Second-hand Asbestos Exposure
The health risks of coming into direct contact with asbestos are widely known today. But it’s only in the last few years that the dangers of secondhand asbestos exposure have become apparent and begun warranting the attention of families who have been affected by multiple mesothelioma or asbestos-related illnesses - with some seeking asbestos settlements as a result.
Secondhand asbestos exposure occurs when a person is indirectly exposed to asbestos through either a household member or the environment. It is increasingly being recognized as a direct cause of mesothelioma, lung cancer and other types of serious asbestos-related illnesses.
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In the Household
One common scenario for secondhand asbestos exposure is when a person lives with someone who handles asbestos or asbestos products at work. In many industrial settings, even as late as the 1970s, there were no showers or changing areas for asbestos workers. Instead, workers had no choice but to carry the white asbestos dust home on their clothes, shoes and hair. When their children would hug them—or when their wives would move, sort and wash their clothes - the carcinogenic particles would be released into the air, exposing the entire household to its dangers.
In 2003, a jury in Alameda County, California awarded $6.5 million to a 61 year-old woman who was dying of mesothelioma. Her illness was attributed to secondhand exposure to asbestos suffered between the ages of 4 to 7, when her parents carried the dust home on their clothing from their shipyard jobs each day. The steel production company that the woman’s parents had worked for was found negligent and ordered to pay her compensatory damages.
Today, there are federal laws in place designed to decrease the risk of secondhand asbestos exposure in the home. Some workplaces may ask their employees to store and wash their street clothes separately from their work clothes. Other facilities mandate that workers shower and change their clothes before they go home to their families.
In the Environment
Secondhand asbestos exposure can also happen when a person lives close to a source of asbestos.
Chemicals and materials manufacturer W.R. Grace mined and produced asbestos for many years in Libby, Montana - without abiding by proper safety procedures. The company’s mining and processing activities caused large amounts of asbestos-laced dust to billow out over residential homes, businesses and schools, covering the community in a smoky, toxic haze. Even worse, asbestos tailings from the W.R. Grace mine were used as fill for playgrounds, driveways and gardens.
As a result of W.R. Grace’s operations, Libby and its neighboring town of Troy became heavily contaminated with asbestos for decades. Federal prosecutors say this contamination has resulted in over 2,000 deaths and 1,000 illnesses of mine workers, their families and other area residents. W.R. Grace closed down its mining operations in 1990, and has since paid millions of dollars in medical bills for residents who became ill from first- and secondhand asbestos exposure. The overwhelming number of asbestos injury lawsuits resulting from the company’s mining activities eventually forced it to seek bankruptcy protection in 2001.
Other sources of asbestos include refineries, power plants, factories, shipyards, steel mills and building demolition sites. The massive volumes of asbestos dust produced by many of these facilities can contaminate the air, soil, and water long after they’ve shut down, leaving behind a toxic legacy for unsuspecting residents who have settled there to work and raise families.
Do You Have a History of Secondhand Asbestos Exposure?
Like firsthand exposure to asbestos, the symptoms related to secondhand asbestos exposure may not emerge for 10 to 40 years after the initial exposure. If you believe you may have been indirectly exposed to asbestos in the home or in the environment, you may wish to talk to your doctor about your health risks. For families who must deal with the harsh realities of a mesothelioma diagnosis regarding a loved one who had secondhand asbestos exposure, contact a mesothelioma attorney to see if there is possibility of receiving a asbestos settlement.