High Mesothelioma Risk Occupations

People who worked in occupations where they handled asbestos. including jobs that involved manufacturing are most at risk for developing mesothelioma.  High-risk occupations include jobs such as installing and maintaining products containing asbestos, working in facilities where asbestos is used, and any occupation that might release asbestos fibers into the air.

Workers at elevated risk

Although during the 1970s asbestos usage in the United States became much more limited due to regulations, asbestos exposure in the workplace continues.  Workers who are exposed to asbestos-containing products may develop asbestos-related diseases.  While the construction, car repair, and shipbuilding trades are often associated with asbestos exposure in the workplace, the long list of occupations dealing with asbestos, past and present, also includes:

Aircraft mechanics Appliance installers Auto mechanics Asbestos plant workers Auto plant workers Boilermakers Brake mechanics Bricklayers Bulldozer operators Carpenters Cement plant workers Cement finishers Construction workers Crane operators Demolition crews Drywall workers Electricians

Electrical linemen Engineers Firefighters Foundry workers Garage workers Grinding machine operators Heavy equipment mechanics Home renovators HVAC mechanics Insulators Laborers Lathers Longshoremen Machinists Merchant marines Maintenance workers Masonry workers

Navy yard workers Painters Pipefitters Plasterers Plumbers Power plant workers Railroad workers Road machine operators Roofers and slaters Sailors Sheet metal workers Steam fitters Tile setters Tinsmiths Tool and die makers U.S. Navy veterans Welders

Secondary exposure

It’s not just workers who are at risk.  People who lived with workers may also have been exposed to asbestos fibers carried home on clothing—for example, when workers came home with asbestos on their clothing and hugged their families.  These family members also have an elevated risk of developing mesothelioma.

What to do if you are at risk for mesothelioma

If you were exposed to asbestos at work or lived with someone who was exposed to asbestos, see your doctor and describe your level of asbestos exposure.  Your doctor will take chest X-rays and run other tests to check your condition.