Millwrights Asbestos Exposure

Millwrights are an elite group of skilled craftsmen who work primarily in metal and with machinery and equipment that require great precision. They often install items such as escalators, giant turbines, boilers, and generators.  This kind of work requires years of training.  Millwrights also maintain and repair pieces they (or another millwright) assembled and quite often dismantle old parts as well. 

Millwrights and Asbestos

As is true with anyone who has had a connection with the construction industry throughout the decades of the 20th century, millwrights were often exposed to asbestos on the job. 

This was especially true in dealing with boilers, turbines, or generators, which involved electricity and the need for insulation.  Such devices were often insulated with asbestos or asbestos-containing products. Moving parts inside generators and turbines were sometimes coated with asbestos as well, in order to control the heat caused by friction.

Pieces that were covered or coated with asbestos often had to be “sized” to fit where they belonged.  That meant the millwrights had to grind, sand, cut, or otherwise adjust these pieces, causing asbestos dust to circulate through the air.  While some millwrights may have worn face masks or respirators to protect themselves, most did not.

Similarly, old parts that required dismantling often involved the manipulation of asbestos-containing materials, causing the fibers to become airborne and exposing millwrights to asbestos dust.

Prior to the asbestos warnings of the mid 1970s, millwrights may have protected themselves from excessive heat and fire through the use of clothing made from asbestos, which may have included coats, aprons, gloves, and even face masks.

Are you one of the thousands of millwrights who worked with asbestos-containing materials while on the job?  Have you been diagnosed with mesothelioma or some other asbestos-caused disease?  If so, you’ll need to learn more about the disease, its treatments, and your legal rights as a millwright exposed to asbestos at work.  For more information, send for our free Mesothelioma Information Kit.