Who is at Risk?
Asbestos exposure continues to be a risk for American workers in certain occupations and, according to a recent study, as many as 20 million people in the U.S. are at risk of developing mesothelioma.
If you or a loved one in the North Country of New York has been diagnosed with mesothelioma, the asbestos injury attorneys of Belluck & Fox, LLP, can help. We handle mesothelioma cases from the six counties of the North Country and all of New York. We provide personalized and professional legal representation, and we can advise you of the legal options available for you and your family.
Use our online contact form or call Belluck & Fox, LLP’s mesothelioma attorneys toll-free at 877-MESOTHELIOMA (637-6843) for expert assistance today.
Occupational Asbestos Exposure
Workers from New York’s North Country most likely to contract mesothelioma are those who came into contact with asbestos on the job at upstate New York manufacturing plants, such as at the region’s many iron and steel foundries, the General Electric plant in Auburn or the Bristol-Myers plant in East Syracuse. Typically, they have either handled asbestos or asbestos-containing materials directly, or have inhaled asbestos dust and fibers that have been released into the air. During most of the 20th century, workers in many trades and industries were exposed to asbestos products, if not raw asbestos.
Many workers were exposed to indirect contact with asbestos, which is a hazard because asbestos breaks up easily into increasingly small pieces, which can eventually become invisible airborne fibers or dust. Asbestos dust can spread throughout a workplace and be inhaled by those who think they have no risk of asbestos exposure. Asbestos dust fibers that settle to the floor can become airborne again, when the floor is swept or even because of the breeze from a passing person or vehicle, and therefore pose a persistent hazard for anyone on the premises. Millions of asbestos fibers, once released from the product that originally contained the asbestos, can lie in wait on a factory floor for any passerby to inhale them.
Over decades on the job in an Upstate New York plant, a worker from the North Country could have inhaled billions of asbestos fibers that would one day cause fatal damage to his lungs and other vital organs as mesothelioma.
Jobs with Asbestos Exposure
These jobs are typical of trades and industry in the North Country of New York that may have exposed workers to asbestos and the risk of mesothelioma:
- Laborers
- Brake mechanics
- Auto mechanics
- Painters
- Plasterers
- Pipe coverers
- Pipefitters
- Cement finishers
- Millwrights
- Merchant Marine seamen
- Foundry workers
- Carpenters
- Plumbers
- Roofers
- Sailors
- Navy yard workers/yardbirds
- Paperworkers
- Electricians
- Bricklayers
- Boilermakers
- Automotive mechanics
- Machinists
- Lathers
- Insulators
- Welders
- Sheetmetal workers
- Crane operators
- Aircraft mechanics
- Engineers
- Steamfitters
- Masonry workers
- Longshoremen
- Plant workers
- Powerhouse workers
- Railroad workers
- Inspectors
- Maintenance workers
- Paper mill workers
- Tapers
Secondary Asbestos Exposure in a North Country Home
Family members of industrial and trade workers in the North Country, such as those in the list above, are also at great risk for developing mesothelioma due to asbestos exposure, because asbestos fibers can cling to a worker’s clothing, shoes, skin and hair.
Even without direct exposure to the hazardous substance at a jobsite, the wives, children and elderly parents of workers can be exposed when their loved ones arrive home and asbestos fibers become airborne once more to disperse into the home environment. Para-occupational exposure to asbestos means everyone in the household could potentially develop mesothelioma.
Other Asbestos Exposures
North Country construction workers involved in renovations of older structures, and even individuals who undertake “do-it-yourself” renovations to older homes and buildings, are also at risk of asbestos exposure. Because asbestos was incorporated into many building products used in upstate New York before its widespread use was banned, anyone working on older buildings might encounter shingles, flooring, and insulation on heating and air-conditioning systems, among many other products, that contain asbestos. Disturbing these products can release millions of asbestos fibers into the air, resulting in a significant exposure. This means that the maintenance, remodeling or demolition of an old building represents a hazard for asbestos exposure.
Contact Our North Country Mesothelioma Team Today
If you or a loved one in Clinton, Essex, Franklin, Jefferson, Lewis or St. Lawrence County, New York, has been diagnosed with mesothelioma, the North Country asbestos injury attorneys of Belluck & Fox, LLP, can help. We handle mesothelioma cases from the North Country and all of New York. We provide personalized and professional legal representation, and we can advise you of the legal options available for you and your family.
Use our online contact form or call Belluck & Fox, LLP’s mesothelioma attorneys toll-free at 877-MESOTHELIOMA (637-6843) for expert assistance today.
