Asbestos-Containing Electrical Wires and Exposure Risks

You may have been exposed to asbestos fibers if you worked with or near asbestos-containing wires. When these wires are installed, cut, disturbed, or removed, fibers may be released into the area where you inhaled or swallowed them. Asbestos-containing wires have been used for decades, in everything from spacecraft to ovens.

Common applications for electrical wires with asbestos include:

• Electrical panels and switchgear
• Industrial equipment and machinery
• Aircrafts and ships
• Power plants and factories
• Older homes, schools, and commercial buildings

Read on to learn more about asbestos-containing wires and what to do if you’ve been exposed.

What Asbestos Was Used in Electrical Wires

Asbestos is a mineral fiber found in soil and rock. Its strength, fire, and heat resistance made it a popular component in thousands of products over centuries, including construction materials and manufactured goods.

The main reasons companies used asbestos with electrical wiring are due its durability and the fact that it’s resistant to:

• Fire
• Heat
• Electricity
• Acid

When it comes to electrical components, these are obviously all things that you’d want to protect wiring from. So using such a durable material like asbestos seemed like a good choice (before the dangers of asbestos-containing electrical wires were well known).

Where Asbestos-Containing Wires Were Used

Wires insulated with asbestos were commonly used in North America from about 1920 to 1988. Asbestos paper, yarn, and tape were used for electrical wiring insulation. It was in higher-voltage AC and DC electrical and low-voltage wiring like telephone cabling.

The use of asbestos-containing wires included:

• Aircraft
• Ships
• Missiles
• Cooking equipment
• Lighting equipment
• Machine tools
• Pumps
• Compressors
• Ovens
• Furnaces
• Air conditioning units
• Motors
• Generators
• Electrical panels
• Switchgear

Asbestos-containing wires could be found in homes, factories, foundries, power plants, trains, and aircraft.

Health Risks of Asbestos Exposure

Most of those exposed to asbestos fibers get it into their bodies because the fibers are so light they can float in the air for extended periods. Those directly working with asbestos-containing wires may disturb or cut them, releasing fibers into the air. Those in the area may inhale or swallow them.

When you inhale asbestos fibers, they may become trapped in your lungs and remain there for the rest of your life. Over time, fibers accumulate, causing scarring and inflammation, which may affect your breathing and lead to different types of cancer. Ingested asbestos fibers may become lodged in your digestive tract.

Asbestos is classified as a known human carcinogen (a substance causing cancer) by the:

• US Department of Health and Human Services
• US Environmental Protection Agency
• International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC)

The IARC states there is enough evidence to show that asbestos causes mesothelioma (a rare cancer of the thin membranes lining the chest, lungs, heart, abdomen, and abdominal organs) and cancers of the ovary, lung, and larynx. Asbestos is also linked to increased risks of developing stomach, pharynx, and colorectum cancers.

Asbestos exposure also increases the chances of developing:

• Asbestosis: An inflammatory lung condition causing coughes, shortness of breath, and permanent lung damage
• Pleural plaques: Changes to membranes outside the lung
• Pleural thickening
• Benign pleural effusions: Fluid collecting between layers of tissue lining the lungs and chest wall cavity

The presence of plaques doesn’t necessarily mean the person will develop lung cancer, but they’re evidence of asbestos exposure, which can cause lung cancer.

Legal Options After Asbestos Exposure

If you have an asbestos-related illness, you may have a legal claim for compensation for the harm you suffered. These conditions may take years or decades to develop after exposure. Each state has a statute of limitations or a deadline for filing a lawsuit. If you don’t file in time, your case will be dismissed.

Kentucky’s statute of limitations is one year, but the state follows what’s known as the discovery rule. This means you have one year from the time you were diagnosed with an asbestos-related disease or when you should’ve known you had one, whichever comes first. When you were exposed isn’t an issue.

A diagnosis’ medical, financial, and emotional impacts may consume your thoughts, time, and energy. Don’t forget to contact our office. After you retain our firm, we can investigate your case, review your medical records, and put your legal claims into motion. The sooner we start working on your case, the better it’ll be for all involved.

How Asbestos Lawsuits Are Typically Handled

Asbestos cases are usually built on different legal theories to convince a jury or judge to order a party to compensate you. These theories include product (or strict) liability, breach of warranty, and negligence:

• Product Liability: The defendant (the party sued) produced, sold, or distributed a product that was dangerous when used for its intended purpose, when used as instructed, and following any warnings
• Breach of Warranty: Products sold may have a written or express warranty, but all come with an unwritten or implied warranty under state law. If a dangerous product injures the buyer or a foreseeable user, it may breach the express warranty covering its quality and the implied warranty because it’s unsafe for its intended use
• Negligence: You can be successful if you show the harm asbestos caused, the defendant owed you a duty of care (to do something, or refrain from doing something, to keep you safe), they violated that duty, and that’s the factual and legal (or proximate) cause of your asbestos-related disease

All these cases are built on facts, so we must have enough time to investigate and develop the necessary evidence.

The companies that may be defendants are either still in operation and may be sued, or they’ve gone through bankruptcy proceedings. If that’s the case, there’s probably a trust fund paying compensation to those the defendant injured in the past.

Call Satterley & Kelley PLLC For A Free Initial Consultation

Satterley & Kelley PLLC attorneys can be your boots on the ground if you or a family member has an asbestos-related illness, including mesothelioma.

If you or a family member has an asbestos-related condition because you worked as an electrician or near them, you may be entitled to compensation for the harm you suffer. Call us locally at 502-589-5600, toll-free at 855-385-9532 or contact us online to schedule a free initial consultation with a lawyer.

You can also check out additional information about other products that contain asbestos.