For the better part of the 20th century, plumbers and pipefitters were constantly exposed to the carcinogenic mineral asbestos. The material was routinely used in the products these tradesmen used to install, repair, and replace plumbing systems and pipes. They also worked in buildings alongside other workers who were using asbestos-containing materials. This exposure put them at significant risk for malignant mesothelioma and other asbestos-related diseases.
What Do Plumbers and Pipefitters Do?
Plumbers and pipefitters work in a wide range of environments, including homes, factories, businesses, and any site where pipes and related systems are found. Their work involves installing pipes and fixtures that carry water, gas, and other fluids and substances, and conducting tests to ensure that the systems they install or work on are airtight and watertight.[1]
While plumbers install residential fixtures such as bathtubs and toilets, dishwashers, and hot water heaters, they also work in manufacturing, commercial, and industrial settings where they install, maintain, and repair heating and cooling systems.[1] They use many different materials to accomplish their work, and in the years before the mid-1980s, many of those materials contained asbestos.
How Were Plumbers and Pipefitters Exposed to Asbestos?
Asbestos is a naturally occurring mineral that has been highly prized for centuries because of its strength, durability, and ability to insulate against heat, flame, and electrical current. It is non-reactive to chemicals and highly flexible, and as a result, it was relied upon for thousands of applications until it was identified as being highly carcinogenic.
Asbestos was a constant component of the materials that plumbers and pipefitters used to perform their jobs. Fittings and flanges, gaskets, and caulk were all made using asbestos, and so was the insulation installed around steam pipes and chemical pipes. Asbestos was invaluable in plumbing work for any application where high pressure, heat, or chemicals were used because of its ability to withstand the stress that these elements placed on equipment, and plumbers and pipefitters’ jobs frequently required cutting, removing, or in some other way disturbing the asbestos-containing materials. This activity broke the parts and components down, releasing microscopic particles that plumbers constantly inhaled, especially in the often tight spaces in which they worked.
Plumbers and pipefitters constantly engaged in activities that exposed them to asbestos, including:[1]
- Cutting, sawing, and installing replacement gaskets and packing
- Cutting, manipulating, and installing block insulation and thermal piping
- Scraping and removing broken, worn out, and brittle gasket and packing materials from pipe flanges
- Applying caulks, adhesives, and sealants to prevent leaks
- Removing equipment that contained asbestos insulation, including boilers, furnaces, ducts, and HVAC equipment.
- Cutting and drilling asbestos-containing pipes
Of all the work that plumbers and pipefitters performed, the biggest risk came from working with the asbestos insulation that was installed around pipes and plumbing fixtures. This risk was exacerbated by the need to remove, cut, or install any of the asbestos-containing parts that had broken or worn out or that needed to be replaced.
Asbestos-Containing Products That Plumbers and Pipefitters Used or Were Exposed To
The work that plumbers and pipefitters performed daily exposed them to many products that routinely contained asbestos. These included:
- Insulating cement
- Cement pipes
- Heat shield installed around hot water heaters
- Thermal pipe insulation used on pipes, boilers, ducts, and tanks
- Gaskets and packing
- Sealants
- Pipe fittings
- Pumps
- Valves
- Flanges
- Adhesives
- Boilers
- HVAC equipment
- Caulk
- Joint compound
In addition to the products that they needed to do their own work, plumbers and pipefitters were also assigned to job sites where they were in the presence of other tradesmen who were working with asbestos-containing materials. From shipyards and factories to power plants and construction sites, plumbers and pipefitters frequently worked in environments where they regularly breathed in or ingested asbestos fibers.
Manufacturers and distributors of asbestos-containing products that plumbers and pipefitters were exposed to included:
- American Standard, Inc.
- Aqua-Chem, Inc.
- Armstrong World Industries, Inc.
- Bondex International, Inc.
- Celotex Corporation
- Crane Co.
- E. J. Bartells Company
- Forty-Eight Insulations
- GAF Corporation
- General Electric Company
- Ingersoll-Rand
- Johns Manville
- Keene Corporation
- National Gypsum Company
- Owens-Corning Fiberglass Corporation
- Owens-Illinois Company
- U.S. Gypsum Company
- U.S. Mineral
- Union Carbide
- Western MacArthur Company
Are Plumbers and Pipefitters Still at Risk of Asbestos Exposure?
Though it has been decades since the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency revealed the dangers of asbestos and American companies discontinued the use of the mineral in its products, today’s plumbers and pipefitters are still at risk from asbestos-containing products that were installed or applied decades ago. Any building that was built before 1980 has a high risk of containing asbestos-contaminated materials, whether in asbestos insulation or the caulk, compounds, flanges, and parts that make up the equipment that remains.
