Maintenance Workers and Asbestos Exposure

Asbestos was mostly phased out in the manufacture of building materials by the early 1980s, but thousands of janitors, apartment managers, HVAC workers, and industrial maintenance employees and repairmen had already been exposed. After property owners learned of the dangers (and liability issues), many chose to mitigate asbestos because removal was cost-prohibitive. Mitigation (abatement) usually involves wrapping asbestos-coated materials with special tape or sealing off ducts, ceilings or other areas known to contain asbestos.

Mitigation meant that another generation of maintenance workers (as well as other employees or tenants) would someday be at risk of exposure, and that has often proven to be the case. Maintenance workers are at greatest risk during major equipment repairs, HVAC upgrades, remodeling or demolition work that causes friable asbestos contained in walls, floors, ceilings and apparatus to become airborne.

Building owners, employers and manufacturers may all be culpable for the hazards of asbestos in the workplace or in living quarters. We have traced asbestos exposure in maintenance personnel to a wide range of products, including:

• Furnace, boiler and pipe insulation
• Electrical wiring and conduit
• Wallboard, plaster and joint compounds
• Ceiling tiles
• Tiles and floor coverings
• Roofing materials
• Window putty
• Fireproof coatings