Asbestos Exposure for Electrical Workers

Overview of Asbestos Risks in Electrical Work

For decades, asbestos was considered a magic mineral. Why? The answer is simple: Asbestos can prevent fires.

Asbestos can also cause the rare cancer mesothelioma, which is why electrical workers are an occupation often connected to the rare cancer. There are an estimated 2,500 cases of mesothelioma in the U.S. each year. Most of them are linked to exposure through a person’s job, such as being an electrician, or performing at-home home repairs involving electrical wiring. This is called occupational asbestos exposure.

Despite knowing these asbestos risks in electrical work and other occupations, manufacturing companies continued producing and selling the mineral, a reckless decision made to preserve their profits. The health of many electrical workers, among other occupations, suffered due to this greed.

Why Did Electrical Work Involve Asbestos?

According to the Electrical Safety Foundation International, there are approximately 51,000 home electrical fires each year. These incidents result in approximately 500 deaths and 1,400 injuries. At commercial buildings, the United States Fire Administration reports 8,200 electrical fires each year.

How do these fires start, though? Electrical fires can originate in frayed wiring, cables, circuit breakers and other components.

To prevent these fires, companies involved in the construction of houses, office buildings and more used asbestos around these flammable electrical parts. This substance was easy and cheap to produce through most of the 20th century.

Asbestos-Containing Materials in Electrical Work

The uses of asbestos in electrical work were plentiful. Electricians during the 20th century — before people learned asbestos was dangerous — used any opportunity to protect wires or switch boards from catching fire. 

Asbestos-containing materials included insulation or spray-on fireproofing to protect:

• Electrical wiring
• Control boards
• Circuit breakers
• Panels
• Electrical boxes
• Explosion-proof compounds in large plants
• Switch gears on boards, panels and boxes
• Thermal paper and electrical cloth
• Conduits

The result was hundreds, maybe even thousands, of electrical workers developing mesothelioma, and these hard-working Americans should know how their occupation led to them having this disease.

Types of Actions Causing Asbestos Exposure for Electrical Workers

There is a long list of actions that could disturb and release asbestos for electrical workers. The main act is installing wiring that has asbestos insulation around it to protect against fires.

Other actions are:

• Installing conduits, panels, switchboards, boxes, and outlets
• Performing repair work such as replacing or fixing faulty wires
• Performing maintenance tasks on materials near electrical wiring, panels, or other equipment
• Cutting or drilling into walls near electrical materials with asbestos
• Renovation work on entire rooms of a building, or demolition of a whole building

Types of Electrical Workers Exposed to Asbestos

The different electrical workers exposed to asbestos include electricians, electrical engineers, and maintenance mechanics. Maintenance mechanics are not necessarily electrical experts or professionals but may encounter asbestos around electrical wiring, panels, switchboards, or conduits from ordinary maintenance tasks.

In the Navy, electrician’s mates could be exposed to asbestos on ships. Navy ships were filled with asbestos during the 20th century to protect against fires at sea.

Aside from these different workers, another at-risk group was the loved ones of electrical workers. Family and friends could be exposed if workers carried fiber dust on their clothes.

Secondary Asbestos Exposure From Electricians

Asbestos exposure is not just a risk for those who work directly with the toxic material. Exposure to asbestos is also a risk for people who have loved ones working with asbestos. 

Since electricians often work in enclosed spaces with asbestos, they can accumulate loose fibers on their clothes, skin or hair. Once this happens, they can carry asbestos dust into their homes or vehicles, putting their family and friends at risk.

There have been many reported cases of wives, daughters, sons and even grandchildren developing mesothelioma without working in any at-risk occupations. They all can trace their cancer back to their spouse, parent or grandparent working a job involving asbestos. This is called secondary asbestos exposure.

Legacy Asbestos Exposure for Electricians

Toward the end of the 20th century, the general public learned asbestos could be cancerous. Companies stopped using asbestos and in 2024 the Environmental Protection Agency banned the use of chrysotile asbestos, which is the most common and likely type of the mineral used in electrical work.

Despite the significant drop in asbestos use for new construction projects, electrical workers remain at risk due to past uses of asbestos in old buildings. This is called legacy asbestos exposure. Any jobs involving maintenance or repair of electrical wiring or other components put electricians in harm’s way.

As an example, replacing old wires or cables in a building could lead to exposure to asbestos by interacting with loose fibers. Another example is completely removing electrical wiring prior to the demolition of a building.

Identifying and Removing Legacy Asbestos

Electrical workers should avoid trying to remove legacy asbestos when they notice the substance while working. Any old homes containing asbestos could be fragile and easily release fibers into the air.

Electrical workers should contact an asbestos abatement company to test the substance and handle the mineral effectively. Professionals either seal or remove the mineral depending on how fragile the material is and how safe and easy it would be to remove altogether.

