If you work in construction, maintenance, manufacturing, or another hands-on trade, you may wonder whether asbestos is still a risk. Conversations around occupations asbestos exposure continue today because many older buildings and industrial sites still contain legacy materials. Understanding where occupational exposure to asbestos can occur may help you better evaluate your work history and potential health risks.
Although asbestos use has declined significantly over the past several decades, exposure has not disappeared entirely. For many workers, this can be an unsettling realization. Regulations have reduced new applications, yet asbestos remains present in countless homes, commercial buildings, ships, factories, and industrial facilities constructed before the 1980s.
Today, exposure is less likely to come from manufacturing new asbestos-containing products and more likely to occur during renovation, demolition, repair, or routine maintenance in older structures. When asbestos-containing materials are disturbed, microscopic fibers can be released into the air without visible warning. Because these fibers cannot be seen or smelled, workers may not realize they have been exposed at the time.
Understanding which occupations exposed to asbestos may still carry risk can help workers and families make informed decisions about workplace safety and long-term health monitoring.
Many people assume asbestos is a problem of the past. While its use has decreased, asbestos remains present in aging infrastructure and legacy industrial materials. Historically, asbestos was widely used because it was strong, flexible, and resistant to heat and corrosion. It was added to:
Even though manufacturing has declined, older materials remain in place across schools, hospitals, power plants, refineries, shipyards, and military facilities. Workers may encounter occupational exposure to asbestos when performing upgrades, retrofits, or emergency repairs.
The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) sets workplace exposure limits. According to the Occupational Safety and Health Administration asbestos standards, the permissible asbestos exposure limit is 0.1 fibers per cubic centimeter of air as over an eight-hour time-weighted average. However, safety experts emphasize that no level of asbestos exposure is considered completely risk-free.
The Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry (ATSDR) explains that inhaled fibers can become trapped in lung tissue, contributing to long-term inflammation and disease development decades later.
Questions such as is asbestos still used in brake pads reflect ongoing concern. While many manufacturers have transitioned away from asbestos, certain imported materials and specialty industrial products may still contain it.
The following list is based on historical data, industry patterns, and documented asbestos deaths by occupation. While not every worker in these fields will encounter asbestos, these occupations consistently show elevated exposure potential compared to the general public. Risk varies depending on safety training, environmental controls, protective equipment, and the age of structures involved.
Construction and demolition workers remain among the most frequently identified occupations exposed to asbestos. Many commercial and residential buildings constructed before the 1980s contain asbestos in insulation, drywall compounds, flooring adhesives, ceiling tiles, roofing materials, and cement products.
When these materials are cut, drilled, sanded, or broken apart during renovation or demolition, asbestos fibers may become airborne. Because the fibers are microscopic, workers may not realize exposure is occurring in real time. Even short-term renovation projects can create significant exposure risk if asbestos-containing materials are disturbed without proper containment procedures.
The connection between military occupations and asbestos exposure has been widely documented, particularly for veterans who served between the 1930s and late 1970s. Asbestos was heavily used in ships, submarines, aircraft, vehicles, and base housing due to its fire-resistant properties.
Navy veterans working in engine rooms, boiler rooms, and shipyards often faced particularly high exposure levels. Insulation wrapped around pipes, turbines, and mechanical equipment frequently contained asbestos. Maintenance and repair tasks could release fibers into confined spaces.
Even today, older military facilities and legacy equipment may still contain asbestos materials. Additionally, documented cases of secondary exposure to asbestos have affected military families when fibers were brought home on uniforms.
Shipyard workers have long faced some of the highest levels of occupational exposure to asbestos. For decades, maritime vessels depended on asbestos insulation to reduce fire risk and withstand extreme heat. Boilers, turbines, steam lines, and exhaust systems were routinely wrapped in asbestos-containing materials, often layered throughout engine rooms and below-deck compartments.
If you worked in ship construction or repair, you may have handled or worked alongside this insulation as it was cut, removed, or replaced. As the materials aged, they became brittle and easier to disturb. In confined ship spaces where ventilation was limited, airborne fibers could accumulate quickly, increasing the likelihood of inhalation during routine tasks.
Even today, the maintenance and dismantling of older vessels can uncover legacy materials that remain in place. While modern safety standards have improved, the connection between shipyards and mesothelioma continues to reflect the long-term impact of those earlier exposures.
Cases involving mesothelioma electricians often stem from exposure in aging buildings where asbestos was incorporated into wall panels, electrical insulation, conduit systems, and fireproofing materials. While electricians may not directly handle asbestos products, their work often involves drilling into walls, cutting through ceilings, or accessing utility chases where hidden asbestos may be present.
Because asbestos-containing materials were commonly used as fire barriers around electrical systems, electricians working in older schools, hospitals, and commercial buildings may unknowingly disturb these materials during upgrades or rewiring projects.
