"I'm on Oxygen for the Rest of My life"

Lorain, OHLarry worked in a steel mill in Ohio for 19 years. Unfortunately, asbestos was used in the mill, around pipes and in the brake shoes of large tractors. So he and his co-workers suffered asbestos exposure the entire time they worked at the mill. Today, Larry can't breathe without supplemental oxygen.

"I started working at the mill in 1966," Larry said. "I was a helper on a tractor inside the mill," Larry said. "The front tires on that thing were about 36 inches high, and every time the tractor came in to make a pick-up I was right by that tire. My job was to give the appropriate signals to the driver so he would know how to pick the steel up. Sometimes, if we were on for 8 hours steady, that tractor would make 15 trips a day. Then, sometime around 1974 and 1975, the drivers were told the brake shoes had to be changed because they contained asbestos. I remember many a trip, when the tractor was making a pick-up, when dust would be flying out from the wheels where the brakes were. That was my work area.

Earlier on, in 1969 or 1970 people had come in and removed the water pipes in the area where we worked. The pipes had been lined with asbestos to keep them from freezing. But the asbestos coating on these pipes had been peeling for some time, long before they were removed." Needless to say, asbestos dust would have been everywhere in the air long before the pipes were removed.

At that time, the company provided no information to its employees about the dangers of asbestos or that asbestos was present in the mill. "As far as I know the company never said anything about the dangers of asbestos," Larry said. "Nobody wore masks. But I had breathing difficulties when I was at work, that's when it started."

The health problems related to asbestos exposure are primarily asbestos mesothelioma, and asbestosis. At the time Larry began working at the mill the dangers weren't widely known, but that changed in the 1970s and 1980s. Unfortunately, today the problems are far from over. Asbestos is still widely used in roofing materials, textiles, friction products, insulation, and other building materials. In fact it's estimated that 1.3 million construction workers still face significant exposure to asbestos during renovations, demolitions, and asbestos removal, and more than 27 million workers were exposed to asbestos between 1940 and 1980.

The Environmental Working Group Action Fund estimates that 10,000 people a year die from asbestos-caused diseases the United States, which includes one out of every 125 American men who die over the age of 50. Not surprisingly, asbestos mesothelioma lawsuits are on the rise in the United States. Larry's co-workers for example, were tested a few years ago, and some are receiving payments from settlements. "A lawyer came here and ran tests on a lot of the men," Larry said. "I didn't know anything about it at the time, so I missed the deadline. But most of them who did get tested are now receiving either monthly or yearly payments from asbestos claims. They all worked at the mill. One friend of mine is getting $3000 per month. He received a settlement, I don't know how much it was, but he's 66 years old. He worked for the mill, but in a different area."

Larry has not been tested for asbestosis and mesothelioma, but he was put on oxygen last December by his doctor. And he is on it 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. He has been hospitalized several times for breathing difficulties. Larry is just 64 years old. He would like to be tested for asbestosis and mesothelioma, the latency period for which can be up to 20 years. He is certainly a candidate.

If you or someone you know has been exposed to asbestos consider getting tested, at the very least consult your health care professional. It may also be appropriate to investigate your legal options.