that requires the installation of a physical plant.
Exposure to Asbestos: Boilers
Stationary engineers work with boilers and other equipment that incorporates extreme heat; prior to government regulation of the 1980s, these facilities were covered in asbestos insulation and other asbestos-containing products. Coming into contact with high-temperature pipes and boiler equipment would bring the engineer into direct contact with asbestos blankets and pipe wrapping, asbestos blocks and a variety of other asbestos products.
The regular duties of a stationary engineer would include the maintenance and repair of any faulty equipment. Because asbestos insulation would be sprayed on or wrapped around the equipment, the engineer would have to break open the insulating material to access the equipment. This is one of the major modes of asbestos exposure. While asbestos is relatively benign while encapsulated in paint or other material, when broken, fibrous dust is released into the air and inhaled, resulting in a serious potential for eventual development of asbestos-related disease.
Exposure to Asbestos: Electrical
Not only were stationary engineers required to interact with asbestos materials in this way, repair of electrical systems would also fall into their list of duties. Because of the natural tendency of asbestos to resist heat and fire, it was often used as an insulation for electrical wiring. Cutting, splicing and soldering of wire would result in the same release of asbestos dust and carry the same risk of asbestos exposure.
Workplace Dangers
It is a given that most jobs come with some chance of work-related injuries. Still, in today's society, people have come to expect that on-the-job dangers will be minimized, risks will be clearly communicated, and companies will attempt to maintain safe environments. Until relatively recently, however, in terms of asbestos exposure, employees frequently toiled unprotected by respirators in spaces where asbestos particles clouded the air.
Asbestos and Its Health Effects
Asbestos is divided into two classifications. The most frequently utilized was chrysotile (sometimes called "white" asbestos), or the serpentine type. Not normally associated with asbestos cancer or mesothelioma, it is a relatively pliable form of the mineral. However, when breathed in, serpentine fibers can result in irritation to the inner surfaces of the lungs. Asbestosis may then be the outcome when abrasions build up in the lungs.
The second category is called the amphibole group and is much deadlier. Exposure to amphibole asbestos is the primary factor in the development of mesothelioma, a rare and frequently deadly cancer affecting the mesothelium (the lining between the lungs and the pleural cavity). Extensive contact with amphibole asbestos is also a causal factor in the development of pericardial or peritoneal mesotheliomas, which damage the lining around the heart and stomach, respectively.
Why It Was Used
Ironically, asbestos was used in building construction and in many products because of its ability to save lives. When it comes to remaining unaffected by combustion and high temperature, very few substances can match asbestos, particularly the serpentine form. In addition, amphibole asbestos had other useful characteristics. "Brown" asbestos, or amosite, for instance, has a high iron content, making it resistant to caustic chemicals. "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 form ACMs (asbestos-containing materials) that protected people against combustion, high temperatures, electrocution and chemical burns.
As long as it remained solid, asbestos posed no immediate danger. However, as ACMs aged, they were prone to becoming friable, or able to be reduced to powder by hand pressure alone. When they are friable, asbestos particles are easily released in the air; once they enter the body through inhalation or ingestion, they can cause numerous health problems. Unfortunately, it was not just workers who were in danger; secondary exposure frequently occurred when people brought asbestos fibers home on their skin, in their hair, or on their clothing.
The Time Bomb
Asbestos-related diseases, in contrast to typical on-the-job injuries, which are easily observed and known about immediately following the causing incident, can take ten, twenty, or even thirty years to manifest. When a former worker starts showing symptoms such as dyspnea (i.e., shortness of breath), chest pain and a chronic cough, his or her physician might not immediately identify asbestos exposure as the culprit, leading to delays in diagnosis. Mesothelioma radiation, among other new treatments are being developed, and early detection provides patients and their doctors the highest chance of overcoming the usually grim mesothelioma survival rate. Therefore, if you worked as a stationary engineer, or spent much time around someone who did, it is vital that you notify your physician about the possibility of exposure to asbestos.
Sources
Bowker, Michael. Fatal Deception: The Untold Story of Asbestos (New York: Touchstone, 2003)
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
US Department of Labor - Stationary Engineers and Boiler Makers
http://www.bls.gov/oco/ocos228.htm
