Asbestos Exposure in Aluminum Smelting Plants

Asbestos is a counteragent for heat. Therefore, it made sense to use asbestos anywhere heat was a concern: homes, offices, Navy ships, automobiles and more.

Aluminum smelting plants were obvious locations as well.

While asbestos protected aluminum smelting plants from structural fire damage, the mineral likely gave many smelting plant workers a rare cancer called mesothelioma. The cancer is caused by asbestos  — and asbestos alone. So the reliance on the substance created a health risk for many American workers.

It’s important to know how asbestos was used in smelting plants, what aluminum smelting actually is, and how asbestos caused a danger to smelting plant workers.

 

What Is Aluminum Smelting?

Aluminum smelting is the extraction of aluminum from its oxide, alumina. The process involves dissolving alumina at more than 1,800 degrees Fahrenheit. This helps create aluminum metal.

As you’d expect, aluminum smelting is an important part of American industrial manufacturing. Metal is a key component of many products, mostly due to the strength and durability. Metal parts of buildings, cars and more are stable for decades after their initial construction.

In 2014, the aluminum smelting industry produced 1.72 million metric tons of aluminum. This amount is worth $3.97 billion.

The U.S. had 23 operating aluminum plants in 1998. There are just a handful now, with the country outsourcing most of its aluminum production to other countries. The high number of smelting plants in the 20th century is evidence of the risk workers faced with asbestos in the plants.

 

How Was Asbestos Used in Aluminum Smelting Plants?

Since the process requires high temperatures, corrosive chemicals and high-voltage electricity, there’s always a risk of overheating appliances or an accident occurring that sets fire to the refinery. Asbestos insulated the refinery, along with different appliances, such as the pot used for smelting.

Some workers’ protective clothing even contained asbestos, an effort to protect them that inadvertently put them in close contact with the carcinogen.

An article in Chemical Agents and Related Occupations listed the exposures within aluminum production plants. Asbestos was among a large number of hazardous materials, including sulfur dioxide, aluminum fluoride and carbon monoxide.

 

Mesothelioma From Aluminum Smelting Plants

If asbestos is part of the occupation, then there’s a link between the job and mesothelioma.

Loose asbestos fibers travel through the body and irritate cells in sensitive linings. These linings include mesothelial cells, which when cancerous become mesothelioma.

Disturbance to asbestos causes the mineral to splinter. This leads to loose fibers floating in the oxygen. The result is exposure for aluminum smelting workers with asbestos in their protective gear or working near equipment coated in asbestos.

If you worked in an aluminum production plant and have mesothelioma, we can assist and answer your questions. You probably have a viable legal case against the company that produced asbestos and sold it to aluminum plants and other companies. Email our legal expert, Carl Jewett, at cjewett@mesotheliomaguide.com.