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The latest statistics show that between 1980 and 2000, over 8,000 men and over 1,000 women died from Mesothelioma. If someone in your family has been affected by this grave disease, you may be legally entitled to financial compensation to help cover your losses.
Blacksmiths create items by forging metals such as iron or steel. These highly skilled craftsmen use numerous tools such as hammers, tongs, and anvils. The art of blacksmithing normally involves the heating of metals until glowing orange or red and then is molded into place. The final products range from complex iron structures to cooking utensils.
Due to the Industrial age and the creation of assembly lines and railroads, the work description of a modern day blacksmith has been now mainly focused on artistic pieces and sculptures. There are some blacksmiths that make custom pieces that are more functional such as iron gates and custom horseshoes. This can be a very large margin business and the best in this class can make a very comfortable living in this trade.
The industrial gave birth to a new type of blacksmith called an ironworker. These ironworkers were heavily valuable in the foundation of our country's infrastructure including the construction of steel structures such as buildings and steel ships. Ironworkers were also instrumental in military positions during World War II. With the high demand of naval ships during the war, ironworkers were used to help construct these giant structures. The modern day ironworker is employed for structures such as skyscrapers, commercial buildings, and bridges.
Iron workers faced asbestos exposure in the past from working with iron beams. These beams were manufactured with an asbestos coating to make the beam more resistant to heat and fire. As the beam would be manipulated to fit into the structure, asbestos fibers would become airborne leading to the inhalation of asbestos fibers by the iron worker. While asbestos is not used in the production of steal beams today, iron workers still need to be very cautious when working in older buildings that used these asbestos coated beams. These beams are still in existence today and do create a potential threat for those that work around them.
Welding is obviously a big part of what blacksmiths and ironworkers do on a daily basis. To protect these blacksmiths and ironworkers in their environment during welding, a welding blanket would be worn and placed over items to protect projects from molten metal, sparks, and abrasions. Unfortunately, asbestos was used in the manufacturing of many of these welding blankets because of its mass availability and its resistance to heat.
Welding blankets are not the only instance in which a blacksmith and ironworker might come into contact with asbestos, the contaminant causing Mesothelioma. Many products potentially used by blacksmiths and ironworkers could contain Mesothelioma including gloves, aprons, pants, vests and even welding rods. Welding rods are used to bind two pieces of metal together and the manufacturers of these rods could have potentially manufactured these rods with asbestos. The asbestos fibers in these rods could easily become dislodged when used in high heat environments. When asbestos fibers become dislodged and airborne, it would be very possible to be inhaled by the worker.
The northeast is full of steal structures and iron workers are abundant in our surrounding area of New Jersey, New York, and Pennsylvania. Older buildings are also prevalent throughout the tri-state area so asbestos containing products are still prevalent. Ironworkers in New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania, and the remainder of the country need to exercise extreme caution when working in these structures and recognize the possibility of the presence of asbestos.