Were Electricians Exposed to Asbestos?
Electricians were among the workers at the highest risk of asbestos exposure, particularly if they worked before the 1980s. Manufacturers used asbestos as an electrical insulator and as a fire and heat barrier in wiring, cables, panels and components.
Asbestos use in electrical products peaked in the 1970s before regulation led to a decline. However, materials remained in buildings and industrial facilities for decades after production slowed. Working in older structures meant electricians continued to face exposure even after the industry began to change.
Why Electricians Were at High Risk
Electricians were at high risk of exposure because the trade’s core tasks disturbed asbestos-containing materials. This often happened in enclosed spaces where fibers accumulated and were easily inhaled. Most workers had no warning of the dangers they faced and often lacked protective equipment.
How Electricians Disturbed Asbestos
- Drilling, cutting and sanding panels and millboard: Asbestos panel board and partitions shaped and fitted on site generated fine dust directly in the breathing zone.
- Pulling wire and conduit through walls and ceilings: Electricians disturbed chases and cavities packed with sprayed insulation and fireproofing, releasing fibers.
- Servicing switchgear, breakers and motors: Arc chutes, flash guards and insulating components inside electrical equipment contained asbestos that was disturbed during routine maintenance and replacement.
- Stripping and cutting wire and cable: Asbestos-insulated and cloth-wrapped wire released fibers when cut, stripped or spliced.
- Working near insulation workers and pipefitters: Shared jobsites often exposed bystanders to asbestos.
Cutting, stripping, drilling and routing materials that contained asbestos put electricians in direct contact with dangerous fibers. Sharing jobsites with other trades that used asbestos-containing materials also put electricians at risk of exposure.
Asbestos-Containing Electrical Products Electricians Handled
Manufacturers incorporated asbestos into dozens of electrical products through the 1970s, including insulation, electrical panels, millboard and more. They chose asbestos because of its resistance to heat, fire and electrical currents.
Manufacturers of asbestos-containing electrical products, including General Electric, Westinghouse and Union Carbide, have faced decades of litigation. Individuals have brought claims against companies whose wiring, panels and switchgear components contained asbestos.
Electrician and Asbestos Containing Materials
| Product | Where it was used | How it exposed electricians |
|---|---|---|
| Arc chutes, arc shields and flash guards | Breakers, switchgear and motor starters | Servicing and replacing worn components released fibers |
| Asbestos wire and cable insulation | Heat-resistant wiring in homes, ships and industrial plants | Stripping, cutting and splicing released fibers |
| Cloth-wrapped and braided wiring | Pre-1980s building and appliance wiring | Fraying and cutting old cloth wire released fibers |
| Conduit and insulating millboard | Wiring runs and equipment backing | Cutting and fitting released fibers into the air |
| Electrical panels and partitions | Panel boards and load centers | Cutting and drilling asbestos panel board generated fine dust |
| Insulating cement and tape | Splices, terminations and equipment | Mixing, applying and removing disturbed asbestos materials |
| Knob-and-tube wiring components | Early residential wiring systems | Removal and repair of legacy systems disturbed asbestos materials |
| Loose-fill insulation | Walls cavities, attics | Disturbed when pulling wire through walls and ceilings |
How To Identify Asbestos Wiring
Usually, you cannot identify asbestos wiring by looking at it. Only lab testing a sample of the wiring can tell you definitively if it contains asbestos. However, electricians should be aware of certain characteristics of asbestos wiring before working on older systems.
Signs of Asbestos Wiring
- Cloth-covered or braided wire insulation in gray, white or tan woven fabric
- Old knob-and-tube systems, especially in pre-war residential construction
- White or gray paper-like or fibrous wrapping near splices, panels or fixtures
- Wiring in homes or buildings constructed or rewired before 1980
Electricians who worked with these materials and later received a mesothelioma or lung cancer diagnosis may have legal options available to them.
Do not cut, sand or disturb suspected asbestos wiring. Disturbing it releases fibers into the air. A licensed asbestos inspector can test a sample to confirm whether the wiring contains asbestos, and a certified abatement contractor can safely remove it if necessary. This is general information, not legal advice.
Diseases Electricians Develop From Asbestos
Asbestos is a carcinogen, which means it can cause cancer and other serious illnesses. Electricians who worked with asbestos-containing materials face an increased risk of developing serious diseases such as mesothelioma, lung cancer and more. There is no safe level of exposure to asbestos. Related diseases can take decades to develop. Doctors often do not diagnose some electricians until long after they have left the trade.
Asbestos-Related Diseases
- Asbestosis: Accumulated asbestos fibers in the lungs can cause this chronic lung condition, which leads to progressive scarring and breathing difficulties.
- Lung cancer: Inhaling asbestos may cause this malignancy. Individuals who also smoked face a significantly compounded risk.
- Mesothelioma: This rare and aggressive cancer impacts the lining of the lungs or abdomen. Asbestos exposure is the primary cause.
- Pleural plaques and thickening: Hardening and thickening of the lung lining. It’s often asymptomatic but indicates significant past exposure.
The Occupational Safety and Health Administration identifies mesothelioma, lung cancer and asbestosis as diseases linked to occupational asbestos exposure. OSHA regulates asbestos as a known carcinogen across construction and maintenance trades.
A 2018 study published in the International Journal of Epidemiology found that former electricians are among the groups at highest risk of asbestos-related diseases. They are approximately 16 times more likely to develop mesothelioma than the general population.
How Long After Exposure Do Symptoms Appear?
Asbestos-related diseases have a long latency period, usually 20 to 60 years from exposure to a diagnosis. Electricians who worked with asbestos-containing materials from the 1960s to 1980s are receiving diagnoses today.
