Who is at Risk?
American workers in certain occupations are still at risk of exposure to asbestos. And, according to a recent study, as many as 20 million people in the U.S. are at risk of developing mesothelioma.
If you or a loved one from the Syracuse area has been diagnosed with mesothelioma, the New York asbestos lawsuit lawyers of Belluck & Fox, LLP, can help. The firm’s team of attorneys, concentrating on mesothelioma, and asbestos-related diseases has successfully handled cases in every county in New York State, including Onondaga County. Belluck & Fox 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 in NY toll-free at 877-MESOTHELIOMA (637-6843).
Syracuse, NY Occupational Asbestos Exposure
Workers in Syracuse and elsewhere in upstate New York most likely to contract mesothelioma are those who had direct contact with asbestos while at their job sites, typically an industrial setting, like the General Electric plant in Auburn or the Bristol-Myers plant in East Syracuse, for example. Typically, they handled asbestos or asbestos-containing materials directly, or they inhaled asbestos fibers broken down into dust and released into the air. For most of the 20th century, tradesmen and industrial workers were exposed to asbestos in a variety of products, as well as raw asbestos, which was used as insulation.
Indirect contact with asbestos is another hazard commonly faced by American workers. Because asbestos easily breaks into increasingly small pieces, it eventually becomes invisible airborne fibers or dust and may spread throughout a workplace to be inhaled by anyone present. Asbestos fibers or dust that has settled on floors or other surfaces can become airborne again with the slightest breeze and therefore poses a persistent hazard. Once they are released from the product that originally contained them, millions of asbestos fibers can lie in wait on factory floors, tables or benches for anyone to inhale them.
A worker who spent decades working in a Syracuse industrial plant could have easily inhaled billions of asbestos fibers that could one day become a life-threatening case of mesothelioma.
Syracuse Jobs with Asbestos Exposure
These jobs are typical of trades and industry in Syracuse and elsewhere in upstate New York where workers could have been exposed to asbestos and the risk of mesothelioma:
- Laborers
- Foundry workers
- Boilermakers
- Pipefitters
- Pipe coverers
- Machinists
- Lathers
- Insulators
- Brake mechanics
- Auto mechanics
- Painters
- Plasterers
- Cement finishers
- Millwrights
- Merchant Marine seamen
- Carpenters
- Plumbers
- Roofers
- Sailors
- Navy yard workers/yardbirds
- Paperworkers
- Electricians
- Bricklayers
- Automotive mechanics
- Welders
- Sheetmetal workers
- Crane operators
- Aircraft mechanics
- Engineers
- Steamfitters
- Masonry workers
- Longshoremen
- Plant workers
- Powerhouse workers
- Railroad workers
- Inspectors
- Maintenance workers
- Paper mill workers
- Tapers
‘Para-occupational’ Asbestos Exposure
When industrial and trade workers in Syracuse, such as those in the list above, went home each night, it’s likely they did so with asbestos fibers clinging to their clothing, shoes, skin and hair. This put their families at great risk for developing mesothelioma due to secondary or “para-occupational” asbestos exposure.
Even without direct exposure to asbestos at a jobsite, the spouses, children and others living with industrial and trades workers could easily have been exposed when asbestos fibers came into their home and became airborne once more. Consider the wife of an industrial worker shaking out her husband’s work clothes before loading them into the washer!
Because of para-occupational exposure to asbestos, anyone in a Syracuse factory worker’s household could be at risk to develop mesothelioma.
Additional Exposure to Asbestos in Syracuse, NY
Construction workers renovating older structures in Syracuse, and even weekend “do-it-yourselfers” who take on projects in older homes and buildings, are also at risk of asbestos exposure. Because asbestos was used in hundreds of building products used in upstate New York before its widespread use was banned, anyone working in an older building could encounter such asbestos-containing products as shingles, flooring and insulation on heating and air-conditioning systems, among many others. As these products are dismantled or torn out, millions of asbestos fibers can be released into the air, resulting in a significant exposure. The maintenance, remodeling or demolition of an old building potentially represents a significant hazard for asbestos exposure.
Contact Our Syracuse, New York Mesothelioma Attorneys Today
If you or a loved one from the Syracuse area has been diagnosed with mesothelioma, the New York asbestos lawsuits 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 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 1877-MESOTHELIOMA (637-6843).
