Women account for around one in four mesothelioma diagnoses in the United States each year. Women often develop mesothelioma from non-occupational exposure or from inhaling particles from their spouse’s work clothes or tools.
Speaking to a Mesothelioma Lawyer or Asbestos Attorney
If you believe your mesothelioma diagnosis resulted from exposure to asbestos, you need to speak to a mesothelioma lawyer or asbestos attorney immediately. They can source your exposure and determine the financial resources available to maximize your compensation. This undertaking can be complex, especially if your exposure is secondary in nature. Therefore, contacting a lawyer is imperative.
What are the Risks, Causes, and Effects of Secondary Asbestos Exposure?
In terms of occupational hazards, asbestos exposure has long been known to pose serious threats to a worker’s health. However, it is not only confined to working environments. People may also be at risk through secondhand or secondary asbestos exposure.
Definition: What is Secondary Asbestos Exposure?
Secondary asbestos exposure refers to indirect contact with fibers by an individual who did not handle any material containing asbestos themselves. This is different from primary contact, where employees come into direct contact with asbestos materials.
In these cases, workers unintentionally transport the particles to their houses via clothes or skin. This puts people living with them in danger. For instance, a family member may get exposed after hugging their loved one or laundering dirty garments.
How it Occurs
Asbestos particles are micro in size, rough and sticky. As a result, they can easily attach themselves to different objects or surfaces such as clothes or walls.
Particles may be transported outside the workplace in the following ways:
- Contaminated Clothing: When workers take home their uniforms, their items may get mixed up with the clothing of other family members. They can also become airborne.
- Skin and Hair: Asbestos particles can stick to the skin and hair before being transferred onto other surfaces.
- Work Equipment: Tools used at a work site can have hidden fiber pieces on the equipment, which may get carried into a worker’s home.
- Shared Spaces: Even if office workers do not directly handle asbestos, particles may still be picked up because of close contact points where fibers might be present.
- Furniture and Fabrics: Once inside the house, tiny fragments of asbestos may settle into carpets, and upholstery. This can cause continuous inhalation if they stay on the surfaces or are released into the air.
Health Effects of Secondary Asbestos Exposure
Secondary contacts are associated with equally severe health implications as primary ones. The following diseases result from this kind of exposure:
- Mesothelioma – This cancer affects the lining tissues surrounding the lungs, chest wall, heart, and abdomen.
- Lung Cancer – People become more prone to developing lung cancer when they have been exposed to asbestos, especially if combined with smoking.
- Asbestosis – This chronic lung disease is characterized by scarring on the lung tissues. This leads to breathing difficulties due to damaged air sacs within the lungs. This reduces the oxygen supply into the bloodstream and the removal of carbon dioxide waste products through normal respiration.
Cross-contamination or secondary asbestos exposure can lead to mesothelioma. In this respect, both direct and indirect contact have the same consequences.
How Big Is The Problem?
Although secondary asbestos exposure is now less common due to stricter rules and reduced use across many sectors, it still remains a major health issue. Asbestos-related diseases take a long time to develop – usually 20 to 60 years, so there will continue to be cases resulting from prior exposures.
Recent figures are not encouraging either. Between 1999 and 2020, deaths caused by malignant mesothelioma among women rose 25 percent. Some medical professionals think this may partly be due to more instances of secondhand contact.
It should also be noted that women occupy jobs, which, can lead to primary exposure as well.
Who’s At Risk?
People in frequent contact with those who work around asbestos are at risk for secondary exposure. They include:
- Family members (especially children and spouses) living with people employed at sites where they can come into contact with the mineral
- Co-workers sharing office spaces or buildings that house employees who work directly with asbestos products
- Friends/roommates who spend significant amounts of time together either indoors or outdoors
- Passengers using mass transit systems whose vehicles share routes with workers going to/from different points within the city limits
Again, the dormant stage associated with these illnesses is lengthy. Therefore, symptoms often appear several decades after the first exposure. This can make it difficult to find the exact source, especially if a person was exposed as a child.
Preventing And Controlling Secondary Asbestos Exposure
Preventing secondary asbestos exposure requires a multifaceted approach – comprising precautionary workplace practices and individual awareness. Key prevention measures include:
- Worksite controls: Employers should provide changing facilities with showers and specialized cleaning services for work clothes, thereby ensuring that contaminated outfits remain within site perimeters.
- Personal hygiene: Workers must shower and change into clean attire before leaving their places of work – minimizing the chances of transporting fibers home.
- Separate laundry: Clothing contaminated with asbestos must never be cleaned at home or together with other garments, but, again, through professional cleaners hired by the employer specifically for this purpose.
- Education/awareness: Workers need to be educated about the risks associated with secondhand exposure. They need to know the best steps to decontaminate themselves after leaving work. Family members should also receive similar information.
- Routine medical checkups: Individuals having had possible secondary contacts ought to undergo regular health monitoring coupled with learning more about asbestos-exposure symptoms.
Legal Implications
The recognition accorded secondary to asbestos contact as a serious health hazard has brought about legal ramifications in recent times. Some states, such as California and Washington, have historical records showing compensation has been awarded to claimants who filed lawsuits based on indirect exposure.
However, different states operate under varying laws. For example, New Jersey and North Dakota recently barred all claims relating to indirect exposure.
The Future of Asbestos Regulation
A lot can be done in terms of asbestos regulation. For instance, in 2024, the EPA and government finalized a ban on chrysotile asbestos. However, this only covers one type of asbestos and allows for a phase-out period of up to 12 years.
Talk to an Asbestos Lawyer If You’ve Been Diagnosed with an Asbestos-Related Disease
If you fear you’ve been exposed, either directly or indirectly, to asbestos and have been diagnosed with an asbestos disease, then seek advice from an asbestos lawyer. They can guide you legally and financially while helping you better understand your rights. Talk to an asbestos attorney now.