That time gap does prevent a legal claim. A diagnosis that traces back to electrical work from many years ago remains valid. Our attorneys can prove work history from those decades using product records, employment records, union documentation and co-worker testimony to establish where and when exposure occurred.
Take-Home Asbestos Exposure
Electricians unintentionally brought asbestos fibers home on their work clothes, hair and tools. Family members who were in charge of laundry or children hugging a parent after work may have unknowingly inhaled dangerous fibers.
Spouses and children who never set foot on a jobsite sometimes develop mesothelioma decades later because they inhale asbestos fibers secondhand. Our attorneys have recovered compensation for families who experienced secondhand asbestos exposure. If a family member developed mesothelioma or another asbestos-related disease without direct work exposure, a legal claim may be an option.
Legal Options for Electricians With Mesothelioma
When occupational asbestos exposure results in a mesothelioma diagnosis, electricians and their families can consider lawsuits, wrongful-death claims or asbestos trust funds. In most cases, individuals pursue claims against the manufacturers that made or sold the asbestos-containing electrical products, not a former employer or union. Manufacturers of asbestos electrical products, including wiring, panels and switchgear, have faced litigation for decades. Viable claims exist for electricians and their families.
Compensation from an asbestos lawsuit can cover medical expenses, pain and suffering, lost income and wrongful death damages. Each case is unique, and individuals recover varying amounts. Our attorneys work on a contingency basis, meaning there is no fee unless we recover compensation.
| Route | What it is | Who it fits |
|---|---|---|
| Asbestos trust funds | Claims against trusts set up by bankrupt asbestos manufacturers | Where a responsible company has a trust |
| Lawsuit vs. manufacturers | Personal-injury suit against the companies that made or sold asbestos electrical products | Most electricians and families |
| Wrongful-death claim | Filed by surviving family members | Families who lost an electrician to mesothelioma |
Statute of Limitations
After an asbestos-related diagnosis, time is a factor. Deadlines to file a claim vary by state, but generally begin at the time of diagnosis, not the time of exposure. Exposure from an electrical job completed decades ago does not automatically prevent electricians from pursuing a claim, but waiting too long after a diagnosis can.
In some cases, electricians have legal options beyond their home state, including the locations where the exposure occurred or where a defendant operates. Trust fund deadlines are separate from lawsuit deadlines, while wrongful-death claims have their own time limits.
Why Meirowitz & Wasserberg
Meirowitz & Wasserberg has represented tradespeople who were exposed on electrical and industrial jobsites for decades. Asbestos litigation is specialized work, and results depend on a firm with the experience and willingness to try cases.
Results for clients and their families
- $32M+ recovered in a secondhand mesothelioma case
- $5.5M recovered for a Navy boiler tender and power-company employee
- $5.4M recovered for a journeyman pipefitter at a Houston ship channel refinery
- $5.1M+ recovered for a Navy machinist’s mate turned civilian mechanic
Firm-wide, our attorneys have recovered more than $500M for clients, handled more than 2,000 mesothelioma cases and taken on cases other firms declined. We rank among the top 10 national asbestos filers, with more than 30 combined years of experience in asbestos litigation.
There is no fee unless we win. Our team is available 24 hours a day, seven days a week, with multilingual intake in Spanish, Russian, Tagalog and more. We have offices in New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Florida and California.
“With the asbestos bankruptcy trusts, they pay a percentage of what the true litigation value is worth. Some of them pay four or five percent of a hundred percent of what the value would be. Some of them pay more like twenty percent of what the value would be. And there are actually one or two that do pay the full value.”
Asbestos Attorney
Frequently Asked Questions
Were electricians exposed to asbestos?
Yes, electricians were exposed to asbestos. Wiring, cable, panels and components that electricians worked with daily contained asbestos. Electricians who worked before the 1980s faced the most significant exposure.
What does asbestos wiring look like?
Asbestos wiring often looks like wires in cloth-covered or braided insulation in gray, white or tan fabric, typically found in buildings wired before 1980. However, visual inspection alone cannot confirm that wiring contains asbestos. Only lab testing can definitively confirm whether a material contains asbestos.
How do you identify asbestos wiring?
A licensed asbestos inspector can test a sample to determine whether it contains asbestos. Never cut, sand or disturb suspected asbestos wiring before an expert assesses it. Cutting or disturbing asbestos wiring releases fibers into the air.
Can electricians get mesothelioma from asbestos?
Yes, electricians can get mesothelioma from asbestos. Exposure on the job can cause mesothelioma, asbestos-related lung cancer and asbestosis in electricians.
How long after asbestos exposure does mesothelioma develop?
Mesothelioma typically develops 20 to 50 years after initial exposure. Many electricians receiving a diagnosis today can trace it to electrical work performed decades ago.
Can an electrician with mesothelioma sue?
Yes. Electricians typically file claims against the manufacturers of asbestos-containing products. Depending on the circumstances, electricians and their families may also seek compensation using asbestos trust fund claims and wrongful-death claims.
How much does an asbestos lawyer cost?
Our attorneys handle asbestos cases on a contingency basis. You pay no upfront cost and owe no fee unless we win your case. You can request a free, confidential case review.
About The Author
Daniel Wasserberg
Founding Partner
Daniel Wasserberg, a founding partner of Meirowitz & Wasserberg, is a Best Lawyers-recognized and Super Lawyers-rated mesothelioma attorney with over 20 years of experience. Named a Top 100 Trial Lawyer and Top 10 Asbestos-Mesothelioma Lawyer, he leads the firm's national asbestos practice.
