The job often required the boiler workers to use a claw hammer or sledgehammer to work around the boiler to file rough areas or to simply turn it into rubble for easier removal. As boilers were covered with asbestos insulation, the process created a dangerous amount of asbestos dust and fibers to become airborne.
Even the act of cleaning or repairing a broken one would entail the release of dust and coming in direct contact with other asbestos products like using joint mixtures that needed sanding or tape for loose insulation.
The appearance of mesothelioma symptoms in these cases of extended asbestos exposure could have happened in 30 or 40 years from being initially exposed to it. Sadly, this means that the workers are often older and more vulnerable from a physical standpoint when this illness manifests itself.
Boiler workers also served in the military, under the rating of boiler technicians. They were responsible for regulating boilers by performing an inspection on a regular basis, including reading and recording pressures and temperatures. Boiler technicians would also perform routine maintenance and make the necessary replacements or repairs, activities that inevitably triggered asbestos exposure, as hazardous materials would be disturbed. As a consequence, asbestos exposure was high in boiler technicians, since they would frequently work with dangerous products such as insulation.
Another military rating that had to perform duties similar to boiler workers was watertender. As if spending a lot of time in the engine room of the ship, which was one of the places with the most asbestos on a Navy vessel, was not enough, watertenders would also have to supervise the fires and boilers, therefore exposing themselves to double health danger. Boilers manufactured before 1980 are notorious for containing great amounts of asbestos, which is why former watertenders are today at high risk of developing a disease related to asbestos exposure.
Relevant job titles
- boiler mechanic
- boiler operator
- boiler repair
- boiler supervisor
- boiler technician
- boiler tender
- boiler tester
- boiler washer
- boilerman
- watertender
Asbestos-related cancer eligible for filing a claim
If you developed one of the following cancers as a result of occupational exposure, you are eligible for compensation. If you are too ill, a family member can help you with the legal process. In the unfortunate event that you pass away before recovering compensation, your surviving family members will receive compensation on your behalf.
If, however, you struggle with non-cancerous pleural diseases such as asbestosis, pulmonary fibrosis, pleural plaques, pleural effusion, diffuse pleural thickening, COPD (emphysema & chronic bronchitis), pleurisy, lung nodules, lung spots, asthma, pneumonitis, tuberculosis, rounded atelectasis or lung scarring, please seek a second or even a third opinion as the rate of misdiagnosis is very high among the victims of asbestos exposure.
Companies that exposed boiler workers/boiler technicians to asbestos
- Yarway Corporation
- AC & S, Inc.
- Combustion Engineering
- Dresser Industries
- Babcock & Wilcox Company
- Uniroyal Holding, Inc.
- Plibrico Jointless Firebrick Co.
- Tyler Pipe Foundry
- Furnco Construction Corp.
- Norfolk Southern Railway
- Campbell Soup Co.
- Sun Oil Co.
- Occidental Chemical Corporation
- Taylor Forge & Pipe Works
- Tennessee Valley Authority
- Continental Steel Corporation
- American Can Company
- Textron Inc.
- Youngstown Sheet and Tube Co.
- James River Corporation
- Wheelabrator Frye Inc.
- J.P. Stevens & Company
- Potlatch Paper Mill
Labor union members are also eligible
Asbestos products handled by boiler workers/boiler technicians
Repairing, assembling and even cleaning boilers implied a high risk of exposure for workers before the 1980s, as these devices were wrapped in solid layers of asbestos to prevent fire. The furnace walls and the tube banks were protected with block insulation, while asbestos air cell insulation was used for the internal pipes. Additionally, the stove would be placed on slabs made of asbestos-containing cement. Boiler workers were also exposed to asbestos by cutting the insulation to place it in various parts of the device, as well as by applying asbestos tape around loose insulation.