Millwrights
A millwright is a skilled craftsman who works primarily with metal. A millwright's work involves the use of machinery and equipment that require great precision to operate. Some of the major tasks performed by millwrights include installation of boilers, generators, giant turbines, and escalators - all jobs which require years of training to complete correctly and efficiently. The millwright may also maintain and repair these and other machines or may have the job of dismantling them when they need to be replaced.
Millwrights and Asbestos
Millwrights have long worked with pieces of machinery that traditionally used asbestos as insulating material, in particular boilers, turbines, or generators, which all involve the use of electricity. Not only were these machines insulated with asbestos, but parts inside generators and turbines were sometimes coated with asbestos as well, in order to control the heat caused by friction and, in turn, avoid fires.
It wasn't unusual for these machines to need to be "sized" in order to fit in their intended locations. In order to do that, millwrights commonly grinded, sanded, sawed, or otherwise adjusted pieces to insure a good fit. Insulation or any other asbestos-containing parts that were grinded or sanded probably produced asbestos dust, which would have circulated through the air, making it easy to inhale.
In addition, any time these machines needed to be dismantled so that they could be repaired or trashed, the millwright may have been exposed to damaged or "friable" asbestos, which crumbles easily and produces airborne dust and fibers.
Because millwrights worked with machinery that required high temperatures to operate, they generally wore something to protect them from heat and fire. Unfortunately, their protective clothing was often made from asbestos-containing materials, which means that they actually wore asbestos on their person. Frighteningly, this protective gear may have included asbestos face masks, which would have resulted in regular inhalation of toxic fibers. Today, millwrights no longer wear asbestos-based protective gear, but they still need protection when working with old machinery that may contain asbestos insulation or asbestos coated parts.
Throughout the past several decades, the millwright profession has been one among many who've seen a fair amount of their colleagues diagnosed with asbestos-related diseases, like mesothelioma, due to their frequent on-the-job exposure.
Last modified: December 17 2007.
