Duct Tape
Most homeowners make regular use of products that at one time contained asbestos. Duct tape, for example, is one of those products. Today, most DIY-ers make liberal use of the silver tape without giving a second thought to its safety. Indeed, duct tape sold today is very safe. However, prior to the 1980s, some brands of duct tape contained dangerous asbestos particles.
The main use for duct tape is as its name indicates – it has traditionally been used to hold together metal ducts at their joints and to insure that no air or other gas is leaking from those joints. Old asbestos tape was more paper-like in consistency and was usually white, so it is quite easy to tell the difference between asbestos-containing duct tape and the safe version sold in stores today.
Asbestos duct tape was used for decades and workers that used it on a daily basis had no idea that this tape may have been causing health problems for them and their co-workers. Asbestos duct tape, once fastened to the joints, usually did not present a problem. However, in the process of cutting it to fit a certain application, the tape may have released small, sharp fibers that could have been inhaled. That means HVAC employees or others who worked with the tape each day may have been exposed to millions of fibers during their lifetime.
Asbestos fibers and dust can penetrate the lungs and its lining and eventually cause serious inflammation and irritation. This inflammation may result in the development of asbestosis or pleural plaques. Sometimes the inflammation also causes tumors to develop and those exposed are eventually diagnosed with malignant mesothelioma, a very aggressive form of cancer for which the only known cause is asbestos exposure.
The seriousness of asbestos exposure has become evident during the past several decades. What has also become evident is the fact that many asbestos product manufacturers knew about the dangers of asbestos yet continued to manufacture the products anyway, even when suitable substitutes for asbestos were available. That cover-up resulted in years of unnecessary exposure to asbestos for tradesman in many industries.
Today, the courts are also recognizing the seriousness of withholding information about asbestos and are rewarding those injured by exposure with compensation for their injuries. If you were exposed to asbestos-containing duct tape, either on the job or through do-it-yourself home projects, and have developed mesothelioma, you may be one of those individuals who are eligible for compensation. An experienced asbestos attorney can help make that determination. For more details, order our mesothelioma information kit today.
