Chemical Plants and Asbestos Exposure

Chemical Plant Workers were Exposed to Asbestos on the Job

Chemical plants contained many types of equipment that required protection from high heat and fire including furnaces, boilers and pumps. Before the dangers of using asbestos were made public, this equipment was often manufactured with asbestos containing components. In addition, asbestos insulation was used to provide fireproofing protection in the walls and ceilings where the threat of fire existed.

We have compiled a list of the major Chemical Plants across the country where our clients have been exposed to asbestos. People who worked at these plants may be at risk to develop asbestos diseases including malignant mesothelioma and asbestos cancer.

Chemical Plants and Asbestos

In the majority of the 1900s, various forms of asbestos were used as insulation in cases where fire or temperature extremes were a concern. Therefore, it was not uncommon for chemical plant facilities to be made with materials that contained asbestos. Resistance to chemical reactions is perhaps a less well-known property of some kinds of the fibrous mineral. Because of this, asbestos was utilized in protective garments, bench and counter tops and lab equipment. Asbestos, however, carried a notable downside that was not understood or at times deliberately ignored: serious and often fatal medical conditions were caused by asbestos exposure.

Generally, amosite was the variety of asbestos utilized. When mixed with chrysotile, which is resistant to heat and bases but not as resistant to acidic compounds, amosite creates materials that are particularly effective at preventing damage from corrosive substances. Although it was prohibited from use as a construction material in the 1970s, amosite, in the form of asbestos-containing transite, was utilized for many years in oil refineries and chemical plants throughout the United States.

Asbestos transite could be molded into working surfaces, sprayed onto ductwork and pipes and laminated in the same way cement could. This form of asbestos did not pose a health hazard so long as it was solid. As asbestos-containing transite ages and become prone to becoming powdery, however, deadly, tiny fibers can flake off into the atmosphere. Asbestos in this condition is called friable, which translates to easily crushed. In addition, laboratory and chemical plant kilns frequently contained friable asbestos as part of their insulation linings.

Author: Linda Molinari

Editor in Chief, Mesothelioma Cancer Alliance

Read about Linda