Construction & Building Trades
Union members and retirees of many trades encountered hazardous
asbestos products in doing their work, as well as the asbestos
products being used by other trades working nearby, during the
construction, renovation, and repair of various industrial, commercial,
military, education, government, and other job sites. Mechanical
systems, including piping, duct work and equipment, were assembled
with, sealed with and/or insulated with asbestos products. Structural
steel and decking were fireproofed and sound proofed with asbestos
sprays. Components of walls, roofing, electrical wiring and flooring
contained asbestos through the 1970's and, in some cases, even
later.
Trades at Risk:
» Insulators
» Sheetmetal Workers
» Steamfitters
» Plumbers & Pipefitters
» Masons & Bricklayers
» Ironworkers
» Roofers
» Carpenters & Joiners
» Boilermakers
» Tilesetters
» Shipfitters
» Electricians
» Operating Engineers
» Painters
» Plasterers
» Lathers
» Millwrights
» Laborers
» Machinists
» Others
Union Members at Risk:
» Heat & Frost Insulators & Asbestos
Workers Union
» Sheetmetal Workers
» Boilermakers
» Bricklayer and Allied Craftworkers/BAC
» Steamfitters and Pipefitters
» Electricians
» Carpenters
» Plumbers
» Roofers
Workers at Refineries, Chemical Plants,
Pharmaceutical, Food and Beverage Plants
These industries often utilize high temperature/high pressure
processes and required lots of steam and process pipelines, which
in and prior to the 1970's meant piping, vessels, tanks, reactors,
heat exchangers, boilers, roasters, ovens, driers, furnaces,
pumps and other equipment insulated, assembled, and/or sealed
with asbestos products. Those involved in maintenance, repair,
construction, and turnaround of the production units risked exposure
to asbestos products, as well as workers in the vicinity of these
operations.
Union Members at Risk:
» Oil, Chemical & Atomic Workers/OCAW
» Independent Chemical Workers Union
GMP
» United Steel Workers
» Teamsters
» Paperworkers
Workers in Metal Refining Operations, Foundries
and Steel Mills
In addition to the insulated pipelines, boilers and similar
equipment common to heavy industry, workers in metal refineries,
foundries, and steel mills may have been exposed to the high
temperature refractory linings of furnaces, smelters, launders,
ladles, and similar equipment, some of which were composed of
asbestos products, which were frequently in need of replacement
and repair. In addition, asbestos gloves, leggings, and aprons
were worn by workers near molten metals. Asbestos cloth and blankets
were used to moderate the cooling of metal castings.
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