Mesothelioma Exposure

Sources of Asbestos Exposure in New York and New Jersey include:

Shipyard and Ship Exposures
Asbestos-containing materials were commonly found on board Naval and Merchant Marine vessels, as well as at the shipyards where such ships were built and repaired. Such materials came in the form of pipe covering which was placed over hot steam pipes, block and cement used on boilers, pumps, turbines, compressors, condensers and other like equipment, gaskets and packing used on and in flanges, valves and equipment as well as a variety of other materials used in conjunction with the hot water and steam which was generated to propel the ships.

Shipyard sites in the New York Metropolitan area where Asbestos-containing materials were used in abundance include the Brooklyn Navy Yard, Bethlehem Steel Brooklyn and Hoboken Shipyards, Kearney Federal Shipyard and Todd Brooklyn and Staten Island Shipyards.

Trades working in areas where Asbestos-containing materials would be present include shipfitters, machinists, pipe fitters, pipe coverers, boiler makers, electricians, welders, riggers and engineers among others.

Power Plants
Power generating stations have long been a source of mesothelioma Asbestos exposure. Not surprisingly, heat generating and transporting equipment found in power houses such as turbines, boilers, pumps, steam traps, condensers, compressors and the like, regularly utilized Asbestos-containing materials such as refractory cement, block, pipe covering, cloth, gaskets, packing, wire and cable. Any and all powerhouse workers were at risk, as well as ancillary trades that helped build or service these generating stations.

Powerhouses in the New York Metropolitan area where mesothelioma Asbestos exposure occurred on a regular basis include:

• Con Edison - Astoria, Ravenswood, 14 th Street, 34 th Street, Indian Point,
• Waterside, Hellsgate.
• Orange & Rockland - Damskammer, Bowline
• PSE&G - plants throughout New Jersey, including Camden, Clifton, Edison, Elizabeth, Harrison, Irvington, Union and Warren
• LILCO - Port Jefferson and Northport

Factories/Refineries
Factories throughout the New York/New Jersey area would incorporate Asbestos containing materials in their heating plants, assembly lines and general manufacturing facilities. Refineries including the Exxon Bayway facility in Linden, New Jersey often utilized Asbestos-containing materials to contain the heat generated by the large boilers, generators, condensers, compressors and other like equipment used in the refinery process.

Construction Sites
Construction of commercial buildings, apartments, homes, schools and even hospitals often utilized Asbestos-containing materials in the form of roofing products, joint compound, shingles, floor tile, adhesives, boiler coverings, cement pipe, wire, circuit boards, welding rods and lighting fixtures.

Trades in the area of building construction at risk of mesothelioma Asbestos exposure include: laborers, electricians, welders, plumbers, pipe fitters, roofers, iron workers, boiler workers, insulators, sheet metal workers, carpenters, drywall tapers, tilers and masons.

Auto Repair
Automotive brakes and clutches often known as “friction materials” commonly used Asbestos as a prime ingredient. Auto mechanics as well as laborers who assisted in auto repair would often come in contact with Asbestos-containing brake linings, brake shoes, clutches and automotive gaskets which had to be removed from and replaced in vehicles under repair. Often the debris left by removing and replacing these Asbestos-containing materials would be swept up with brooms or compressed air, subjecting all workers in the vicinity to be exposed to Asbestos-laden dust.

Home Renovation
Even those who were not occupationally exposed to Asbestos may have received harmful mesothelioma Asbestos exposures while performing renovations or having renovations performed on their homes. Refinishing a room with Asbestos-containing floor tiles, putting up new or replacing sheet rock smoothed over with joint compounds, or having a heating system removed or repaired could subject home owners and occupants to harmful Asbestos exposures. Similarly, Asbestos may have been present in roofing materials, siding, shingles and other home improvement materials.

Equipment Maintenance
Individuals who performed their own automotive repairs or maintenance of other equipment at home such as heating systems, tractors and like equipment may have experienced exposure to Asbestos contained in brake linings, clutches, gaskets and insulation. If such work was done on a regular basis, there may have been sufficient exposure to Asbestos to be connected to a diagnosis of mesothelioma.

In addition, occupational exposure to Asbestos would be common during equipment maintenance, such as experienced by locomotive maintenance workers, airport maintenance mechanics, subway, bus and taxi mechanics, building superintendents, custodians and the like.

Family Member Exposure
Families of occupationally exposed workers may have been exposed to Asbestos if Asbestos-contaminated clothing was brought home from work for laundering. Often, dusty work clothes would be shaken out and laundered, without any realization that a danger could exist to household members. In addition, renovations done in a home removing and/or applying Asbestos-containing materials including floor tiles, shingles, roofing, joint and taping compounds, boiler coverings and refractory materials could subject all family members to Asbestos-laden dust.

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