Power plant workers have faced the risk of asbestos exposure every day while on the job. Until the late 1970s, asbestos was built into power plants across the country, serving several purposes. Builders, maintenance workers, and other employees have all been at risk for coming into contact with the dangerous fibers.
Asbestos is most likely to be found within the insulation within power plants. Used for pipe and block insulation as well as around the boilers, generators, and electric wiring in different structures, workers faced asbestos exposure due to its ability to resist heat and fire. It was also an affordable building material.
Asbestos was declared a hazard to human health in the 1970s, but not before millions of workers across the country had been subjected to prolonged exposure. Since the diseases associated with asbestos exposure can have latency periods of up to seventy years, many individuals do not realize they have been exposed until years or decades following their retirement.
It was recently announced that the workers of power plants owned, operated, maintained, and built by Energy Future Holdings Corporation must file their asbestos claims before December 14, 2015, whether they have been diagnosed with an asbestos-related disease or not. If they fail to do so by the posted deadline, they lose the right to be eligible for compensation now or in the future.
