Glens Falls, NYIn the 1950s and 1960s it was quite normal for people to work unguarded around asbestos. Frank worked around asbestos then, and he has the spots on his lungs to prove it. Today he is under the care of a pulmonary physician. His outcome is unknown.
"Back in the late 1950s and early 1960s I worked for a company that made asbestos insulating blocks," Frank said. "We used to make these blocks using ban saws. There were no ventilation systems in place where we worked, and the respirators the company supplied us with were very poor, by today's standards. What they gave us was a little rubber mask, which had a little filter sack over it. That was used for dust removal. But the particles were so fine that they would come right through the mask. When you took the respirator off the inside would be all white.
"I did this off and on for ten years. I didn't know about the dangers. We worked on making asbestos insulating blocks for machines that made paint for cars and highways, traffic paints, that kind of thing. At that period in time there was an awful lot of insulating work done with asbestos. And asbestos was used in the duct work in homes and schools used to be wrapped in it. And a lot of the hot water pipeline systems were insulated with it." Asbestos was also frequently used for fireproofing, and it was used to make shingles, siding, flooring felt, rollboard, millboard, floor tiles, and textured paints.
"About 15 years ago I had to go for an x-ray," Frank said. "The doctors immediately picked up on the spots on my lungs. They sent me right down for a CT scan, because they thought the spots were cancer. But we found out that the spots were caused by asbestos. Since then, the spots have thickened and have developed. I am monitored by a pulmonary physician. They don't know what my prognosis will be."
At the time, nobody knew the risks associated with asbestos exposure, but as the facts became known the EPA banned several asbestos products and manufacturers of these products have halted production. It is estimated that more than 27 million workers were exposed to asbestos between 1940 and 1980. Approximately 1.3 million construction workers still face significant exposure to asbestos during renovations, demolitions, and asbestos removal. Employees working in areas of manufacturing of asbestos such as textiles, friction products, insulation, and other building materials, are also likely to be exposed, as are employees working on automotive brake and clutch repair work. And workers' families can also be put at risk by asbestos dust that gets into clothes, and hair and furniture. It is easily spread, very fine, and very hard to get rid of.
As Frank's story demonstrates, it can take years for the effects of asbestos exposure to show up. However, mesothelioma, a type of cancer caused by asbestos, can include early symptoms such as chest pain, fatigue, shortness of breath, hoarseness, cough, fluid retention and abdominal swelling. Pain or swelling in the chest or the abdomen could be a symptom.
"I don't remember when people first became aware of asbestos being a carcinogen. But when it did become widely known we were given decent respirators," Frank said. A case of too little, too late.