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Shipyards
Asbestos was considered as an ideal mineral for the construction of ships as it was highly resistant to corrosion and was quite capable of withstanding high temperatures. Materials that contained asbestos were used quite extensively in constructing incinerator insulation, pipe and boiler rooms. Majority of these places were poorly ventilated and therefore the asbestos dust and fibers were inhaled by the people who worked on these ships. Apart from the shipyard workers and ship builders the crew of the ship as well as the long shore men was also exposed to the asbestos. Many long shore men were exposed to perilous amounts of asbestos in those times as they use to load huge amounts of asbestos onto the ships. Another factor that made the matters worse is that at that time the harmful effects of the asbestos were not known. As a result proper precautions were not taken by the concerned authorities. This resulted in a large number of people working in ships and shipyards getting exposed to asbestos. A majority of these people now stand the risk of getting afflicted with the cancer of mesothelioma. |
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