Power generation facilities historically relied on asbestos for insulating turbines, boilers, pumps, valves, and steam lines. High-temperature environments required materials capable of withstanding extreme heat, making asbestos a common solution. Although many plants have undergone remediation efforts, older facilities may still contain legacy asbestos insulation. Maintenance shutdowns, equipment replacement, and pipe repairs can disturb deteriorating materials and release fibers into the air. Mesothelioma power plant workers who spent years in these environments may have experienced repeated low-level exposure over time.
Oil refineries and chemical processing plants used asbestos extensively in insulation, gaskets, packing materials, and protective coatings. The high heat and corrosive environments of these facilities made asbestos a practical, though hazardous, material choice.
In aging refineries, insulation materials may degrade or crumble with time. Workers performing retrofits, valve replacements, or pipe maintenance may disturb these materials, leading to occupational exposure to asbestos.
Even brief exposure events during shutdown periods can carry long-term health implications.
Automotive mechanics have historically faced asbestos exposure during routine brake and clutch repairs. For decades, brake pads, clutches, and gaskets relied on asbestos for durability and heat resistance. When these components were removed, sanded, or replaced, fine dust could be released into the air.
If you performed brake work regularly, especially before stronger regulations were adopted, you may have worked in environments where that dust accumulated. Enclosed garages with limited ventilation could allow airborne fibers to linger, increasing the risk of inhalation over time.
The link between brake pads and asbestos remains one of the clearest examples of how occupational exposure could occur during everyday mechanical tasks.
Asbestos cement pipes, sheets, roofing materials, and industrial panels were widely produced and installed throughout much of the twentieth century. If you worked in a cement plant or manufacturing facility during that time, you may have handled raw materials or finished products that released fibers during mixing, cutting, or shaping.
Exposure did not always come from the products alone. Many manufacturing plants also used asbestos insulation or fabric materials around equipment. During maintenance, repairs, or facility upgrades, aging insulation could be disturbed and fibers released into the surrounding workspace. Even if asbestos is no longer part of active production, legacy materials can remain embedded within older facilities.
While commercial asbestos mining in the United States has declined significantly, miners working in certain geographic regions may encounter naturally occurring asbestos deposits within rock formations. Disturbing these formations during excavation or drilling can release fibers into the air.
Workers extracting other minerals may also face incidental exposure if asbestos-containing rock is present. Environmental dust in these settings can contribute to inhalation risks over time.
Maintenance and custodial staff in older buildings face unique risks because they perform a wide range of repair tasks. Replacing ceiling tiles, patching walls, repairing insulation, or accessing pipe systems may disturb asbestos-containing materials hidden within structural components.
Schools, hospitals, government buildings, and industrial facilities constructed before stricter regulations are common sites where asbestos may still be present. Because maintenance work is often ongoing and varied, exposure can occur intermittently over many years.
Secondary exposure to asbestos occurs when workers unknowingly carry microscopic fibers home on clothing, boots, tools, or equipment. Because asbestos fibers are invisible to the naked eye, families often had no reason to suspect a risk. Simple, everyday actions such as shaking out work clothes, doing laundry, or hugging a loved one at the end of a shift could result in inhalation.
Over time, repeated contact may increase exposure levels inside the home. This type of take-home exposure highlights how occupational exposure to asbestos can extend beyond the workplace and affect entire households.
Documented cases show that spouses and children of asbestos workers have developed mesothelioma decades later, despite never working directly with asbestos themselves. For many families, the connection only becomes clear years after the original workplace exposure occurred.
Occupational exposure to asbestos is linked to serious and often life-threatening diseases. Health conditions associated with asbestos exposure include:
Mesothelioma is particularly associated with asbestos exposure and may develop decades after initial contact. The long latency period makes early detection difficult and complicates efforts to trace exposure history.
Even though asbestos use has declined, asbestos exposure continues in certain industries due to aging infrastructure and legacy materials. Workers in asbestos at-risk occupations should remain informed about workplace hazard communication policies, required training, proper protective equipment, and procedures for reporting suspected asbestos materials.
Some individuals only discover occupational exposure asbestos years after leaving a job. Because symptoms may not appear for decades, understanding past employment history can be important. If you or a loved one worked in one of these occupations exposed to asbestos and later developed health concerns, you may have questions about medical evaluation or legal options. In some cases, individuals diagnosed with asbestos-related illness may be entitled to compensation. A confidential, free case evaluation can provide clarity about potential next steps so you can make informed decisions about your health and future.
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Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry. (n.d.). Who is at risk of asbestos exposure? Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. https://archive.cdc.gov/www_atsdr_cdc_gov/csem/asbestos/who_is_at_risk.html
Clin, B., Morlais, F., Launoy, G., et al. (2005). Environmental and household exposures to asbestos. Occupational and Environmental Medicine, 62(6), 367–374. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/15828068/
Occupational Safety and Health Administration. (n.d.). Asbestos. U.S. Department of Labor. https://www.osha.gov/asbestos