Electrical workers should use a respirator, mask, disposable gear like coveralls and shoes, and other protective equipment to keep them from breathing in toxic air.

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Health Issues From Asbestos Exposure for Electrical Workers

Electrical workers exposed to asbestos run the risk of several health issues. The different diseases caused by asbestos are lung cancer, ovarian cancer, and a rare cancer called mesothelioma.

Mesothelioma forms in thin linings around specific organs such as the lungs. The life expectancy for someone diagnosed with mesothelioma is unfortunately short. Lung cancer from asbestos can also have a poor prognosis.

Link Between Mesothelioma and Electrical Workers

Disturbed asbestos fibers flake apart into tiny, microscopic fibers that can be easily inhaled or ingested. Once the asbestos dust enters the body, it can travel to the thin linings around the lung cavity, abdominal cavity or heart. The fibers are sharp and can irritate the cells in these linings, which is how mesothelioma forms.

Researchers at Georgetown University and Duke University reviewed 1,445 cases of mesothelioma from occupational asbestos exposure. Electricians accounted for 81 cases, in the top 10 of the most at-risk occupations in the United States.

A study published by the Regulatory, Toxicology and Pharmacology reviewed the connection between mesothelioma and electrical workers. The report found that it’s due to “renovation/demolition work or working in the proximity of other skilled craftsmen.”

Legal Rights for Electrical Workers With Mesothelioma

Treatment options are available to electrical workers who have mesothelioma. Surgery is the most aggressive approach and often leads to the most extended survival times. Chemotherapy and immunotherapy have also had positive effects on mesothelioma patients.

However, these treatments can be expensive, often costing hundreds of thousands of dollars. One way to counter the rising costs of mesothelioma treatment is by filing a legal claim.

As previously mentioned, occupational asbestos exposure was caused by greedy corporations who selfishly chose profits over public safety. The two legal options for electrical workers – or their loved ones – are lawsuits and asbestos trust funds.

Lawsuits and Asbestos Trust Funds for Electrical Workers

Lawsuits are claims against companies actively operating. Asbestos trust funds are bank accounts with money set aside by companies that filed for bankruptcy.

There have been multiple lawsuits filed by electrical workers taking legal action following their mesothelioma diagnosis. A 64-year-old electrician and construction inspector from New York received $2.1 million in their case.

Another example of a mesothelioma lawsuit is a 70-year-old Navy veteran and electrician from Florida. He received $1.67 million.

Companies that used asbestos put electrical workers throughout the United States at serious risk of developing cancer. These companies should be held legally accountable and pay the victims of their misdeeds.

Patient Advocacy for Electrical Workers With Mesothelioma

If you are or were an electrical worker and developed mesothelioma, then you can take legal action. Our patient advocates, Karen Ritter and Carl Jewett, have helped many patients find legal representation for their case. Email karen@mesotheliomaguide.com or cjewett@mesotheliomaguide.com for legal or medical advice following your diagnosis.

Sources & Author

1. How Does an Electrical Fire Start? Firetrace International. Retrieved from: https://www.firetrace.com/fire-protection-blog/how-does-an-electrical-fire-start. Accessed: 12/16/19.
2. Malignant Mesothelioma and Occupational Exposure to Asbestos: an Analysis of 1445 Cases. British Occupational Hygiene Society. Retrieved from: https://academic.oup.com/annweh/article/46/suppl_1/150/317508. Accessed: 08/11/20.
3. Home Electrical Fires. Electrical Safety Foundation International. Retrieved from: https://www.esfi.org/home-electrical-fires/. Accessed: 12/16/19.
4. Statistics. U.S. Fire Administration. Retrieved from: https://www.usfa.fema.gov/statistics/. Accessed: 06/06/23.
5. Malignant mesothelioma in construction workers: the Apulia regional mesothelioma register, Southern Italy. BMC Research Notes. Retrieved from: https://bmcresnotes.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/s13104-019-4675-4. Accessed: 12/16/19.
6. Electricians’ chrysotile asbestos exposure from electrical products and risks of mesothelioma and lung cancer. Regulatory Toxicology and Pharmacology. Retrieved from: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/24189076. Accessed: 12/16/19.
7. Safe Electrical Demolition And Circuit Removal. Art Plumbing, AC and Electric. Retrieved from: https://www.artplumbingandac.com/electrical/safe-electrical-demolition-and-circuit-removal/. Accessed: 12/16/19.

About the Writer, David Statman

David Statman is a Content Writer for Mesothelioma Guide. He received both his bachelor's and master's in journalism from West Virginia University, and has been in medical publishing since January 2022. He previously worked in sports journalism, primarily reporting on West Virginia sports for a number of publications.

He lives in Delaware with his wife, dog and two cats, and avidly competes as a professional wrestler in the Philadelphia area.