Notably, the family members of these professionals may also be at risk for asbestos-related illnesses. Secondary asbestos exposure comes from asbestos carried into their homes on the hair, skin, or work clothes of their loved ones. These professionals need to educate themselves about the risks of mesothelioma and other asbestos-related diseases posed by legacy asbestos and learn how to protect themselves.
Understanding the Risks that Asbestos Poses to Plumbers and Pipefitters
Numerous studies have investigated the risks faced by industrial plumbers who are exposed to asbestos.
- A study conducted in 2007 and published in the Annals of Occupational Hygiene set out to gauge the true exposure that industrial plumbers face on the job. The researchers found that 62% of plumbers were exposed to unhealthy levels of asbestos fibers, with the majority of airborne asbestos being found in areas that had just been stripped of asbestos prior to their starting work.[2]
- A CDC study conducted in 2017 identified plumbers as being among the occupations that had the highest risk of occupational exposure to asbestos and at risk for death from malignant mesothelioma.[3]
- In 1985, a study published in the Journal of Occupational Medicine analyzed the medical histories of 153 plumbers and pipefitters and found that more than 18 percent suffered from bilateral pleural thickening, while an additional 8 percent suffered from unilateral pleural thickening. Other irregularities were found in 8 percent.[4]
- A 2017 study examining historical asbestos exposure to long-latency respiratory diseases found that the occupations with the highest incidence of malignant mesothelioma, lung cancer, and other diseases included plumbers and gas fitters.[5]
The asbestos-related diseases and conditions that plumbers and pipefitters are most at risk for include:
- Malignant mesothelioma
- Asbestosis
- Asbestos-related lung cancer
- COPD
- Pleural effusions
- Pleural plaques
What Remedies Are Available to Plumbers Sickened by Asbestos Exposure?
The risk that plumbers and pipefitters face from having been exposed to asbestos is very real and very frightening. If you worked in the plumbing profession before the 1980s, you face the risk of exposure from years ago. If you are currently working as a plumber, your risk comes from the materials contaminated with legacy asbestos that you encounter every day on the job. Whether you worked long ago or are still working in the field, if you are currently healthy, you are encouraged to notify your healthcare professional of your history of asbestos exposure so that they can monitor your health for the symptoms of asbestos-related diseases and take quick action if they appear.
If you have been diagnosed with mesothelioma or another asbestos-related disease, an experienced asbestos attorney will be an invaluable resource for you as you move forward. Seeking the guidance of a knowledgeable lawyer who specializes in asbestos diseases will give you access to a significant amount of information about the asbestos companies and work sites where you were most likely to have been exposed, and the information you need about your eligibility to file a claim against an asbestos trust fund. You may also be able to file a personal injury lawsuit seeking compensation for the harm that you and your family have suffered.
Asbestos Lawsuits Filed by Plumbers
Many plumbers and pipefitters who have been diagnosed with malignant mesothelioma have successfully filed personal injury lawsuits accusing asbestos companies of negligence and failure to warn of the dangers of their occupational asbestos exposure. Some notable outcomes include:
- A plumber and his wife were awarded more than $7.2 million in damages from Union Carbide Corporation after having worked as a plumber from 1968 until 2007. Mr. Larry R. Stewart worked on large projects and was exposed to asbestos in joint compounds used by drywallers who erected walls as soon as the plumbers had finished their work. As part of his testimony, Mr. Stewart described a white cloud of dust created by sanding from drywallers.[6]
- Plumber Robert Swanson was awarded over $5 million from boiler manufacturer Marley-Wylain Company after his exposure to asbestos in their product led to his diagnosis of malignant mesothelioma. Mr. Swanson began working as a plumber in early 1969, installing and servicing heating and plumbing systems in both new construction and existing homes. Much of his work included installing and maintaining Weil-McLain boilers, which were factory-assembled and came with asbestos in a powder form for plumbers to use to create a sealing paste for the oiler’s exhaust pipe. Mr. Swanson was also exposed to asbestos when removing the boilers’ gaskets.
- John Casey died of malignant pleural mesothelioma after spending decades working as a plumber and pipefitter. After his diagnosis, he and his wife filed suit against more than 60 asbestos companies, including Kaiser Gypsum. The jury hearing the case awarded the couple $20 million in punitive damages after learning that the company had taken action to protect its own employees from mesothelioma but had failed to warn others of the dangers from their joint compound.
- Roberta Gartner filed suit against boiler manufacturer Burnham LLC after her husband, James Scheriff, died of malignant mesothelioma. Mr. Scheriff had worked as a plumber, and before his death, he provided testimony about the visible dust that came from the jacket wrapped around the Burnham boilers. Mrs. Gartner sought compensatory and punitive damages for Burnham’s failure to place a warning about asbestos on their products. The judge hearing the case allowed the widow to pursue both claims.
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