Hazardous Job and Workplaces

It is exposure to asbestos dust or fibers that causes mesothelioma cancer. Mesothelioma can result from very small fibers or dust particles at low exposure levels. Most exposure would likely have occurred before 1973, but it can take up to 40 years for most lung cancer to develop.

Most patients have had contact with asbestos fibers on the job, or as it is also called occupational exposure. You should know that there is also risks to the family members of those that work in at-risk occupations. This exposure is called paraoccupational exposure and of course people have been less aware that they are in any danger. In the same way, those who live near work sites likely to have asbestos around the facility are also at risk. Oil refineries, power plants, steel mills, factories, shipyards, and building demolition are types of work sites that can release asbestos fibers into the environment and contaminate any neighborhood that is in the area.

Trades and Jobs:
Asbestos product manufacturing (insulation, roofing, building, materials)
Automotive repair (brakes & clutches)
Construction/contractors
Maritime
Miners
Offshore rust removals
Oil refineries
Power plants
Railroads
Sand or abrasive manufacturers
Shipyards / ships / ship builders
Steel mills
Tile cutters

Occupations:
Auto Mechanics
Boiler makers
Bricklayers
Building Inspectors
Carpenters
Drywallers
Electricians
Floor Coverings
Furnace Workers
Glazers
Grinders
Hod carriers
Insulators
Iron workers
Laborers
Longshoremen
Maintenance workers
Merchant marines
Millwrights
Operating Engineers
Painters
Plasterers
Plumbers
Roofers
Sand blasters
Sheet metal workers
Steam fitters
Tile setters
Welders
U.S. Navy veterans
Welders

There are many occupations that have an increased risk for developing lung cancer from asbestos. Take for example asbestos insulation workers have 92 times the risk of developing of lung cancer, and iron smelter workers have 3-8 times the risk of developing this lung cancer. The lung cancer risk is also greater in those who have worked in the manufacturing of certain industrial gases, inorganic pigments, plastics, pharmaceuticals, soaps, detergents, paints, and synthetic rubber. This risk of developing lung cancer is related to the amount of exposure to the cancer-causing agent. Just as with the risk of lung cancer in humans is proportional to the number of cigarettes smoked.

And the risk of developing lung cancer is 8-20 times greater in tobacco smokers compared to those who have never smoked at all. There is a smaller, but real risk that exists for cigar and pipe smokers. Some lung cancer causing agents will react together to significantly worsen the risk of developing cancer. Any exposure to both asbestos and tobacco smoke clearly multiplies the risk of developing lung cancer and the risk of lung cancer is greater for those living in urban areas. This risk is approximately 1.2 to 2.3 times that of people living in rural areas. There is also an increased risk of lung cancer in smokers whose close relatives have had lung cancer. Finally, scarring in the lungs from previous infections or injury can be associated with and increased risk of cancer.