Asbestos Exposure in Plumbers

One of the trades that we frequently see in our class who come in with mesothelioma are plumbers, and one might think, well, how does a plumber get exposed to asbestos?, you know, dealing with faucets and and water and running out, and as we all know, in order for asbestos to be dangerous, it has to be respirable, it has to be able to breathe in the dust into your lungs. Part of plumbing jobs, the plumbing occupation involves getting in attics or getting in wall spaces and frequently those attics and wall spaces have drywall that’s asbestos containing or pipe insulation that’s wrapped and insulated with asbestos. And frankly, plumbers would have to cut into the asbestos container wrap to get to the pipes that they have to work on. That is a way that plumbers are routinely getting exposed to asbestos.