Steel Mill Workers

The term steel mill worker can encompass a number of the positions at a mill including pourer, caster, furnace operator, inspector, machine setter, steel lather, millwright and welder. Unfortunately, many of these steel mill workers have suffered workplace exposure to asbestos, which can cause deadly mesothelioma cancer. Asbestos has a unique resistance to heat that led to its usage throughout the high temperature environments of steel mills. When inhaled, asbestos fibers can lead to a number of health problems including asbestosis and numerous cancers like mesothelioma, lung, esophageal, gastrointestinal, laryngeal, and pharyngeal. Steel mill workers employed from about 1940 to 1980 are at the highest risk for possible asbestos exposure because their day-to-day brought them in contact with a number of asbestos-containing products and materials. Unfortunately for steel mill workers, it was often the clothing designed to protect them from heat and fire that ultimately put them at risk for asbestos exposure.