Mesothelioma Risk Factors

There is only one primary risk factor relating to the development of mesothelioma and that is exposure to asbestos.  The only known cause for mesothelioma cancer is asbestos exposure.  Specifically, tiny asbestos fibers that can float in a cloud of dust break off from asbestos products that are being torn or cut, or that are deteriorating.  They can then be inhaled by any person passing by or can end up on dusty clothes and carried home where family members can inhale or ingest them.

Mesothelioma Risks on the Job

Thirty years ago or more, mesothelioma risk factors included working in shipyards, in the merchant marine, working in an oil refinery, a power plant, an auto plant, a chemical plant, a refractory or any other industry that used heat as part of a manufacturing process. 

The mesothelioma risk factor for workers in these facilities related directly to the condition of the asbestos insulation or machine parts or floor tiles or roofing or any one of thousands of asbestos products.  Brake shoes and pads have always contained asbestos and given off asbestos fibers in that fine powder you see on your wheels after your brakes have been replaced.

Mesothelioma Risk Factors in the Navy

A disproportionate number of Americans who have asbestos related diseases today served on Navy vessels during World War II, the Korean War and Vietnam.  Every Navy vessel commissioned between about 1930 and 1970 had asbestos insulation all over the engine room and throughout the pipe system on board the ship.  Asbestos material was used for fire doors and walls that were meant to contain fires onboard ship. 

Today the Navy vessels are free of asbestos, for the most part, but older buildings on military bases still have asbestos floor tiles, roofing and insulation and today’s military personnel are still being exposed to old and deteriorating asbestos products.

Mesothelioma Risk Factors at Home

Millions of homes were built with asbestos roofing, asbestos insulation and flooring containing asbestos over the first eighty years of the Twentieth Century.  Today owners of those houses who are remodeling or redesigning are often confronted with old asbestos insulation in the walls, covering boilers or pipes for old heating systems, and facing worn out roofs that have asbestos shingles and asbestos paper beneath the shingles.

Asbestos that isn’t exposed to people and that is left alone is relatively harmless.  For that reason old asbestos insulation is often just left in walls.  That’s not a choice when a floor or a roof needs replacing, however.  The homeowner needs to call in a licensed asbestos abatement contractor who will have the proper equipment to protect his employees, the residents of the house and who will know what the disposal regulations are.

Legal Help for Those who have Risked Mesothelioma

If you or a family member or friend has a health problem related to asbestos exposure, consult an experienced asbestos attorney about the prospect of compensation.  Tens of thousands of Americans have filed complaints against asbestos companies and/or former employers and won.  Call our office or fill out the brief online form on this page and let one of our asbestos attorneys give you an in-depth analysis of your case at no charge.