Electrician
An electrician is a tradesman specializing in electrical wiring of buildings and related equipment. Electricians bring electricity into homes, businesses, and factories. Electricians may be employed in the installation of new electrical components or the maintenance and repair of existing electrical infrastructure. They install and maintain the wiring, fuses, and other components through which electricity flows. Many electricians also install and maintain electrical machines in factories.
According to Bureau of Labor Statistics, there were 656,000 electricians working in 2004. Most of them worked in construction or maintenance. About 10 percent worked for themselves.
Electricians and Asbestos Exposure
Electric wiring insulation is there all over the place. Hazards of asbestos were not known in the past and so it was widely used in insulations due to its excellent fire- and heat-resistant properties. As the hazards were unknown or often covered up, electricians didn’t use protective masks to keep them safe from inhaling airborne asbestos particles. So, electricians are at high risk of contracting mesothelioma and other asbestos linked health problems as they have to deal with these insulations several times.
As electrical wires should be hidden from view, electricians crawl it through minute spaces or place them complicatedly above ceiling tiles, behind wallboard and many other places that are difficult to reach. For doing this, they have to drill or saw through tiles or wallboard, releasing massive amounts of dust into the air. This may also expose electricians to asbestos because asbestos has been used in wallboards and tiles until recent years.
Given below are some asbestos-containing items meet by electricians:
Ceiling Tiles
Insulation
Cement Wallboard
Cement Siding
Decorative Plaster
Acoustical Plaster
Textured Paints
Electrical Panel Partitions
Electrical cloth and ducts
Thermal Paper Products
Gaskets
If you or a loved one has been diagnosed with mesothelioma live or work with asbestos-containing electric wiring insulation contact a mesothelioma lawyer to discuss your legal rights.