Machinists and Mesothelioma
Machinists are critical to the American economy. Without them, there would be no industry in the country, no factories or machine shops. Technology has drastically changed the job, and in the past, asbestos exposure was a common part of the job. Compensation may be available if you or a loved one worked as a machinist and has an asbestos-related disease.
What Do Machinists Do?
Machinists create precision-cut parts made of different materials. It’s a highly skilled job that, when asbestos was commonly used up to the late 1970s, included exposure to asbestos fibers. After they are breathed or swallowed into the body, these naturally occurring mineral fibers could cause lung cancer and different types of mesothelioma.
The US Navy had many machinists exposed to asbestos in tight, unventilated areas on ships and submarines. Their job was to fabricate parts, operate and maintain equipment.
How Were Machinists Exposed to Asbestos?
Asbestos fibers are very light but strong. They’re heat and fire-resistant and don’t conduct electricity. For centuries asbestos was mined, processed, and sold. It was cheap, plentiful, and used in thousands of products over time.
Asbestos was used heavily by machinists whose exposure mainly occurred during the final stages of a project, especially if it involved making and installing gaskets (which seal a gap between two surfaces to prevent leaks or maintain pressure). These machine tools created gaskets by cutting asbestos graphite sheets and grinding them to the right shape and size. This often released high levels of asbestos fibers into the air.
Asbestos was in many areas aboard US Navy ships. It insulated steam pipes and machinery operating at high temperatures and was used as fireproofing. A machinist could fabricate parts with asbestos gaskets, remove older asbestos products onboard, and install new ones.
What are the Dangers of Asbestos?
Asbestos fibers are tiny and light, so they can easily float through a machinist’s work areas. They can be inhaled and swallowed, sending them into the lungs and the digestive tract.
After they’re in the body, the immune system recognizes them as foreign objects and tries to destroy them. But the fibers are unaffected, and white cells end up being killed. Enzymes leak out and injure nearby tissue, causing scarring and inflammation. If enough fibers are in the lungs, this can severely restrict breathing and cause asbestosis. Lung cancer can also result.
In the body are thin, tough membranes that cover organs, the chest, and abdominal cavities. If fibers become lodged in these membranes over decades they can result in cellular mutations, which end up causing mesothelioma, a deadly form of cancer. They include:
- Pleural: Involving the lungs and chest cavity
- Peritoneal: This affects organs and abdominal cavity linings
- Pericardial: Involving the heart’s lining
Although decades may pass between exposure and symptoms appearing, these cancers can quickly cripple and kill a person.
How Harmful is Mesothelioma?
Of the three, pericardial mesothelioma is the rarest and deadliest. A study of those treated for it found, on average, they lived two months after diagnosis. A 2013 European Journal of Cancer article reviewed the outcomes for 108 peritoneal mesothelioma patients. Those with it have the best chance of a cure, with nearly half (43.6%) living seven or more years after treatment ended.
Treatment may improve your symptoms and quality of life, but pleural mesothelioma is generally a fatal disease. The National Cancer Institute states there are two methods to predict how long, on average, people with pleural mesothelioma live after a diagnosis.
- One study examined how long a group of 105 people with the condition survived. The median lifespan for those with the least disease lived for 29.9 months, while those most impacted survived for 1.8 months
- Another study of 181 patients found the 1-year survival rate was 40% for those with “low-risk” characteristics, while 12% of patients with “high-risk” factors lived for a year after diagnosis
Pleural mesothelioma is the most common of these cancers.
Call Us Today for A Free Consultation
If you or a loved one developed mesothelioma or lung cancer after working as a machinist, Satterley & Kelley lawyers can answer your questions, inform you of your rights to compensation, and discuss what you should do next. Call our Louisville office at 502-589-5600 or toll-free at 800-655-2117. You can also fill out our contact form to schedule a free initial consultation.