Mesothelioma and Firemen
Firemen at Danger of Contracting Asbestos
Former firefighter Roger Gee was diagnosed with mesothelioma at the age of 56. For 26 years of his life, he had been working for the South Yorkshire Fire service. Gee sued his former employers and won a substantial out-of-court settlement. Gee claimed that he could have ingested the deadly dust while working with fire blankets and participating in training drills that did not require him to wear protective gear.In another case, a fireman’s wife died of mesothelioma at the age of 54. She was exposed to the dust when she washed his uniform.
Where Does Mesothelioma Come From?
Firefighters wear jackets and gloves lined with asbestos. These jackets tend to snag and tear in the course of their work. Once the fibers within the lining are disturbed, they will release asbestos dust. This dust is easily ingested because each of these microscopic fibers is about twenty times thinner than a strand of human hair.A study conducted by Mount Sinai Hospital in New York shows that firemen and rescue workers actively involved in rescue work carried out near the Twin Towers on 9/11 may suffer from asbestos-exposure in the long run. More than 70 percent of workers developed respiratory problems almost immediately and firemen are the worst hit. In fact, of the 10,000 firemen evaluated in the study, more than 350 workers had developed what is called the ‘World Trade Center Cough’. Keep in mind that the North Tower was made of asbestos reinforced material up to its 40th floor, before a ban stopped further use of asbestos.
When Does Exposure to Asbestos Affect the Exposed?
Asbestos-related diseases usually have a lag time of 15-20 years. Thus, a person exposed to asbestos may develop diseases only after 20 years or so. The medical world is bracing itself for an outbreak of cancers related to asbestos-exposure in the future. Many fresh cases of mesothelioma are expected to crop up in the next 10 years.Today, a large number of people who were working as firefighters between the 1940s and 1980s are finding it difficult to catch hold of the companies they worked with.
