What Causes Mesothelioma?

The typical mesothelioma victim from Syracuse, NY, ingested airborne asbestos fibers many years ago. They may have inhaled or swallowed asbestos that had broken down into a dust blown about the factory they worked in. Such exposure can result in mesothelioma if inhaled asbestos lodges in a person’s pleura, which are the thin, cellophane-like membranes lining the lungs. Similarly, asbestos fibers can cause mesothelioma after they settle in the stomach.

Some 2,500 to 4,000 Americans are diagnosed with mesothelioma and asbestos-related diseases every year. New York is among the states with the most asbestos-related deaths on an annual basis.

If you or a loved one from Syracuse has been diagnosed with mesothelioma, the New York asbestos lawsuit lawyers of Belluck & Fox, LLP, can help. The firm’s team of NY personal injury attorneys, concentrating on mesothelioma and asbestos-related diseases, has successfully handled cases in every county in New York State, including Onondaga County. Belluck & Fox’s NY personal injury attorneys provide professional, personalized advocacy for their clients, and can help you determine the legal options appropriate for you and your family.

For more information, use our online contact form or call Belluck & Fox, LLP’s mesothelioma lawyers toll-free from anywhere in New York at 877-MESOTHELIOMA (637-6843).

Asbestos Today

Six naturally occurring fibrous minerals are known as “asbestos.” Each has properties useful in many commercial applications. Asbestos in most forms maintains its stability under high temperature and can even be fireproof. Asbestos also resists strong chemicals, including acids; acts as a thermal and electric insulator; and can be woven.

By the late 1800s, asbestos’ versatility, strength, and insulating properties made it popular in manufacturing industries as building components and in a wide variety of industrial and consumer goods. By the late 1960s and early 1970s, asbestos could be found in thousands of products, including cement pipes and other cement products; flooring; friction surfaces for items like vehicle brakes and clutches; gaskets; insulation for buildings and ships; roofing materials; protective clothing; plastics; paper products; and many more.

The economic success of Syracuse and upstate New York in the first half of the 20th century was based in large part on industrial manufacturing. In particular, the region has a significant history of supporting various mining, manufacturing and construction industries where fire and excessive heat were a concern. The area’s plants included those run by firms with household names, like Bristol-Meyers in East Syracuse, General Electric in Auburn, Alcan in Oswego, Lockheed Martin in Owego and Revere Cooper in Rome, among many others.

This meant that asbestos was in common use in and around Syracuse and Onondaga County, whether as a building material for industrial centers, or as a substance used throughout manufacturing plants. In a single industrial plant, asbestos might be found in uses building construction materials, lab equipment, bench tops, and even employees’ safety clothing.

Asbestos-containing materials were commonplace when erecting and operating upstate industrial plants, which created the likelihood that countless workers were continuously exposed to asbestos while toiling in and around these numerous facilities throughout their working careers.

Occupational Asbestos Exposure

Mesothelioma’s latency (inactive) period can range from 10 to 60 years beyond a victim’s exposure to asbestos. This means that asbestos-related disease threatens workers who were exposed to asbestos in plants around Syracuse even decades ago, and it remains a threat to their families through years of secondhand, or para-occupational, exposure. Experts say mesothelioma diagnoses in the United States are likely to increase for at least another 10 to 20 years.

Exposure to asbestos need not have been lengthy for there to be a risk of developing mesothelioma. Some mesothelioma sufferers have reported only a single exposure to asbestos.

Often, a worker’s job places them in an environment where they encounter asbestos fibers in the air they must breathe. Workers were exposed to asbestos hazards in several ways during Syracuse’s heyday as an industrial center. In the past, workers typically used asbestos materials in the construction and manufacturing sector and were also exposed to asbestos while repairing or maintaining buildings, ships, and machinery with asbestos-containing parts.

Secondary Exposure to Asbestos

Asbestos fibers are so toxic that the families of Syracuse area trade and industrial workers are also at an increased risk of developing mesothelioma. Family members of industrial workers and tradesmen can easily be exposed to asbestos particles that cling to workers’ clothing, shoes, skin and hair. This type of second-hand asbestos exposure is known as “para-occupational exposure.”

Asbestos exposure remains a present risk, too, for people who renovate older buildings. Many buildings constructed before asbestos use was banned remain standing. Work on these structures can easily disturb asbestos-containing building materials and release asbestos fibers into the air to contaminate nearby surfaces. This hazardous asbestos residue can find its way into the lungs of workers involved in renovation or demolition of old buildings and can harm anyone passing by.

Given the Syracuse area’s long history of heavy industrial manufacturing, chemical processing, and construction activity at plants like Bristol-Myers in East Syracuse, Eastman Kodak in Rochester, Lockheed Martin in Owego and many others, it’s no surprise that databases identifying hotspots of asbestos use and asbestos-related diseases such as mesothelioma identify Onondaga County and the upstate New York region.

For more information about asbestos dangers, injuries it can cause, and what asbestos companies knew about asbestos dangers while continuing to use asbestos, see our mesothelioma FAQs.

Contact Our Syracuse, NY Asbestos Lawyers / Mesothelioma Attorneys

If you or a loved one from Syracuse has been diagnosed with mesothelioma, the New York asbestos lawsuit lawyers of Belluck & Fox, LLP, can help. The firm’s team of NY personal injury attorneys, concentrating on mesothelioma and asbestos-related diseases, has successfully handled cases in every county in New York State, including Onondaga County. Belluck & Fox’s mesothelioma attorneys provide professional, personalized advocacy for their clients, and they can help you determine the legal options appropriate for you and your family.

For more information, use our online contact form or call Belluck & Fox, LLP’s mesothelioma lawyers toll-free from anywhere in New York at 877-MESOTHELIOMA (637-6843).