The use of asbestos has exposed thousands of unsuspecting workers as well as their families to this toxic mineral. The United States Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) has stated that it is aware of no instance in which exposure to a toxic substance has more clearly demonstrated deleterious health effects on humans than has asbestos exposure. From the years 1940 to 1970, approximately 27.5 million individuals had potential work-related asbestos exposure. The number is not surprising when one considers that by one estimate, 1.2 billion square feet of asbestos-containing insulation is housed in 190,000 buildings in the United States. It has been estimated that the number of workers exposed as a consequence of asbestos brake and clutch work is approximately 900,000.
Workers may be exposed to asbestos in a wide range of job sites and trades, ranging from milling and mining to manufacturing and consumer industries. According to one estimate from the Asbestos Information Association, there are over 3,000 discrete uses of asbestos. These uses have resulted in exposures through the mining and milling process, in primary and secondary manufacturing of asbestos-containing products, in shipbuilding and repair, and in construction.
Hazardous exposures to asbestos have also occurred as a result of off-site releases from the mining, milling and manufacture of asbestos products. Residents in nearby communities may have been exposed as a result. It has been estimated that the off-site release from construction sites has resulted in environmental asbestos levels 100 times over natural environmental levels.
Additionally, contamination of homes might occur when employees bring home asbestos-contaminated clothing from the workplace. This may expose innocent members of the worker’s family. Some people believe that a main current source of ongoing non-occupational exposure is the release of fibers from existing asbestos-containing surface materials that may be found in schools, residences and public buildings.
Sources: Occupational Exposure to Asbestos, 51 Fed. Reg. 22,615 (June 20, 1986); William J. Nicholson, Occupational Exposure to Asbestos: Population at Risk and Projected Mortality – 1980-2030, 3 AM. J. IND. MED. 259, 306 (1982); Pathology of Asbestos-Related Diseases (Victor L. Roggli et al. eds., 2004).