Asbestos in Automotive Gaskets
Asbestos was used to make automotive gaskets until the 1990s, when its use was largely discontinued due to serious health concerns. But because asbestos is still a legal substance in the United States, some automotive gaskets manufactured today contain asbestos. If you are a mechanic, old car hobbyist, or do-it-yourselfer, you may be at risk of asbestos exposure, the precursor to a number of deadly diseases including mesothelioma.
Gaskets are used to fill the space between two pieces of equipment, providing a seal that prevents leakage, most importantly when the equipment is under compression. Because gaskets are so critical to the functioning of the engine and are exposed to heat, asbestos was an obvious material to make them from. Asbestos is the general term for a group of different naturally occurring fibrous forms of several mineral silicates. These silicates grow in crystal structures of billions of microscopic fibers that are so light they can remain suspended in the air for hours or even days. Asbestos is literally a rock, which makes it fireproof, waterproof, and corrosion-proof. Pliable asbestos fibers can be woven into cloths or added to compounds such as adhesives, mastics, cements, tile, and more to increase the tensile strength of the compound. Chrysotile, or “white” asbestos, is the form most commonly found in automotive gaskets.
Mechanics are at risk of developing mesothelioma
Auto mechanics face a high risk of developing an asbestos-related disease from inhaling the microscopic fibers that inevitably come loose as dust from asbestos-containing parts. Diseases caused by exposure to asbestos include asbestosis, pleural plaques, lung cancer, and malignant mesothelioma, a devastating and terminal form of cancer that affects the lungs, abdomen and heart. Mechanics who are exposed to asbestos do not develop mesothelioma until 15 to 40 years after exposure to asbestos, so they may not even realize where their disease originated.
What is truly frightening about asbestos in automotive gaskets is the fact that they are not labeled as containing asbestos. This is not an accident – the asbestos industry, though considerably weakened by the deluge of lawsuits brought on by suffering and death caused by its products, is still a major force in the economic and political landscape. Today’s automotive parts contain far less asbestos than those manufactured before about 1980, but the EPA has stated that there is no known safe level of exposure to asbestos.
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How asbestos exposure from automotive parts happens
When automotive parts containing asbestos are disturbed or damaged, they can release millions of microscopic asbestos fibers into the air. These fibers can appear as a dust or be completely invisible. Once released, asbestos fibers can remain suspended in the air for hours or even days. The very function of the brake and clutch mechanisms is to create friction and continual abrasion, constantly releasing asbestos fibers. A large portion of asbestos dust will collect inside the clutch space or brake housing, and then will be released when replacement or repair work is performed.
Asbestos fibers can also be spread around the area by vacuums used to clean the work area, potentially exposing other mechanics or even customers. Asbestos fibers can also be brought home on the dusty clothing of mechanics, exposing family members to the toxic dust.
Mesothelioma lawyers may be able to help you
If you or a loved one has been diagnosed with mesothelioma or any other asbestos-related disease from workplace or home exposure to asbestos, contact an experienced mesothelioma lawyer immediately. Mesothelioma attorneys have helped thousands of mesothelioma patients win compensation for lost wages and medical costs.
Asbestos companies knew of the risks of asbestos exposure for decades before the public knew. There are avenues to compensation for their criminal actions. Asbestos attorneys can help.