AsbestosAsbestos Industry
Who is at Risk?Auto Mechanics
History and Background
An automobile mechanic is the man or woman who maintains and fixes cars and trucks in order to keep them working correctly. They are specially trained people who can do everything from changing oil to overhauling an engine. A car or truck is a very complex machine with many moving parts that generate friction and heat. In the past the products that created this heat were made with asbestos, a natural mineral that is strong and heat-resistant. However, exposure to asbestos can lead to debilitating pulmonary diseases as discussed below.
Some automotive products that were made with asbestos are: brake linings, clutch facings, transmission components, disc brake pads, drum brake linings, brake blocks, gaskets and others.
Tasks Putting Auto Mechanics at Risk for Asbestos Exposure
Regular work completed in auto shops creates a potentially dangerous environment filled with asbestos dust. There have been restrictions on asbestos usage since the 1970s, but it is still apparent in some products and in many older cars and trucks. Many mechanics do not even realize that they are still at risk, even today. Even those who did not work directly on asbestos containing products are at risk as the dust spread throughout the auto shops.
Much of the work completed by mechanics creates dust that could possibly contain asbestos. Some of these men and women believe that if they do not directly inhale the dust then they are safe while others will turn their heads thinking that helps. Most auto shops even provide respirators but some mechanics are hesitant to use them as they believe they are 'not manly'.
Many mechanics worked directly on asbestos containing products. Vehicles oftentimes need new brakes or clutches. These products are first fitted and then applied. The mechanics will sand, file and drill the new brakes to get them onto the particular car, thus creating dangerous dust. Also in order to maintain brakes and clutches they must be cleaned and oftentimes ground down to 'renew' the linings. The cleaning is performed using power washers or compressed air that blasts away any materials on the brake lining while throwing millions of asbestos fibers into the air. Some mechanics wipe the brakes with a wet rag in an effort to reduce the dust or squirt them, but once the rags dry the asbestos particles are still present.
When a brake is applied by the driver of the vehicle, the brake shoe presses against the drum, creating friction. This process causes asbestos-containing dust to fill the drum and when they are repaired or replaced, all that dust is released into the auto shop.
Companies that Produced Asbestos Automotive Products
The following are companies that produced automotive products that contained asbestos (this is only a brief list, there are many others):
- Johns-Manville
- Owens Corning
- Raybestos
- Federal-Mogul Corp.
- Dana Corp.
- Delphi Corp.
- Bosch GmbH
- Honeywell International Corp.
- Fel-Pro Inc.
- T & N plc.
- Cooper Industries Inc.
- RPM International
Auto Mechanics At Risk for Mesothelioma and Other Asbestos Diseases
By the mid 1970s, strong evidence was uncovered regarding the health dangers associated with prolonged exposure to asbestos. Many who had worked with asbestos for extended periods of time were coming down with pulmonary diseases (such as mesothelioma, lung cancer and asbestosis) from breathing asbestos dust.
The asbestos related diseases include:
- Mesothelioma: a type of cancer only caused by asbestos exposure that attacks the lining around the lungs and/or heart and/or abdomen. This cancer is not in the organs themselves, though untreated it will spread. The most common form is pleural mesothelioma (lung lining), then peritoneal mesothelioma (stomach lining), and then pericardial mesothelioma (heart lining).
- Asbestos Related Lung Cancer: while lung cancer can come from numerous sources, asbestos exposure can lead to the formation of a malignant tumor that blocks the air passages (common for smokers who were exposed to asbestos).
- Asbestosis: a pulmonary condition, only caused by exposure to asbestos, where scar tissue builds up in the lungs causing breathing problems and low blood flow.
The diseases associated with asbestos are similar in that their symptoms often do not appear for many years after exposure. It is not uncommon for someone to develop lung cancer after a 10 year lag between onset and initial exposure. Asbestosis and mesothelioma often do not become apparent for nearly 30 or 40 years after the initial exposure to asbestos. Common symptoms include: difficulty breathing, chest pains, and a dry hacking cough that sometimes contained blood.
The health problems associated with asbestos were not just isolated to people who worked with the product. The asbestos dust would spread easily through the air putting workers who never used it at risk. Also, many family members were at risk as well because workers would return home with the dust on their clothes, shoes and even hair.
