Before asbestos was identified as being carcinogenic, it was integral to the operation of plants that made aluminum. The toxic material was used to insulate the vessels used in the smelting process and the walls that separated different areas of the plant from the high-heat equipment. Asbestos contaminated the plant’s equipment, the infrastructure, and the building itself, putting workers at constant risk of being diagnosed with malignant mesothelioma, lung cancer, and other asbestos-related diseases.
The Aluminum Process and Asbestos
Aluminum is an extremely abundant element — third only to oxygen and silicon — but producing it requires a complex process invented in 1886 called Hall-Heroult, which extracts molten aluminum from a sedimentary rock called bauxite.[1]
Bauxite rocks contain alumina, water, and other minerals. The process of extracting alumina involves mixing the bauxite rocks with sodium hydroxide and then heating them under pressure. The aluminum oxide dissolves from the bauxite, the other minerals are separated and filtered out of the solution, and the aluminum oxide is converted into sodium aluminate. This solution is cooled, turning into a solid crystalized form that is then washed and heated again to form a sandy white material that is pure alumina.[2]
After the alumina has been produced, it is converted into aluminum through an energy-intensive process called electrolytic reduction. This is the smelting process. In aluminum smelting plants, electrolytic reduction cells are filled with another mineral called cryolite. The cryolite is heated up, and then the alumina is added to it. Then, a strong electric current breaks the bond between the aluminum and oxygen, resulting in pure liquid aluminum settling at the bottom of the cell. This is then purified and cast into various shapes and sizes for different applications.[2]
Working in an aluminum processing plant is a notoriously dangerous occupation. The environment is extremely hot, and the ventilation is often poor. The high electric current flowing through each cell creates magnetic fields that can affect pacemakers, and workers are exposed to polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, sulfur dioxide and fluorides, aluminum fluoride, carbon monoxide, carbon dioxide, various trace metals, and asbestos.[3]
What Do Aluminum Plant Workers Do?
Today, there are more than 160,000 Americans working in the aluminum industry, and many of them have been doing the work for decades. These workers have both traditional manufacturing skills and advanced skills ranging from engineering to fabrication. Those who have worked in aluminum plants and been exposed to asbestos in their occupational environment include:[4]
- Loader drivers
- Casting pit operators
- Production operators
- Business & administration staff
- Environmental health specialists
- Insulators
- Boiler workers
- Safety experts
- Maintenance
- Electricians
- Millwrights
- Machinists
- Journeymen
- Technical repair professionals
Where Was Asbestos Used in Aluminum Plants?
Until it was discovered to be the cause of mesothelioma and other diseases, asbestos was an integral part of aluminum processing. From the structure of the factories to the equipment that was packed with asbestos insulation, the material was relied upon for its ability to withstand heat, protect from wear and tear, add strength, and insulate. Asbestos was used to cover metal that had leaked from the smelting cells and to line the smelting pots in which aluminum was extracted from aluminum oxide. It covered pipes and was used in gaskets and seals between valves and pumps, as well as for packing material to protect against leaks in the pipes and valve stems.
Asbestos was a common component in factories of all types in the years between the 1930s and 1980s, and aluminum plants were no exception. In addition to the specialized equipment used in the extracting and smelting process, aluminum plants operated using boilers and furnaces that were lined with asbestos-containing refractory materials that helped them stand up to high temperatures. Walls, floors, ceiling tiles, electrical systems — even the protective gear worn by workers were made using asbestos.
How Were Aluminum Plant Workers Exposed to Asbestos?
The high heat and intense chemical reactions that the creation of aluminum depends on was made possible by the industry relying heavily on asbestos to line the electrolytic cells and to insulate the electric furnaces that powered them. Though asbestos is strong, it does break down over time, and the wear and tear that it was subjected to daily led to it breaking down and requiring constant maintenance and replacement. Whenever these materials deteriorated or were manipulated, microscopic asbestos particles were released into the air, where they were inhaled or ingested by workers.
The microscopic particles also covered the hair, skin, and clothing of workers and were then carried into their homes and vehicles when they left work for the day. This subjected their families and neighbors to secondary asbestos exposure that proved to be just as deadly as that suffered by those who experienced occupational exposure.
The asbestos that workers inhaled came from numerous products and materials. Workers routinely had to scrape out worn asbestos lining before it could be replaced with new material and this created clouds of asbestos dust. The same is true of asbestos gaskets and insulation used in boilers and other equipment used in the factory. Even the protective gear worn by workers could deteriorate with use and release asbestos fibers into the air.
