labor lawAdivision of labor law center

A recent Colorado worker safety alert highlights the risks some workers face while working with asbestos. The alert focuses on the presence of asbestos in the brakes and clutches of older models of trucks and cars, and the daily risks this present to some mechanics and other workers in the industry.

Many people think that asbestos-related hazards in the work place do not exist any more. But the statistics on deaths due to asbestos-related diseases tell a different story. Over 10,000 people die each year in the United States from such asbestos-related diseases such as asbestosis, gastrointestinal cancer, lung cancer and mesothelioma.

There are ways of controlling asbestos in the workplace and it is the responsibility of the employer to make sure that their workers know what they are. It is also their responsibility to put safety procedures in writing, and ensure that employees carry out the right procedures when working with asbestos.

One way of controlling asbestos is by wetting the asbestos, so that it cannot become airborne should it break up. Another is to seal it in a bag.

Workers need to be aware that if they are not careful when working with this material, they may put others at risk. This is because asbestos becomes airborne by breaking into thousands of tiny particles when it is broken or disturbed.  It is not possible to see these fragments with the eye, but they can travel through the air and are inhaled by people in the workshop. This can cause lasting health damage. Therefore, it may only take one worker to disregard the established safety procedures to expose the whole workshop to the hazards.

Because it is so easy to disturb the asbestos, and that there is no foolproof way of knowing whether a vehicle contains the material in their brake or clutch, then every work should assume that it is present and proceed accordingly. 

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