Cooling Towers
For much of the 20th century, structures and equipment that were subject to high temperatures and the potential of fire often contained asbestos. This mineral, known for its excellent heat- and fire-resistant properties, was considered essential in protecting those who worked with hazardous high-temperature equipment from injury.
Cooling towers are one such structure that usually contained asbestos. A cooling tower is a heat rejection device that is used to transfer process waste heat to the atmosphere. Cooling towers function in a few different ways, depending on the type of tower used and the specific application. Common applications include cooling the circulating water used in oil refineries, chemical plants, and power plants (including nuclear power plants), as well as building cooling. Cooler towers can be quite small and may fit on a roof. Others are free-standing structures that are very large.
Regardless of their size, cooling towers that contained asbestos may have been hazardous to those who encountered them, in particular, HVAC workers that may have serviced the towers. It wasn’t unusual for the asbestos inside the cooling towers to age and become brittle or damaged, releasing small asbestos fibers that could be inhaled. (The fibers may have also been released through steam after the water in the tower evaporated.) Once inhaled, fibers cannot be expelled and may lodge in the lungs or other vital organs, in some instances causing inflammation and eventually tumors. The tumors could result in the development of malignant mesothelioma, a serious asbestos cancer with debilitating symptoms.
As of the 1980s, the government ordered manufacturers of cooling towers to cease using asbestos in the towers. But for many, the change came too late. Some individuals exposed to asbestos because of their work around cooling towers had already developed asbestos-related diseases, like asbestosis, pleural plaques, or fatal mesothelioma, by the time the ban was instituted. This happened despite the fact that some asbestos product manufacturers had knowledge about the dangers of asbestos long before the general public was privy to the information. Because the facts were covered up, many unsuspecting workers became ill, largely because they never wore any sort of protective gear when working with the dangerous mineral.
If you’re a victim of mesothelioma due to your exposure to cooling towers and the massive asbestos cover-up, you should take time to gather details about your legal rights. Many mesothelioma victims have been able to receive monetary compensation for their injuries. For more information about your legal rights, order our mesothelioma resource kit today.
