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Rope Packing - Mesothelioma and Asbestos Exposure Risks

Asbestos was widely used in the twentieth century for a variety of industrial and construction purposes, due to its fire resistance and excellent insulating properties. Asbestos rope packing was used for packing around boiler doors, pumps and valves, and was used particularly heavily in the ship-building industry. Workers involved in manufacturing asbestos-containing materials such as rope packing, as well as ship-yard workers and Navy workers were exposed to asbestos via contact with asbestos rope packing and other construction materials.

Working with such materials involves repeated long term asbestos exposure for employees of companies involved in manufacturing and processing. In addition, the families of such workers were often exposed to asbestos as well, as the fibers were often present on workers' clothes, as protective clothing was rarely provided by employers. Throughout most of the twentieth century, few precautions were taken to protect workers from asbestos exposure, and many companies did not take protective measures of any kind.

The Dangers of Asbestos

Asbestos is known to cause lung cancer, as well as other lung diseases such as asbestosis and mesothelioma. Mesothelioma is a rare form of cancer that is only caused by exposure to asbestos, and typically affects the lining of the lungs. Diseases caused by asbestos exposure have long latency periods, meaning that two or more decades often elapse between initial asbestos exposure and the onset of the first symptoms of disease.

Mesothelioma is a particularly deadly disease, partly because of this long latency period and also because the disease is difficult to diagnose accurately in the early stages. Approximately two thousand Americans are diagnosed with mesothelioma each year, and less than fifty percent of those will live longer than two years after diagnosis.

Asbestos Exposure and your Legal Rights

Any worker exposed to asbestos repeatedly is at risk of developing an asbestos-related disease such as asbestosis or mesothelioma. The families of workers exposed to asbestos may also be at risk of developing asbestos-related diseases. The tragedy of this situation is that asbestos was known to be hazardous as early as the 1930s, and it was not until the 1970s that the use of asbestos was restricted or regulated to protect workers. In addition, the majority of companies that used asbestos in manufacturing and for other industrial purposes failed to provide their workers with protective clothing. Therefore, most people exposed to asbestos were placed at risk unnecessarily.

Over the past several years many workers who developed asbestos-related diseases have successfully pursued legal action against the companies responsible for their exposure to asbestos. These people have been able to obtain financial compensation to help pay for medical expenses and replace lost income, and to compensate for the loss of quality of life that is caused by mesothelioma and other asbestos-related diseases.

If you or a loved one is diagnosed with mesothelioma it is important to understand that this disease develops only as a result of exposure to asbestos, and that you may be able to claim financial compensation from the company responsible for that exposure. Contact an experienced mesothelioma lawyer to discuss your legal rights and find out how you can determine when asbestos exposure occurred, and how you can pursue legal action against the company responsible for it.

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