Are Superior Shipyard Workers at Cancer Risk?
In theory, almost anybody in the shipbuilding industry in the 20th century could be at risk. The vast tons of material insulated with asbestos in enclosed spaces on ships served as a particularly insidious hazard to workers and servicemen.
Asbestos was used almost everywhere, including heavily in boiler rooms, engine rooms and sleeping quarters. It was used as insulation, pipe covering, and used in the paint that covered ships. It is estimated that in some years about 1 in 500 shipyard workers were handling and installing asbestos insulation on a daily basis.
Exposure to asbestos at shipyards is not limited to spending great amounts of time on ships. Even those workers loading and unloading materials at ports and dry docks could have been heavily exposed. The boxes, crates, pallets and packing materials used to carry the products sometimes contained asbestos fibers.
The Dangers of Shipyard Asbestos
The potential dangers of asbestos inhalation have been known for several decades now, though the full extent of the damage to the lives and families of former workers has yet to be seen. Many former Superior Shipyard workers are treated for mesothelioma, asbestosis, lung cancer, and other respiratory diseases as a result of poor working conditions in the past.
Because of the delayed symptoms, and long latency period of diseases caused by asbestos products, many former shipyard workers in Louisiana are still being diagnosed with illnesses caused by exposure many years ago. It can take up to 50 years after exposure for symptoms of mesothelioma or asbestosis to present themselves.
In a 2007 study published by Occupational & Environmental Medicine, which studied the death of 4,700 men and women who built and maintained ships, researchers observed “excess deaths” from mesothelioma and respiratory cancer, which they attributed to asbestos fibers at shipyards.
Shipyard Workers Asbestos Exposure
Depending on the shipyard, workers performed tasks on any number and variety of vessels. Researchers suggest the worst exposure occurred in engine rooms, mess halls and on painted decks. Further exposure occurred in shipways and dry docks. The following jobs also put shipyard workers in direct contact with asbestos:
- Shipfitters
- Machinists
- Pipefitters & Plumbers
- Electricians
- Boilermakers
- Painters
Below is a list of tasks that are known to expose shipyard workers to high levels of asbestos:
- Painting
- Welding
- Insulating
- Regular maintenance, repairs, overhauls and decommissions
- Off-loading cargo
- Material delivery
- Unpacking pallets and crates
- Boiler and pipe work
- On-board machining
Asbestos-Related Illnesses & Symptoms
The hazardous dust of asbestos fibers can cause a number of serious diseases. Some of these diseases directly caused by asbestos exposure can include:
- Mesothelioma (a cancer of the tissue surrounding the lungs and other organs)
- Lung cancer
- Asbestosis (scarring of lungs)
- Possible cancers in other organs
The signs and symptoms of these conditions may include the following: - Pain in the side of the chest or lower back
- Shortness of breath
- Cough
- Fever
- Excessive sweating
- Fatigue
- Weight loss
- Trouble swallowing
Many experience asbestos exposure through the workplace. Workplaces may have been filled with toxic materials, and employers may have failed to warn of the serious health risks of the job. Filing a suit helps to raise the awareness of job safety.
Asbestos can be found in factories, warehouses, hospitals, schools, homes built before 1980, construction sites, and in many military installations. According to the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH), there are 75 different jobs that can expose workers to asbestos, with those jobs primarily involving construction and manufacturing. Thousands of American workers are still exposed to asbestos each year.
Mesothelioma is a serious illness that has been linked to asbestos exposure in medical literature. It is estimated that there will be thousands of new cases due to the latency period of 20-50 years after being first exposed to asbestos.
