While power plant workers in Louisiana today work in much safer conditions than those of the past, for power plant workers who’ve spent a long career in the industry or retired from it, there are risks of asbestos exposure and potential health consequences like mesothelioma.
Until the 1970s and 1980s, industrial facilities like power plants relied on a mineral called asbestos for a variety of functions, including fireproofing and insulation.
High-risk sites like a power plant would have used asbestos-containing materials widely, including as floor and ceiling tiles, boiler wrappings, pipe coverings, adhesives, and even safety equipment and protective gear.
As all of these materials were used, damaged, or merely aged and began to degrade, they would produce a fine dust that could contaminate a wide area in a power plant.
When workers breathed in or swallowed this dust, the fine, rigid particles of asbestos would enter the body and could become lodged in tissue.
Lawsuit Compensation And Benefits For Power Plant Workers Who Are Suffering From Mesothelioma
Asbestos fibers cause irritation to nearby cells, and over years or decades, can even provoke them to become cancerous.
Mesothelioma is a cancer of the lining of the lungs, abdomen, or other organs whose only known cause is exposure to asbestos.
The vast majority of mesothelioma cases in the United States occur in older men who suffered chronic exposure to airborne asbestos through their jobs.
Because skin, hair, and clothing could also become contaminated, there have been many incidents of so-called second-hand asbestos exposure, where the spouse or children of an exposed worker develop mesothelioma because of contaminants brought home from worksites.
If you’ve been diagnosed with mesothelioma after working at a Louisiana power plant, there is help.
The experienced Louisiana mesothelioma attorneys at The Gertler Law Firm work with families suffering the lasting effects of asbestos exposure in the workplace, making sure they have the resources they need to fight mesothelioma and protect their legacy.
