Structural Metal Craftsmen

Structural metal craftsmen are those who employ sheet metal to construct and restore iron and steel structures. A number of studies have established a positive correlation between craftsmen exposed to asbestos during the course of their work, and subsequent lung abnormalities. Figures indicate that approximately 70 percent of sheet metal workers with at least 30 years experience in the industry display variants of asbestos-induced lung abnormalities.

The period between 1900 and 1979 witnessed asbestos utilization in excess of 18 million tons in the United States. Surprisingly, very few records of actual and potential occupational hazards associated with asbestos exposure were maintained. However, there is no doubt that large quantities of asbestos were present in the environment where structural metal craftsmen worked daily.

Direct Exposure to Asbestos

Structural metal craftsmen have incurred a greater risk of asbestos-induced diseases due to frequent direct exposure to asbestos. This usually occurred when the craftsmen established contact with asbestos insulation while it was sprayed during industrial construction.

In 1991, 1,300 sheet metal workers in the United States and Canada participated in a study analyzing the impact of asbestos exposure on them. When the results were out, it was found that 2 percent of the men were affected by mesothelioma entirely due to exposure during the study. The results were as per expectations, given the fact that subjects of the study were known to have had previous asbestos exposure. Prior to the study, however, the subjects were not aware of their medical complications arising out of asbestos exposure.

On a brighter note, certain studies have concluded that for workers entering the industry post-1970, the probability of getting infected by an asbestos related disease is relatively low.

Dangers at Work

While some occupations, such as high-rise construction worker, flagman, or professional football player, come with clear and well-understood dangers, people generally understand that most jobs present a chance for work-related injuries. Even so, most of us in today's society have come to expect worker safety to be an important priority of employers, overseen by government agencies. In terms of asbestos exposure, however, this was not always the case, and even in recent history people were placed in situations that had serious, sometimes deadly, consequences.

Varieties of Asbestos and Their Effects on Human Health

Asbestos is divided into two types. Chrysotile, sometimes called "white" asbestos, is the only member of the serpentine category and was the kind most commonly utilized. Usually not linked to mesothelioma or asbestos cancer, this type is a relatively pliable form of the mineral. Abrasions on the inner surfaces of the lungs may result when serpentine fibers are inhaled, however. This then results in a build-up of scar tissue that can then be a leading cause of asbestosis.

The second category is called amphibole asbestos; of the two types, it is considered deadlier. Pleural mesothelioma, an unusual and all too often lethal cancer of the mesothelium (the tissue that lies between the lungs and the chest cavity), is strongly linked with exposure to asbestos, particularly the amphibole varieties. Pericardial and peritoneal mesotheliomas, which affect tissue surrounding the heart and stomach, respectively, are more unusual but also caused by extensive contact with amphibole asbestos.

Why It Was Used

Asbestos was, ironically, generally utilized in an effort to safeguard human life. The serpentine form of asbestos is one of the best insulators known when it comes to combustion and temperature extremes and has been used for the purpose since ancient times. In addition, the amphibole varieties possessed other useful qualities. For instance, amosite, sometimes called "brown" asbestos, has a high iron content, making it impervious to chemical corrosion. "Blue" asbestos, or crocidolite, was commonly found around electrical equipment because of its resistance to electricity. Asbestos-containing materials (ACMs) that protected lives and property against combustion, heat, electrocution and chemical burns could be formed by combining different kinds of fibers.

As long as it remained solid, asbestos offered no immediate risk. However, as ACMs got older, they became friable (i.e., easily reduced to powder by hand pressure alone). Asbestos fibers, when they are friable, can be readily released into the air; breathing in asbestos fibers can lead to diseases like cancer and asbestosis. Unless strict decontamination protocols, like using on-site uniforms and showers, were enforced, it was all too easy for employees to bring home particles of asbestos on their skin, in their hair, or on their clothing and in doing so exposing even more people to danger.

The Time Bomb

Unlike typical workplace injuries, which are readily observed and known about soon after the causing incident, asbestos-related diseases may take many, many years to develop. The symptoms of asbestosis and mesothelioma - a persistent cough, difficulty breathing and chest pain - can easily be confused with those of other, less serious conditions. Experimental treatments including mesothelioma radiation are being discovered, and early detection provides patients the highest chance of defeating the low mesothelioma survival rate. Those that worked as structural metal craftsmen, and anyone who resided with them, should therefore tell their physicians about the possibility of asbestos exposure.

Sources

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

Laura S. Welch, Elizabeth Haile, John Dement and David Michaels - Change in Prevalence of Asbestos-Related Disease Among Sheet Metal Workers 1986 to 2004
http://www.defendingscience.org/newsroom/upload/Chest_Asbestos_2007.pdf

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 - Sheet Metal Workers
http://www.bls.gov/oco/ocos214.htm