Asbestos Mesothelioma: A Pipe Fitter's Story of Kaylo

St. Petersburg, FloridaAt 69, George was just getting into his retirement stride. But there's been an unexpected complication. He was recently diagnosed with asbestosis, very often a precursor to asbestos mesothelioma, a form of cancer for which there is no cure.

George worked around asbestos for 45 years and most of his adult life– from 1963 to his retirement 2 years ago. As a member of the International Association of Heat and Frost Insulators and Workers, he worked in a power plant, and on the construction of a plant that makes drywall. "I worked mostly in heavy industries, in refineries in Los Angeles and paper mills in Oregon," he said.

"We worked on pipe elbows using a type of mud that contained asbestos, and the final lining was blue mud which was pure asbestos, and then we put a linen lining over it. We used our bare hands to smooth it over, and a piece of rubber with a hole cut in it for your thumb – we used that to make a smooth finish. We used a product called Kaylo."
Kaylo pipe covering was very commonly used by pipe fitters during the construction process, and was also used on some military ships. Kaylo pipe insulation and kaylo roofing tile were also very popular in the last half of the 20th century.

Kaylo contained asbestos. When pipe fitters smoothed the kaylo, the asbestos fibres could become loose and airborne and then be inhaled by the workers and anyone else in the immediate vicinity. The asbestos fibres would also become lodged in the workers clothing.

"There were no warnings about asbestos when we were working around it in the 1960s and 1970s," George said. "That was a time when the dangers of asbestos exposure weren't very well known."

George never really thought anything about until after he retired. "I began to notice a shortness of breath. I went to the doctor and had an x-ray. I told him about my work history, and he insisted I have a CT scan and pulmonary test. When the results were in he gave me a piece of paper which stated I have asbestosis.

The asbestosis has slowed me down. I'm due for another pulmonary test in May by which time I could have progressed to stage 2 disease," George says in a very matter of fact way. But then he acknowledges that he's worried about developing asbestos mesothelioma. "I hear that the life expectancy for that is only about 9 months."

Asbestos Mesothelioma Fatalities Are Rising
Unfortunately, George's story is not uncommon. Hundreds of men, possibly thousands, are becoming diagnosed with asbestosis and asbestos mesothelioma because of their exposure to the carcinogenic mineral through their work.
According to United States federal health officials at the Centers for Disease Control (CDC), deaths from malignant mesothelioma are on the rise. In a recent analysis of deaths records of US citizens, CDC officials found that between 1999 and 2005 malignant asbestos mesothelioma accounted for 18,068 deaths and that the numbers of deaths increased annually during that period.

The CDC also found that mesothelioma death rates were highest among Caucasian men, with the state of Maine having the highest number of related deaths of any state in the country.

Why is Asbestos Mesothelioma on the Rise?
The reason that the mortality rate is increasing is due to the latency period for asbestos mesothelioma, which can be as much as 40 years. Many people who worked around the product half a century ago, people like George, are only now showing symptoms.

And people continue to be exposed today. Of note, the CDC report states, "Although asbestos has been eliminated in the manufacture of many products, it is still being imported and used in the US in various construction and transportation products."
Family members of people who work around asbestos are also at risk. During the past few years, many cases of second-hand asbestos exposure have been reported by wives of men who worked around asbestos in the United Kingdom. The women were exposed to asbestos fibres that had become lodged in their husbands' and fathers' work clothes. So through the simple act of doing the laundry over a period of years, these women have become fatally ill. And second hand asbestos exposure is just as real a problem in the United States.

If you or a loved one has been exposed to asbestos, either directly or indirectly, it is possible to get checked for symptoms such as of shortness of breath, chest pains and a persistent cough. Many people who have been diagnosed, or families of people who have died from asbestos illness go on to seek legal assistance.