Asbestos Exposure at Home

Risk to family members of asbestos workers

Most people who develop mesothelioma are men who worked on jobs where they inhaled asbestos particles. Such first-hand occupational asbestos exposure has long been known to be the major risk factor for mesothelioma—as well as asbestosis and some lung cancers. Mesothelioma also occurs at least twice as frequently in people who lived with asbestos workers.  A majority of women diagnosed with mesothelioma were not asbestos workers, but lived with someone who was directly exposed to asbestos on the job.

Second-hand asbestos exposure in the home

Living with an asbestos worker can result in second-hand asbestos exposure through contact with the worker. Decades later, spouses and (now grown) children of asbestos workers develop mesothelioma that can be attributed to that second-hand exposure.

The biggest mesothelioma risk factor is inhaling the fibrous asbestos dust that is produced in workplaces where asbestos is pulverized, ground, sawed, or manipulated in any way. Workers at these sites ingest a lot of the dust and are the most susceptible to the health complications that result from that exposure. However, they also can bring home the hazard to their families.

Asbestos on clothing

After spending the day in an environment that is pervaded by asbestos dust, the worker is often covered with asbestos—on clothing, on hands, and in hair. When workers return home and are greeted by their families, their loved ones can be exposed to significant amounts of asbestos. But it does not stop there. Laundering dusty work clothes—perhaps together with the family’s regular wash—also results in asbestos exposure to everyone in the household. Many families of asbestos workers reported that they would shake out the dust before putting clothes in the wash, unknowingly releasing asbestos fibers into the air.

The government eventually recognized this second-hand asbestos exposure risk and imposed some regulations. To reduce the chance of exposing family members to asbestos fibers on body and clothing, asbestos workers are now required to shower and change their clothing before leaving the workplace.