Landmark Lawsuit Following Secondary Asbestos Exposure from Aluminum Plant
A lawsuit involving secondary asbestos exposure from an aluminum plant was hailed as a huge victory for workers in all industries. The case was filed after the death of Amanda Satterfield, a 25-year-old who died of malignant mesothelioma in 2005 after a lifetime of exposure to asbestos carried into her home from her father’s work at an Alcoa aluminum plant. Born prematurely, Amanda’s first exposure to asbestos came when she was just a few days old when her father went to the hospital to visit her directly from his job. After hearing the details of her illness, as well as proof that Alcoa had known that the air in its factories contained high amounts of asbestos fibers, the Tennessee Supreme Court decided that the company had a “duty to prevent foreseeable injury from an unreasonable risk of harm that it had itself created.”[5]
The court wrote, “In light of the magnitude of the potential harm from exposure to asbestos and the means available to prevent or reduce this harm, we see no reason to prevent carpool members, babysitters, or the domestic help from pursuing negligence claims against an employer should they develop mesothelioma after being repeatedly and regularly in close contact with an employee’s asbestos-contaminated work clothes over an extended period of time.”[”5”]
Which Aluminum Plants Exposed Workers to Asbestos?
In the years between the 1930s and 1980s, asbestos was used constantly in the United States, but this was particularly true in aluminum smelting. Though the material’s characteristic strength, heat resistance, and insulating properties made it an obvious choice for the complex industrial process, it is also true that most of the owners and management of aluminum plants were well aware of its dangers. In the case of the Alcoa plant that was responsible for Amanda Satterfield’s exposure to the toxic material, proof was presented to the court that the company had conducted tests to determine the number of asbestos fibers on their employees’ asbestos-contaminated clothes, and the result was very high. It was established that the company knew that even a small amount of exposure to asbestos fibers could lead to deadly diseases.
Aluminum plant workers who worked in these environments through the 1980s were at high risk for asbestos exposure, and that was true for years after until asbestos abatement had been completed. Among the aluminum plants known to have been contaminated with asbestos are:
- Alcan Aluminum Plant
- ALCOA
- Alcoa Aluminum Plant – Vancouver
- Alcoa Aluminum Plant – Wenatchee
- Allied Metal Company
- Anaconda
- Anaconda Aluminum
- Anaconda Copper Mill
- Animax Copper Smelting
- Butte
- Cascade Steel Rolling Mills
- Columbia Aluminum
- Harvey Aluminum
- INTALCO Aluminum – Cherry Point
- INTALCO Aluminum – Ferndale
- J.G. Braun Co.
- Kaiser Aluminum – Spokane
- Kaiser Aluminum – Tacoma
- Kennicott Copper Mine
- Magma Copper Company
- Martin-Marietta Corporation
- Nikkin Flux Corp.
- Phelps Dodge Copper Plant
- Reynolds Metals Aluminum Plant
Were You Exposed to Asbestos at an Aluminum Plant?
Not everybody who is exposed to asbestos will be diagnosed with an asbestos-related disease, but they are definitely at higher risk. If you were exposed to asbestos at an aluminum processing plant, whether by having worked there or having a loved one carry the toxic material into your presence, you need to educate yourself about the risk and the symptoms. It’s also important to let your healthcare practitioner know: asbestos-related diseases are rare, so your doctor may not include mesothelioma or a similar illness in a differential diagnosis unless they’re aware of your exposure history.
What to Do If You Are Diagnosed with Mesothelioma After Working at an Aluminum Plant
People are diagnosed with asbestos-related diseases like mesothelioma years after exposure – in some cases, it takes as long as fifty or sixty years for symptoms to arise. If this has happened to you, the shock, fear, anger, and grief you are feeling is completely normal. After you’ve established a treatment plan, an asbestos attorney can help you understand the options available to you for seeking compensation for your loss, your pain, your medical expenses, and more.
You may be eligible to file a personal injury lawsuit against the companies that provided the aluminum processing plant where you worked with asbestos-containing materials. In a recent example, the widow of a man who worked as an independent contractor at an aluminum plant between the 1950s and 1970s filed suit against Alcoa and Taylor Insulation, Inc., which installed asbestos-contaminated insulation in the plant. Though the companies argued that they owed him no duty of care because he was not their employee, the Iowa Supreme Court decided that he was owed a duty of care.
In addition to filing a personal injury lawsuit, many of the aluminum plants, including Kaiser Aluminum, have established asbestos trust funds to compensate their former workers for the harm they’ve suffered as a result of their exposure on the job.
No matter how you were exposed or whether you choose to pursue legal action, speaking with a mesothelioma lawyer will provide you with the information you need to make an informed decision. You will have a better sense of which companies exposed you to asbestos, how much time you have to make a decision to move forward, and what compensation others who have pursued justice have received.
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