Crock Pots
At one point during the 20th century, an estimated 5,000 products contained some amount of asbestos. These included not only building products like insulation or floor tiles, but also items that were found in the home.
Because asbestos is a good heat- and fire-resistant material, it was often used in small appliances that employ the use of electricity. Asbestos was generally used as some form of insulation in these appliances in order to avoid fires caused by shorts or other electrical problems. Such items included hair dryers, toasters, irons, and even crock pots, that phenomenon of the 1970s that allowed cooks to prepare a meal in the morning and cook it all day long.
In crock pots, asbestos was used as insulation and may have been found wrapped around the electrical cord or used as a layer between the inner and outer pots to prevent loss of heat so that food would stay hot. The asbestos insulation in crock pots also kept the outside cool to avoid injuries.
It seems unlikely that anyone would be sickened from the asbestos found in a small appliance, but there are incidences where small appliance repair persons have sued manufacturers after developing asbestos-related diseases caused by their exposure to the dangerous mineral while on the job. A repair person fixing a broken appliance that contained asbestos often encountered damaged asbestos, which could have easily released airborne dust and fibers. In turn, the repairman may have inhaled the asbestos. If the repair person did this same job day in and day out, chances are that exposure was going to occur.
Those who worked in factories where crock pots and other small appliances were manufactured may have also developed mesothelioma and other similar diseases due to workplace exposure.
No amount of asbestos exposure in safe. Some manufacturers or business owners tried to convince their employees that asbestos exposure in small amounts was not lethal. However, there have been many cases where individuals have developed asbestos-related diseases, such as mesothelioma, after only a short exposure to the toxic mineral.
Lately, the courts are beginning to more readily recognize just how hazardous asbestos is and just how many companies were covering up the danger of the mineral. The result of these cover-ups is myriad individuals with asbestos-related diseases – diseases which could have been avoided if the truth about asbestos had been shared with repairmen, factory workers, and other tradesmen.
If you’ve developed mesothelioma due to exposure to asbestos from crock pots or other small appliances, it’s time to learn more about your legal right to compensation. For more information about the disease and your rights, order our convenient mesothelioma resource kit.
